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20 Gothic Condos (Monarch Group) - Real Estate -

Seems pretty stumpy. I drove by tonight and they are around the top floor, judging by the render on that website.
 
Not sure about how fast it is... it was supposed to be finished by this summer... it's now pushed to June 2009
 
20 Gothic

20 Gothic is a lovely, discreet low-rise condominium that is meant to blend in with the exisiting homes of the neighbourhood. It will be a brick building, which is quite unusual these days. Its location directly across from the High Park subway station ensures its success for re-sale value of the individual units. It has a mix of large and medium sized units, thus attracting a variety of people. Being an 'in-fill' project, it fits in quite nicely with the neighbourhood. Mature trees already surrounding the site will soften its impact. The unit designs are, for the most part, quite clean, and traditional (no windowless 'interior' bedrooms here). It was a mildly controversial project, as the neighbours of course rallied against its construction. They were able to modify the original design somewhat, and bargained for more interior visitor parking. Over-all, a nice, modest building that will offend no one. And, in Toronto these days, that is quite an achievement!
 
It offends me! I take photos of it (see projects and construction thread.) It's like a giant rubbish bin with condos on top! It's got this ugly yellowish-brown "brick" going up. It's gonna shake rattle and roll with the subway vibrating right beside it. It's a really boring area to live. It's a Gothic nightmare!

Hey Mr Sales rep, how goes thy trade?
 
20 Gothic

Have you never heard of 'cohesive' architecture....? Again, it is meant to blend in with the neighbourhood. Interesting to note that the brick that is currently being applied matches the brick of one of the turn-of-the-century houses just up the street. I guess you would prefer some glass monstrosity, with fake turrets and arches...the 'typical' Toronto response to a building being in a more up-scale area. One needs to look at the entire picture. And, Bloor West Village is one of the more dynamic parts of Toronto. It is currently being used as a model for the redevelopment of several downtown areas, including Regina, Sask., and Lethbridge, Alberta.
 
^Well it's by Monarch, so it can't be "great" architecture. Yuckitecture, certainly.

No, I think high end architecture should look more like FashionHouse, or that other Freed condo on Wellington West. Recall N-Blox (what became Cube in Little Italy?) That's much more like it!

Although in High Park, there's several pre-1940 brownstones that kick the butt of anything built by Monarch, ever.
 
20 Gothic

It may not be 'great' architecture, but in the context of its location, it works quite nicely. Torontonians are quite conservative, and a sharp, dramatic, modern work would have offended. Tastes are changing, but these developers still have to pander to the majority. Low-key in this case suits the site. And, how many L-shaped buildings are going up these days? That alone makes it more interesting than the average new construction. At least it won't be some hullking monstrosity like the Residences of the Kingsway - the building that backs onto the cemetary @ Bloor and Prince Edward. Now, that is a bit much. It screams "We've arrived!". Just a 'little' to ostentatious.
 
20 Gothic

I do appreciate the 'brutal' beauty of 50/80/100 Quebec Avenue. It was a style popular in the late 60s/early 70s. The clean, unadorned lines of these buildings speaks to an almost industrial design. Less is more, indeed.
 
It may not be 'great' architecture, but in the context of its location, it works quite nicely. Torontonians are quite conservative, and a sharp, dramatic, modern work would have offended. Tastes are changing, but these developers still have to pander to the majority. Low-key in this case suits the site. And, how many L-shaped buildings are going up these days? That alone makes it more interesting than the average new construction. At least it won't be some hullking monstrosity like the Residences of the Kingsway - the building that backs onto the cemetary @ Bloor and Prince Edward. Now, that is a bit much. It screams "We've arrived!". Just a 'little' to ostentatious.

Perhaps the condo buyers in this city aren't conservative, they just aren't that interested in contemporary architecture. The use of faux-historic architectural elements is just the easiest way for the developer appeal to these buyers.
 
True. Whatever will sell out the quickest will be what the developer creates. However, if none of the developers create cutting-edge, unique buildings, we get stuck in a cycle of cookie-cutter architecture, simply because that is what sells. A vicious cycle.
 
The brick actually matches that of one of the turn of the century homes just a few houses up. And, with the charcoal grey window trim, the building is reminiscent of the Hudson @ King and Spadina. It is shaping up quite nicely.
 

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