Toronto Nathan Phillips Square + Spirit Garden | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

There's supposedly a new water feature in the center of the square ? Anyone have any idea where that will be.
 
taal said:
There's supposedly a new water feature in the center of the square ? Anyone have any idea where that will be.
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According to the City site it is: "a seasonal “disappearing” water fountain feature in the centre of the Square, which will consist of nine fountain jets providing cooling and adding a playful element to the Square, while allowing the full range of activities to take place on the Square uninterrupted."

The centre of the square would presumably be about where the Peace Garden was.
 
Earth Heals Herself said:
It doesn't matter if the new TD windows aren't mirrored. The priniciple is still the same. Why change the original windows, even if they'll look similar? I'm sure Mies could care less whether the windows are energy efficient. I guess his choice of windows aren't good enough to preserve.
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Er, in case you haven't noticed, this isn't an argument about changing windows. This is an argument about changing window aesthetics. Nobody's arguing against NCH sash replacement here--indeed, the manner in which the TD retrofit's being carried out punches a big hole in your mirrored-glass-for-City-Hall argument, which was my fundamental point in the first place...

Then again, keep in mind the mentality we're dealing with here.
 
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adma said:
Er, in case you haven't noticed, this isn't an argument about changing windows. This is an argument about changing window aesthetics. Nobody's arguing against NCH sash replacement here--indeed, the manner in which the TD retrofit's being carried out punches a big hole in your mirrored-glass-for-City-Hall argument, which was my fundamental point in the first place...

Then again, keep in mind the mentality we're dealing with here.
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You must have a plethora of friends with your diplomatic, charming personality. Here's a clip that sums you up perfectly. Skip ahead to 9:44 and let it play until the 4 second mark of the next video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyxHUu4gQs8&feature=channel_video_title

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_3ERsqR8zg&feature=relmfu
 
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Fair enough. That's your opinion. There is no right or wrong answer.
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You do not think that respecting the integrity of an artist's work is the "right" thing to do? And no...I don't subscribe to the idea that taste is purely subjective.

Changing the curtain wall of City Hall to mirrored glass would completely alter the look of the building. Mirrored glass can be very aggressive, and would clash with the rest of the building too much. The curtain wall needs to be sublimely textural to blend in with the overall textural nature of the rest of the building. Clear glass with matching window treatments accomplish this very nicely.

While looking at the earlier posted pics showing the facade of the Sheriton Centre, I actually think it is this treatment that makes me think Sheriton is actually kind of attractive in its rectilinear simplicity. There are many windows all the same, with the same window treatments giving it a sort of "tiled" effect. But each window "tile" is slightly unique, because the curtains are all slightly askew in a different way. It is this slight variation that gives it texture, while at the same time maintaining the right amount of uniformity. There's a subtle balance, and it didn't just happen by chance.

This reminds me of the $25 million replacement of the curtain wall at Lever House (could you imagine putting mirrored glass on that building...ha ha). Needless to say, the building looks the same as it did the day it was completed. Of course, it helps when you have the original architects over-seeing the job. They even added a couple of elements to the plaza that was originally designed and intended, but never implemented.

Now that's respect!!


In 1982, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Lever House as an official landmark. By that time, however, much of Lever House's original brilliance had been dimmed by time. The building's blue-green glass facade deteriorated due to harsh weather conditions and the limitations of the original fabrication and materials. Water seeped behind the stainless steel mullions causing the carbon steel within (and around) the glazing pockets to rust and expand. This corrosion bowed the horizontal mullions and broke most of the spandrel glass panels. By the mid-1990s, only one percent of the original glass remained leaving the once glimmering curtain wall a patchwork of mismatched greenish glass.


The deteriorated steel subframe was replaced with concealed aluminum glazing channels, a state-of-the-art solution in modern curtain wall technology, which is identical to the original in appearance. All rusted mullions and caps were replaced with new and identical stainless steel mullions and caps. All glass was removed for new panes that are nearly identical to the original, yet meet today's energy codes. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the building's architect, also performed the curtain wall replacement.

The renovation project included the addition of marble benches and an Isamu Noguchi sculpture garden to the building's plaza--elements in the original plans for Lever House but never realized.
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Tulse said:
Putting mirrors on two facing concave surfaces is not a great idea, unless the plan is to fry the council chamber. Perhaps the original poster is actually Rob Ford?

(Lest one doubt that this can be a problem, a Vegas hotel was baking guests in precisely this fashion.)
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I was about to mention this.. with the curve of the 2 buildings, wouldn't mirrored glass reflect the sun right into the office of whoever is working across from them?
 
Suggesting that New City Hall would look better w/reflective glass is like suggesting that the Sheraton Centre would look better w/this kind of facade treatment

1129560975-FrenchQuarterI.jpg
 
adma said:
Suggesting that New City Hall would look better w/reflective glass is like suggesting that the Sheraton Centre would look better w/this kind of facade treatment

1129560975-FrenchQuarterI.jpg
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I realize the Sheraton Centre is what it is, and it purportedly gives important context to Toronto's history and growth, but my god, it's garish and depressing in a way that this building simply isn't.
 
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