junctionist
Senior Member
They could create a new and better look than the original if they worked with some talented designers to come up with new finishes, lighting, seating, and art.
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Colour Me Impressed: the New "old" Tile at St. Andrew Station
- Thread starter 299 bloor call control.
- Start date
TTC12
Active Member
A member here from another forum mentioned that the TTC installed a new version of the Panels in March because the old ones were buckling too much. The new ones are better, but still buckle, so they're working on another version.
Jonny5
Senior Member
So much like the new sign at Osgoode, this long forgotten station renovation has been dormant for a year. I had heard it had it's funding pulled.
Magically last month, all the light fixtures on the southbound platform and at the north side of the station were replaced with the same LED lighting installed long ago a the south end of the station. This lighting is such a vast improvement. It needs to be rolled out to more stations, especially eerily dark Sherbourne.
Unfortunately no new wall panels have been installed, but that might be a good thing. The ones they did put in look filthy now. Far dirtier than anywhere else in the station. It's like the breakdust is magnetically attracted to them.
Magically last month, all the light fixtures on the southbound platform and at the north side of the station were replaced with the same LED lighting installed long ago a the south end of the station. This lighting is such a vast improvement. It needs to be rolled out to more stations, especially eerily dark Sherbourne.
Unfortunately no new wall panels have been installed, but that might be a good thing. The ones they did put in look filthy now. Far dirtier than anywhere else in the station. It's like the breakdust is magnetically attracted to them.
APTA-2048
Senior Member
The current LED lighting is a different design than what was initially used at the south end. I find it much easier on the eyes (less blue) and better incorporated into the ceiling.
superman
Active Member
Another reason why the TTC stations look like crap. If they're not going to follow through with a project at least tear what they put up down to maintain the consistency of the station... It's the same problem St George has with all the different types of signs.
Root
New Member
Reinstating of the vitrolite tiling (now hard can it be to make vitrolite? Melt glass, paint the back of it, lay it on thin concrete, plastic or metal, I donno lol) would make the classic stations look even better. In fact, if the entire network were to also use them, then there would be elegance. That is what the TTC is missing. Any broken tiles can be replaced (I did see some plastic and wood replacements, easy to tell by hitting them with a stick lightly), anything that they think should be scrapped, shouldn't. Remember those LED information displays? They didn't need to replace them with plasma screens that DIE after 5-11 years of constant-on use. Those LED things last 20 years, it's the controllers that end up failing. My guess, is those plasma ad displays cost $2,000 each, all running with RedHat Linux powered pentium III & IIII machines (I did see one rebooting once due to a kernel panic while waiting for the train 8 months ago), better than those things being thrown out.
Besides the rant, i'm glad to know that they're reinstating the old style. I enjoy the font and wouldn't want to see it vanish.
Besides the rant, i'm glad to know that they're reinstating the old style. I enjoy the font and wouldn't want to see it vanish.
cil3xm
New Member
Vitrolite is actually made by mixing in pigments while the glass is still liquid. i took a small piece from eglinton and it had no transparent parts in it. also repairing vitrolite is expensive as hell, especially these days. it takes a while to repair a bathroom full of vitrolite, let alone 11 TTC stations(9 if you don't count queen's walls and union's ease/west end walls and sealed up passage hallway). they would never pay that much money to fix all that. but i really do love the old vitrolite appearance. i'll miss it when eglinton will need more renovations. They should at least remove all the tiles first and find a use for them instead of just destroying them trying to test out a new design. in fact, i have come up with a solution for the old broken vitrolite tiles(i'll give you a hint; it involves union's second platform project). but that's a totally different thread. but i do agree. they should re-install the old styles.
Nick.
Banned
vitrolite has been obsolete for decades, which makes it perfectly suited for the ttc I guess
Dan416
Senior Member
lol
cil3xm
New Member
true. but i still love it's appearance. pretty sad that they couldn't just fix it in the 80's(when it was cheaper to repair) instead of laying over a brand new wall, new floors, getting supports for the walls,etc...
adma
Superstar
Memo to Nick: it hasn't been used afresh by the TTC in those decades since it became so-called obsolete--its last hurrah was, well, in the subject of this thread, just about half a century ago...
Nick.
Banned
thanks dude but that was sort of the point of the post
adma
Superstar
But the way you're stating it, it's like Vitrolite should be blithely discarded even today--y'know, the old/dated/not-befitting-c21-public-transport spin...
junctionist
Senior Member
This time around, let's preserve the Vitrolite and stop throwing together cheap and ugly renovations for our most prominent subways stations. These are public spaces through which hundreds of thousands of people pass through everyday, after all. There should be a sense of culture and sophistication for this part of the face of the city.
Jonny5
Senior Member
A good idea, but I wonder if it's possible. What was uncovered at St. Andrew looked badly damaged and many sections were then further destroyed to test the integrity of the wall underneath. Is preserving any Vitrolite (aside from Eglinton) still feasible?
And back to the topic, they should really just remove the new wall panels and put back the slats if they don't plan to finish the job. The wall panels are mismatched among themselves even, and they look dirty.