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Design City Toronto - awesome new book

Thought we would jump in to the discussion. We're the authors of DCT and are glad to see the book is generating some conversation... that was the objective!

Just a comment on why we didn't include residential - we wanted to feature projects that were readily accessible by the public on a daily basis. We didnt see the point in discussing a great project that no one could ever go visit. Our aim was to present a personal and approachable architecture.

Hope you enjoy the book...or at least enjoy debating its merits. We'd love to see some of you at the Pecha Kucha on May 25 at the DX.

Oh yeah - Tom does take some sexy photos ;)
 
^ Welcome to the board; you would no doubt be well qualified to add commentary on many of the threads here. Hope you won't be too shy to do so.

I'm now looking forward very much to seeing this book.
 
One thing I found slightly irritating about this book was the number of times the names Daniel Libeskind, Frank Gehry and Thom Mayne were repeated like a mantra - and always with a reminder of which local buildings they had designed as if it was assumed the average reader has ... what's it called? ... Alzheimer's.

Also, considering what they're asking for this thing, it surely might have been stitched rather than perfect bound, with a more robust stock.

But I quibble. It'll be good promo for the city. It was even mentioned at a party, crawling with architects, that I went to on Saturday night. Ballenford says it is flying off the shelves.

I assume there was a pretty big press run?
 
We were slightly frustrated ourselves at having to repeat some of the names. At the request of our editor, we had to make each chapter readable on a stand-alone basis. So, for example, if you look at any of the numerous KPMB projects featured, you'll see that we have given a little bit of background in each one. Repetitive, yes, but the format probably works better for the coffee-table nature of the book.

Print run-wise, we're expecting the book to do really well in the local market. It will be available in Europe & the US starting in May but really Ontario is our big market. On an interesting note, you will hear and see much more about DCT during the month of May to coincide with the Pecha Kucha event.

Really, architect chatter… would love to hear what they were saying, good or bad.
 
I was the only one who'd had a chance to buy a copy. Mostly, we stuffed our faces with pastries from Rahier and fresh fruit salad, got slightly tipsy, and chattered. I was told by a couple of Jack Diamond's contemporaries that most of the local architectural profession dislikes the same exterior parts of his Four Seasons Centre that many on this forum do - for the same reasons. See if I care.
 
A quick thought on a past post regarding OCAD on the cover. We struggled with that ourselves. Should it be a local designer; something iconic; something typically Toronto?

As part of our aim was to attract the non-traditional architecture-book reading crowd, we needed an image that was recognizable to the general reader yet intriguing to the more educated one. What would you have put on the cover? Our other contenders – lips photo from Izakaya; red pod shot from Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy building; Ultra Supper Club wood entry way. All these pics are in the book.
 
thanks. We liked the imagery of a new icon (ocad) and an old one (cn tower) in the same shot. I really recommend reading the Preface, it really sets out what we were hoping to achieve.
 
As an OCA(D) grad I was delighted with the cover choice. But the book was designed in England, if I recall, so a Will Alsop building might have more appeal for their book buying public as well. It gets a double page spread in Charles Jencks's recent Iconic Building too.
 
I'm still waiting to see what andomano would propose to put on the cover that would be better than OCAD at exemplifying the latest architectural winds blowing our way.

42
 
Us too. Plus, the OCAD really reinforced our tag line: "is that in Toronto" - a very common theme amongst the general (non architectural) audience when we were writing and researching the book.
 
designcitytoronto:

One of the themes throughout your book is "Toronto Style" and how it is defined. We've had several lively debates about it on this forum. On page 4 of the Projects and Construction section, for instance, there is a thread called: "Shangri-La UT" that's a real bust up. You might enjoy it.
 
thanks for the forum link - I will definately check it out.
 
I do hope you'll like us, and decide to stay. I hope you're not here just to flog your book. Stick around, and the UT experience will change you forever. Most of us used to be boringly normal before we were enslaved like this ...
 
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