Toronto Corus Quay | ?m | 8s | Waterfront Toronto | Diamond Schmitt

It would've been nice to see a truly unique building which showcased some level of creativity, ingenuity and practicality. A building that could stir the imagination and be an excellent focal point for further development in the area.

This building simply isn't up to the task.
 
and just to throw in a cheap shot, Clewes couldnt punch his way out of a cardboard "BOX" if his career depended on it! (I bet I'll take some heat for that one)

Well, you should know about cheap shots since many of your photographs rely on the same overdone special effects to whip up predictable responses from your fan base - rather than saying anything new about our city. Making us look like somewhere we're not isn't much different from spamming threads like this one with images of buildings in foreign cities we're apparently supposed to go crazy for just because PeeEnd likes a Renzo Piano glass roof or two.
 
There are a few things to be said about specific plans for the waterfront, but whether these plans will actually come to fruition, or end up just as plans, like so many before, remains to be seen. So far, I am not opposed to the development of business buildings, but seeing these projects as catalysts for further development doesn't make sense. For one, I would have put things which are more likely to attract the public and keep them there for a while, eating, drinking, walking, perusing, shopping, hanging-out, etc.

What the Corus building does is centralize a number of employees along the waterfront, who basically have nowhere to go and eat but back in the city or up to the St. Lawrence area- all reachable with in walking distance, but a little too far for breaks etc. I imagine a number of these employees will end up staying in the building, or driving to get food. Not great for an area searching to redefine itself as happening or alive. Furthermore, I find while the building will have some outdoor amenities, it is completely closed to the waterfront, ultimately blocking off another chunk of the waterfront to regular users.

I am not against this building being placed here, but I would have rather that it was elevated a story or two above the ground - at least for half of its length. A different configuration of this building, whether it remained grey or not (regretfully!), would have done wonders for the area and the overall perception of this building. This building honestly lacks any intelligence or thought in the process, besides being entirely economical and efficient. Creative design doesn't necessarily equate to having a building designed by Gehry, Hadid, or even Alsop - with whimsical accentuations (not necessarily bad), but rather it means looking at the design problem as a challenge and not as a task.

What D+S do best is usually look at the building as a task or just another building. Architecture is half creativity and half problem solving, but it is entirely creative problem solving. I think the argument that we cannot or shouldn't look to other cities, or designers for inspiration is a complete load of horse shit and I refuse to buy that argument. We do not live in a vacuum in Toronto, although many think we do. We are living in a time when people are traveling more, experiencing more, wanting more diversity and change in their daily routine, that we are compelled to look beyond our four corners to see what else is happening. And why the f--k not? I have traveled quite a bit, live in Vienna (Amsterdam sometimes too) where they are not afraid to take a gamble or two to experiment and learn about the mechanisms, elements and intricacies of architecture and design. That doesn't mean that whatever other cities do, that our is to copy or emulate, but rather that we start to see the possibilities, and try and see the potential that lies right here.

And lastly, what I think Toronto suffers from is not knowing what it is yet. We are a young city, and completely naive, but overly conservative. So much of what happens in the city is the result of bad planning, lack of foresight and above all lack of imagination and thought for the future. We live in this city like we are only here for a couple weeks and then its back to Brampton or Richmond Hill to our little suburban houses. I think many of us on this board feel the same way that I do, and that is that we are far too timid and afraid of getting any attention other than 'stay the course of mediocrity'.

p5
 
It would've been nice to see a truly unique building which showcased some level of creativity, ingenuity and practicality. A building that could stir the imagination and be an excellent focal point for further development in the area.

This building simply isn't up to the task.

Well, you should know about cheap shots since many of your photographs rely on the same overdone special effects to whip up predictable responses from your fan base - rather than saying anything new about our city. Making us look like somewhere we're not isn't much different from spamming threads like this one with images of buildings in foreign cities we're apparently supposed to go crazy for just because PeeEnd likes a Renzo Piano glass roof or two.

Syn's post put it best, this building simply isn't up to the task it was assigned.

Your increasingly visceral responses to people's negative comments about this building are both unnecessary and unwarranted. However, just as you see a difference between the 'trained' and the 'untrained' eye, it seems dubious that you would continue to worship at Jacky the Boy Wonder's shrine while ignoring the fact that Renzo is just better. The delicate detailing and calculated minimization of mass make Renzo's roofs works of art which not only channel light, but balance and perfect it. Jack's roof on the other hand, is a messy, clumsy, massive affair which doesn't seem to have taken into consideration the changing of light throughout the day.

All that said, I'll probably just get called a 'fanboy' because I don't like a bad building that a self-professed B-architect 'designed.' Boy, am I glad that 'doyenne' simply denotes a senior's age, rather than her intellect.

And keep the shots coming Redroom, I love 'em!
 
Your increasingly visceral responses to people's negative comments about this building are both unnecessary and unwarranted.

Not at all, delivering a reality check to your rote negativity is entirely in order. Who can not but admire the merits of this handsome new building, and its role in bringing life to our waterfront - notwithstanding your oft-repeated, unconvincing, and charmingly eccentric idée fixe about the lesson that Renzo Piano's roof treatments apparently have for us?
 
Who can not but admire the merits of this handsome new building, and its role in bringing life to our waterfront

well.....I for one - and, it seems, many others....:confused:

I admire loyalty in anyone, but this time, Shocker, you are defending the indefensable....

//Corus is a small-minded vision, where the location and situation called for a larger vision...
 
Well, you should know about cheap shots since many of your photographs rely on the same overdone special effects to whip up predictable responses from your fan base - rather than saying anything new about our city. Making us look like somewhere we're not isn't much different from spamming threads like this one with images of buildings in foreign cities we're apparently supposed to go crazy for just because PeeEnd likes a Renzo Piano glass roof or two.

OUCH! That's getting a little mean spirited. I quite enjoy Redrooms pics and the special effects. Isn't this getting a bit too personal.

We all obviously have different visions for this city. My biggest issue, is that the land was owned by the city and all things were possible. We got so much less than I was hoping for. The fact that the building ignores it's waterfront location, is what galls me most. Nobody who sees this building in a picture, would have any idea that it's on a Great Lake.

Weren't we promised that the first building on the new waterfront would be iconic and set the tone for "World class" development/architecture? (Or something like that) I think it was Miller who said it. The sad part is, I believed him. So yeah, I'm pissed!

I also want an urban waterfront that is geared to recreation and culture, not just practical matters. That building should have had a lot more to animate the area. (and I don't mean just restaurants) The great waterfronts of the world do not consist of condos, office buildings and educational uses. Those uses are not going to draw Torontonians to the waterfront for a fun day out with the family. How about building something the whole city can enjoy.
 
While I'm not overwhelmed by this building's beauty by any means, I think that it's going to do exactly what is required by the project. As such, I suppose Jack Diamond was a pretty obvious choice for architect. If we were looking for some over-the-top, postcard-worthy piece of art, it would simply not have been built, it would be too expensive and would have been politically retarded for anyone at the city level to support it since the city is footing much of the bill. The time has come (and gone and come again) for this section of the waterfront to get developed, and it was between an inexpensive neighbourhood "driver" or nothing at all. Other buildings will come, some of them will be great and some of them will be duds. But whenever we get a gem of a building down there, it shouldn't be in an area that's basically a brownfield whose biggest landmarks are a sugar factory and a driving range. Projects like this will see to that...
 
We could have dismantled just about any old office building in Markham and shipped it down to the lakefront and achieved the same result.
 
The last few pages of this thread remind me of virgin young males wishing they could go on a date with Jessica Alba, to the point where they'd settle for nothing less.

Look, to repeat: I'll take a three-way with Jessica Alba and Lily Allen. And why stop there? Throw in this-and-that all over the place, and, what might you call it? The Urban Aristocrats!
 
I have a fan base? who knew...

and just to annoy a certain person I feel compelled to post one of my over cooked images. Lets think back to this area before all the controversy. An image from a couple years ago showing the context of Corus. As it happens, the media company redoing the City of Toronto website has recently asked permission to use it. So you see, its not just sycophants and fanboys that like my stuff.

3738348917_b0ea28de55_b.jpg
 
Last edited:
Add me to the list of those who are are profoundly dissatisfied with the utter banality and mediocrity of this project. It looks like something you might pass by on the 401 heading for Kitchener, not a fixture of a central waterfront begging for style and distinction.

Every decade or so this city goes through the same pathetic, tiresome cycle of building something second or third-rate on the central waterfront, realizing the extant of the disaster when it is revealed in its finished form and, finally, swearing never to do it again. In the 70s it was Harbour Square; in the 80s the Huang & Dansky "uglies"; and now this utterly lame waste of space. (We were fortunate to be spared in the 90s.)

Cue the tears and self-recrimination when the local media catch on and the public responds with suitable outrage. Lather, rinse and repeat.
 
Last edited:
Well, you should know about cheap shots since many of your photographs rely on the same overdone special effects to whip up predictable responses from your fan base - rather than saying anything new about our city. Making us look like somewhere we're not isn't much different from spamming threads like this one with images of buildings in foreign cities we're apparently supposed to go crazy for just because PeeEnd likes a Renzo Piano glass roof or two.


To see Toronto through the correct eyes just desaturate and replace with colourful grey!
 
Add me to the list of those who are are profoundly dissatisfied with the utter banality and mediocrity of this project. It looks like something you might pass by on the 401 heading for Kitchener, not a fixture of a central waterfront begging for style and distinction.

Every decade or so this city goes through the same pathetic, tiresome cycle of building something second or third-rate on the central waterfront, realizing the extant of the disaster when it is revealed in its finished form and, finally, swearing never to do it again. In the 70s it was Harbour Square; in the 80s the Huang & Dansky "uglies"; and now this utterly lame waste of space. (We were fortunate to be spared in the 90s.)

Cue the tears and self-recrimination when the local media catch on and the public responds with suitable outrage. Lather, rinse and repeat.

Wow... I really dont think this is that big a deal. Its not an unbelievable building, but its decent, and will be surrounded by some very nice public spaces, that I think, will be nice additions to the waterfront. We cant see the one building and say that the entire area is going to hell...
 

Back
Top