Toronto 100 Yorkville at Bellair | 61.57m | 16s | Invar Building | Hariri Pontarini

tylergreenleaf said:
What makes these any different from the "real deal"? And when one considers that the "real deal" ones have likely been beaten up, gutted, and rebuilt to be just as new as these ones.
Click to expand...

They are inspired by buildings from a previous age but actual buildings from that age are in the neighbourhood, and many of them are indeed beautiful and in fine condition (from the outside at least) or have the potential to be.

Furthermore, aren't there some similarities here to issues raised in the Chinatown East Gate thread? We can quite happily be content in recreating a particular perception of what Yorkville was or is or should be, and we can even do so earnestly with faithful attention to detail, but maybe should be asking ourselves whether this is the best approach? In my opinion we should be vigilant about preserving what does remain, no question, but we should also be just as passionate about creating new approaches that push the built form of the city ahead in unique ways. In this particular case a new iteration of the Yorkville rowhouse, one that respects the scale and massing of the area, could have been a nice fit, and maybe - just maybe - Toronto vernacular design moves forward in a way that it doesn't by simply churning out copies of the design innovations of previous generations?
 
Sorry, but there is nothing innovative about these faux-rows. Compared to other works of a similar scale by H+P, they are overwrought and stuffy, without being the tinest bit original. You can take this to Markham Centre and it'd be just fine in that setting.

AoD
 
Yes, I completely agree AoD. It was a missed opportunity to create something far more interesting but respectful of scale in the neighbourhood.
 
US, I'm not aware of any specific examples in Yorkville, perhaps more Victorian or Edwardian?? In any case, the town homes are really only vaguely "Georgian-ish" anyway.
 
Last edited:
Yuckville? Yorkville has some the most beautifully restored Victorian row-homes in the city. No postmodern building you obviously dislike can take away from that.
To be honest, I like this project. The townhomes are tastefully designed and almost make up for a bit of the barbaric destruction of Toronto's Georgian blocks. My only fear is the mullions might end up being built into the windows, and thus making the project look like somthing from the 905. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they also chemically treat the pre-cast so it appears older and perhaps sandblast the brick so it dosen't clash with the orangy-red victorian building next door. That being said, with the new Four Seasons a few blocks away, talk about one, two punch!
 
Evan said:
Let's keep our fingers crossed that they also chemically treat the jeans so they appear older and perhaps sandblast the denim so it doesn't clash with the orangy-red cardigan.
Click to expand...
Edited to demonstrate how appropriate these townhomes actually are for Yorkville.







Translation for sensible-shoes/pleated pants/cellphone belt clip types: this is a Yorkville / expensive pre-distressed denim joke.
 
Evan said:
Yuckville? Yorkville has some the most beautifully restored Victorian row-homes in the city.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Evan said:
Let's keep our fingers crossed that they also chemically treat the pre-cast so it appears older and perhaps sandblast the brick so it dosen't clash with the orangy-red victorian building next door.
Click to expand...

... and maybe a little 'olde time' gingerbread too?
 
Pretentious faux Georgian structures like these have nothing in common with authentic Yorkville homes of the 19th century, and everything in common with the present Jerkville/Yuckville incarnation of this part of town.
 
Via wikipedia: "Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character, despite [external forces, pressures and influences]."

I argue that these townhomes were built in the context of the neighborhood and are true to the character and personality of the original period architecture.

It just occurred to me that the idea of authenticity could also pertain to the facade saved at 100 Yorkville. In this case, authenticity is an argument against facadism.
 
There's no Georgian architecture surviving in the former village of Yorkville that I can think of. Even if there is, it is unlikely that whatever once was built there, in the days before Victoria came to the throne, would have been in the "character and personality" of the bloated pastiche that Mr. Wengle has produced.
 
It depends on what one calls "Georgian"--though what might exist/survive in that vein (eg. the stuff at the SW cor Yorkville + Bellair) is more vernacular than pretentious, a la Pretzel Bell or a few Old Town Of York survivors here and there...
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top