Toronto 55 Yonge | 232.86m | 68s | H&R REIT | PARTISANS

FormerTorontonianBackInTO said:
The quality of finishes on new buildings in most western European cities or Melbourne/Sydney put Toronto to shame. City Place and Liberty Village (not even going to talk about Etobicoke/Scarborough) were covered by (mostly grey) spandrel window wall long before the units became unaffordable, back when the pre-construction units were sold at a discount to resale values to entice people to take the risk. The new wave of apartment buildings from Tricon and Fitzrovia have demonstrated a higher standard than Toronto's condo architecture. I'm not saying that there are no good looking condos in Toronto (my original post noted exceptions), or that all new apartment buildings are getting built to a higher standard, but I expect that the shift from condos to apartments will have a positive overall effect on Toronto's architecture (given that the apartment buildings are not getting leased off a piece of paper for the next 50+ years)
Click to expand...
Having seen some of the new developments in Montpellier and Lyon, France, I'd have to agree.
 
FormerTorontonianBackInTO said:
The quality of finishes on new buildings in most western European cities or Melbourne/Sydney put Toronto to shame. City Place and Liberty Village (not even going to talk about Etobicoke/Scarborough) were covered by (mostly grey) spandrel window wall long before the units became unaffordable, back when the pre-construction units were sold at a discount to resale values to entice people to take the risk. The new wave of apartment buildings from Tricon and Fitzrovia have demonstrated a higher standard than Toronto's condo architecture. I'm not saying that there are no good looking condos in Toronto (my original post noted exceptions), or that all new apartment buildings are getting built to a higher standard, but I expect that the shift from condos to apartments will have a positive overall effect on Toronto's architecture (given that the apartment buildings are not getting leased off a piece of paper for the next 50+ years)
Click to expand...
Sure, but most developers / constructors there actually care about their cities and local governments have the ability to regulate development in ways Toronto is not permitted to.
 
^Is that by provincial design...or The City not wanting to rock the boat with moneyed developers?
 
ProjectEnd said:
Sure, but most developers / constructors there actually care about their cities and local governments have the ability to regulate development in ways Toronto is not permitted to.
Click to expand...
What's the theory as to why developers in Toronto specifically don't care about the city?
 
Is it just Toronto developers or Canadians/North Americans as a whole that don't value design and materials quality? Maybe unfair to loop in the Pacific North West / California into this as perhaps its natural beauty instilled a greater appreciation for aesthetics but the vast majority of construction quality and design on this continent is pretty dreadful IMO (across any asset class - single family homes, high-rise, retail, institutional, etc). Don't think it's fair to pin it on cost either given places with much lower incomes across Latin America for example often deliver much more beautiful designs utilizing lower-cost materials (i.e. the window wall we disdain so much).
 
Last edited:
ProjectEnd said:
Cost of everything and value of nothing.
Click to expand...
It's a problem when the bare minimum is acceptable and developers of low-or-no integrity, interested exclusively in every last drop of profit, who nurture no personal emotional investment in Toronto, are allowed to cobble together something at rock-bottom costs. Skyscrapers are manifestly not inconspicuous, and will stand for many decades or centuries. Of equal importance is that human beings inhabit these buildings, pay a mint to buy or rent, and shouldn't have to tolerate on-the-cheap, ramshackle interiors and elevator ratios suitable for herding cattle. We as citizens, and Toronto as a governing body comprised of people who live here, should demand better.
I should add the proviso that I am not as critical of Toronto architecture as most others here. With regard to skyscrapers, I am partial to rectangular, boxy massing (I hate angular buildings), and I prefer Toronto-style balconied skyscrapers to monolithic slabs of plain blue or grey glass. (Though, contradictorily, I must be one of the few people here who likes B-A West.) For example, purely personal taste, but I am glad we have very little of London's weird architectural shapes (the Egg building; the Shard; the walkie-talkie; "no, thanks" to all).
I am much more bothered by the shabbiness of large parts of Toronto's public realm. On that score, Toronto falls far short of world-class, and we should be embarrassed. That is the fault of a perennially cash-strapped city, a provincial government that is hobbling the city at every turn, and citizens who don't care or feel disempowered. Collectively, we no longer take pride in living in a city that is clean, tidy, well-maintained, and perhaps most importantly, designed/redesigned with intelligent purpose and aesthetic considerations. UrbanToronto should found a community group of volunteers who champion such things and lobby City Hall to that effect.
 
Strange Advance said:
I am much more bothered by the shabbiness of large parts of Toronto's public realm. On that score, Toronto falls far short of world-class, and we should be embarrassed. That is the fault of a perennially cash-strapped city, a provincial government that is hobbling the city at every turn, and citizens who don't care or feel disempowered. Collectively, we no longer take pride in living in a city that is clean, tidy, well-maintained, and perhaps most importantly, designed/redesigned with intelligent purpose and aesthetic considerations. UrbanToronto should found a community group of volunteers who champion such things and lobby City Hall to that effect.
Click to expand...
Also the result of having been run by 1. an absolute joke of a mayor followed by 2. wheel spinning austerity measures for over a decade. Nevermind vision, the Tory regime couldn't even keep our existing city looking half-decent, and I was embarrassed by the absolute shabbiness of everything. I'm glad he recently announced he won't run for Mayor because I'd make it my purpose to make sure everyone knew how dogshit of a Mayor he was and all the damage he did to the city that didn't make headline news.
 
Is this building with the tarps part of this thread?
IMG_6545.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top