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Sapphire Update, out-of-business (Stinson)

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Am I right in guessing the tallest point of the building would be on the south side?

This seems logical from a show-casting perspective, but I would think the terraces on the top would need to face south to get any sun?

Can anyone shed some light?! no pun intended.

I must admit the idea is growing on me but I feel the shape of the building would look a little odd on the current skyline. I am however a fan of variety and am all for spicing it up a bit.

:eek: )
 
I would, and I'm not even much of a dandy.
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Boiler,

I'll have to correct you on this as 1 King is a VERY sophisticated building. In fact the development is one of the most unique and complicated skyscrapers ever built in Toronto.

So I'll provide my evidence,

The tower which was over seven years in the making has one of the largest height-to-width ratios in the world standing 578 feet tall while only 47.5 feet in width.

The original site at 5 king had the development rights for 36x coverage with no height limit. Most observers believed it would be technically impossible to build a tower of any significant height on such a tight parcel of land. Stinson consulted engineering firm Yolles Group, where engineers figured out a way to make the building stand up. The process that the Yolles group came up with to ensure that structural stability of the project is far more complicated then most structures ever built in Toronto - and the solution had to be done while maintaining the structural integrity of the original bank building.

The project took a significant turn when Stinson purchased One King Street West. According to Stinson the most difficult construction challenge was not the incredible height and thinness, but the dismantling and reassembly of the interior of the historic bank building built in 1912. Many of the historical architectural elements within the bank structure had to be carefully preserved throughout the construction process. The general public did not see the incredible and meticulous work that went on within the shell of the historic building. This feat is especially impressive given the collapse of the Uptown Theatre during demolition in Toronto during the same time period that 1 King was built.

Other serious challenges in the construction of the project were the logistics of operating on such a small site in the centre of the city. An enormous amount of money and resources were spent protecting neighbouring buildings and closing down Melinda Street at the south end of the project to use as a staging ground for the loading and unloading of construction materials. There was also the difficulty of operating within the tight limitations of the site itself. Another challenge was constructing an underground parking lot under an existing historic structure with connections to the subway and PATH - there is an incredible amount of very difficult underground work done in very tight conditions in a downtown environment with an abundance of other underground utilities and facilities criss-crossing the site. Of course none of this should be considered "sophisticated"?

There were a number significant unforeseen hurdles that arose in the development of the project which included the discovery of foundations underground during the excavation process that no one knew about, blueprints for the historic structure that bore little resemblance to the actual building itself, and beams that appeared where they were not supposed to be.

So to Boiler and others who don't like the pre-cast or colour of the windows on 1 King - don't let those aesthetic details blind you to the fact that in many ways 1 King is an engineering marvel and an incredible accomplishment. It is a very very complicated building (really 2 buildings in one). The fact that it is even standing is an increadible feat of modern technology and engineering.
 
So please educate us: what is a sophisticated building in your opinion?
 
Is 1 King West butt ugly?

It may not look great from some angles, but it looks simply amazing from others. As a part of the skyline, it's a definite plus.

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I don't want to throw this discussion off in the wrong direction, but I have to say that though I think 1KW has interesting proportions and looks impressive from certain angles (like directly north or south), my overall impression of it is much diminished due to its cladding. The materials look cheap, and from the street, the panels on the first few floors are downright embarassing and stand in stark contrast to the richness of surrounding buildings.

Again, I'm not in any way qualified, but feel compelled to share my gut impressions as someone who is enthusiastic about good architecture.

I wouldn't call the building butt ugly, but I definitely wouldn't rank if very high compared to its neighbours in the CBD, and might actually go as far as saying I feel it damages elegant and "sophisticated" buildings like Commerce Courts North and West by being so close to them.

Edit:
Mike in TO: I appreciate the engineering complexity of the construction process and certainly find it impressive, but I was only commenting on the aesthetic qualities of the finished thing.
 
Mike in TO, the Skydome was/is 'an engineering marvel' etc. etc., but its still butt ugly.
 
Interesting, so it's about 2/3 the height. How much was sold already? And will the dimensions or sizes of the apartments be the same? The shape is quite different, so I guess not...
 
To be fair, I was not really saying that 1 King is butt ugly. I was just pointing out the weak argument that engineering feats mean anything more than...engineering feats.
 
without stinson, there wold be no drama on this board. He has achieved more in the last 10 years than most of us will in our lives. You gotta give the guy applause for doing what he does, with the obstacles he has.
 
To be fair, I was not really saying that 1 King is butt ugly. I was just pointing out the weak argument that engineering feats mean anything more than...engineering feats.
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Alklay,

My response was due to comments that 1 King was an "unsophisticated building", not that it was an ugly building. There is a range of opinions on the quality or beauty of the tower. But I strongly believe that the sophistication and complexity of the building should not be up for debate or slammed because one doesn't like the way the tower looks.

Edit: To clarify I share many of the negative opinions of others with respect the to quality of the cladding and windows. However I still respect the complexity of the tower.
 
...doesn't the design usually come *from* the architects?

Is this a situation where Harry comes up with a concept and then hands it to a firm to implement?
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Pretty much. I think the architects thought up the overall shape of the tower and he's been working on the detailing etc. I guess it's much quicker to run your ideas past a graphic designer first instead of pestering the architects with a million different ideas and changes.

WhistlerinToronto:
re: 3D company - yes I have thought about it. You?
 
without stinson, there wold be no drama on this board. He has achieved more in the last 10 years than most of us will in our lives. You gotta give the guy applause for doing what he does, with the obstacles he has.
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I guess that depends on what kind of achievments one values.
 
I tried to stay out of this, I really did...

1KW - all I can say is thank goodness that thing is skinny and gets nicely hidden by other buildings in the city. It screams cheap to me, especially sitting in amongst its stone and glass-clad bank tower neighbours. It would probably look decent outside of the core.

As for the new Sapphire, well, I'm undewhelmed. For a fourth draft, I expected something, well, better. I understand Harry is struggling with what appears to be an unreceptive City Council, and a challenging location, but compare that green thing to say the Ritz, Spire, or Radio City and I'm starting to get the impression that Harry's reputation for being a "hands on" developer extends deeply into the design process as well. Unfortunately, IMHO.
 
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