Toronto CAMH Queen Street | 60.3m | 7s | CAMH | Diamond Schmitt + KPMB + TreanorHL + HOK

The streets are mostly opened up in there now. Its really quite a nice complex.

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Is what we see the extent of the project or is this just one small piece?

I remember them discussing there being lots of cafes, and other spots that give back to street life, but so far (and that said, there's only a few new buildings so far) I don't see much life. It looks nice though.
 
So far I'm getting a campus vibe from this project. It still feels somewhat institutional, which I guess is just a reflection of the reality. Still, a little more retail would be welcome.
 
SP!RE said:
Is what we see the extent of the project or is this just one small piece?
I remember them discussing there being lots of cafes, and other spots that give back to street life, but so far (and that said, there's only a few new buildings so far) I don't see much life. It looks nice though.
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So far it is just the institutional core, with the exception of the building on Queen. It looked like finishing touches were being put on and there were early signs of occupation. I took these around 9pm and there wasn't a soul around. At this point the place does not feel integrated with the city. Presumably that will change when the remaining CAMH bunkers come down and more apartments with retail go up, but I have doubts it will ever be lively.

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The building blocks are there to integrate it. The varied architecture is what Cityplace should have done. It makes it feel slightly more lived in.
 
greenleaf:

I think it is s combination of scale (no 2s podiums, relatively narrow streets), materials (bricks in various warm tones) that really made the difference. The architecture of the various buildings is almost like an "afterthought" - kind of like St. Lawrence in some ways.

AoD
 
Without getting into the design or suitability of the cladding, I have to comment on the appearance of the building in the pics below and say whoever did the work is extremely good at their job.

It seems like a simple thing to put panels on straight, but it's actually quite difficult and flaws are easy to spot on pretty much any building that has panel cladding - especially one with the sort of horizontal lines and consistent spacing. I drove through recently and as hard as I looked, I couldn't spot any of the usual flaws, I couldn't find one panel even slightly out of square and the trim work was equally as precise.

The other buildings were mostly brick and glass, but the composite panel was used very nicely IMO.

If I got out and climbed a ladder I'm sure I could find something, but someone has earned some praise for their work here, IMO.

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urbandreamer said:
1 September 2012: I hadn't been down here since the SDM opened on a Saturday afternoon. It felt bizarre to suddenly see so many ppl milling about, shopping there etc. Like night and day vs what I remember this area being like c.1997-2000.
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You only have to go back 7 maybe 8 years to witness the incredible change to this section of Queen Street. Walking from Bathurst to Dovercourt was mostly a not-so-thrilling stroll, now it's one of my favorate areas to walk in the city, and always something new each time I go along there.
 
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