concrete_and_light
Active Member
A city full of buildings like this would be a city with great bones.
Toronto 1334 Dundas West | 13m | 3s | Centrestone | Gluck Partnership Architects Inc
- Thread starter PMT
- Start date
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
This is exactly what a background building should be in Toronto.
AlbertC
Superstar
Towered
Senior Member
AlbertC
Superstar
From what I gather, that corner unit at grade level is office space instead of retail.
junctionist
Senior Member
It's too sparse in my opinion for a corner site on a major thoroughfare in a metropolitan city. There's almost no architectural detail, and the materials, while respectful of the local context, are ultimate generic. It doesn't demonstrate much of a sense of a local design culture beyond the decision to use red brick (which is nice).
A corner lot isn't befitting of a background building. Even a background building should have some architectural character. Our local design culture could be stronger, and the building and development industry should support and nurture it rather than undercutting it.
Towered
Senior Member
Indeed it is - I had serious office envy looking at that!
AlbertC
Superstar
Tim1234
Active Member
Building looks precisely like someone half cared.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
looks like a minecraft building..
ProjectEnd
Superstar
I think this looks awesome. Simple and well detailed. Would be great to see commercial buildings like this all throughout the Neighbourhoods.
Northern Light
Superstar
You are a bit quirky PE.
How can you like the details when there are none?
The scale is fine, the brick is fine, the glazing is meh, but fine'ish..... but the absence of any proper signage band between the first and second floors is unfortunate, no roofline detail either. It's a box. I would expect a 5-year old could manage something comparable from a design perspective.
ProjectEnd
Superstar
What more does it need to be? It's simple and handsome. If you're not going to be putting real money into expensive details, don't bother faking it. I appreciate that this one didn't. The little retail thing at 940 Queen West is the same (though the entrance step there is completely bungled).
egotrippin
Senior Member
It is a clean building with nice bricks, but it does look like it's missing something, especially along the roofline. Maybe a cornice, some brick relief detail or alternating course somewhere. Or perhaps even a stone/contrasting lintel, something like that.