There's nothing inappropriate about flexible, weather-noodled elements on a condo regardless of height/location.
It makes perfect sense in Toronto. I'm doing the same damn thing in my beaches apartment: weather good=slide it open (like today). weather bad= slide it closed.
C'mon, let's acknowledge the occasional smart idea (even in an unloved project) without putting it down to a marketing ploy.
I hadn't stated that the sliding lanai panels are a bad idea - I had stated that others didn't like them and that I was going to reserve judgment on the project until it was completed. However, I do think the roof-top panels that stick up in the air are inappropriate. They are a finicky touch that don't add anything for me. For a tall tower, I'm more into architecture in which function drives form. (Let the floodgates open on that point.)
Regarding the lanais, I lived in on the 25th floor of 10 Yonge Street (the north tower of the so-called World Trade Centre) 13 years ago and had a corner unit. In the northeast corner (with lovely city vistas) was an enclosed and unheated "balcony". You couldn't open the windows more than you could in the main unit itself, which I regretted as I desired some exposure to the elements in the warmer months. (It was very windy, however, and therefore cold, so query whether we would have used it much if it hadn't been enclosed.) In the winter, however, it was a useful space that we kept open to the unit even in the coldest weather, as the windows in the "balcony" were double glazed (or so I recall now). We even put down some floor-to floor carpeting and put a couple pieces of real furniture in it to make it feel more like a part of, and extension of the living space in, the main unit.
If the lanais on 1BE are as useful as this sapce was to us, then I think they will be a very appropriate addition, particularly for those on the higher floors where it will be very windy and cold at times. Does anyone know the quality of the windows and sliding panels that are to be used? If they are good quality insulated windows and panels, I think this will extend the living space in winter, yet allow some closer connection with the elements on warmer (and calmer) days.
