Toronto 191 Bay | 301.74m | 64s | QuadReal | Hariri Pontarini

[Lenser]

That's the spirit!

 

[Amare]

1. No problem with MLS. It's got far more program than almost anything else in the City. Page + Steele had a lot to do with the value engineering here too.
2. What's the problem with this? Also, Kirkor did the tower, KPMB's involvement was restricted to the cultural component / podium.
3. No problem with this either. I wish the podium had more retail tenants but that's more Lanterra's fault than the architect's. As with MLS, Page + Steele had a lot to do with this looking like it does.
4. No problem with them. I wish the original idea of running the brick halfway up the tower hadn't been abandoned but that was more Concord than KPMB.
5. Sure it's boring, but it's not *bad*.

To each their own, there are many uninspiring qualities about the 5 projects I listed but for the sake of keeping this thread on topic I wont get into it too much.

 

[junctionist]

At this point, Commerce Court 3 sounds like a bad sequel that should have never been made.

 

[Edward Skira]

 

[junctionist]

That's a nice movie poster.

 

[Amare]

View attachment 133442

Yet another visual that shows that this thing needs to have its floor plates slimmed down.

 

[Bogtrotter]

It looks boxy and inelegant from other angles and that pole seems so ridiculous and plonked-on one can't help but chuckle. This design just seems hastily conceived to me. With the loss of Pei's work I certainly hope they move forward with something more sophisticated and inspiring than this.

 

[innsertnamehere]

^to be fair, that image looks slightly distorted. The surrounding buildings look stockier than normal too.

 

[Lenser]

Agreed.... looks like it's been shrunk in the vertical aspect. Or fattened in the horizontal one. Either way, the proportions seem off. Nice image though - crisp lines and lovely shading.

 

[Irishmonk]

A lot of this whinging should be rerouted to other threads such as Sugar Wharf, Canada House or 31R /33 Parliament. This tower is vastly better than another aA/KPMB/IBI/D&S style grey glass box. Additionally, it's in such a tight scrum of other talls that its full length will only be visible from vantage points directly east. I do agree that the crown and silly antenna should be far better executed since those will be visible from many angles.

 

[maestro]

Hardly a fair comparison to compare a class AA office tower to some lowly condo developments. In any case, how is this vastly superior to say, Southcore Financial Centre stark boxiness?

It is a bunch of angular lines akin to other projects like 1 Eglinton. I am sure it didn't take any long to draw up than one of those boxes

 

[Bogtrotter]

Indeed, it is also potentially destroying and compromising a previous work by a renowned architect that is among the city's most architecturally significant properties. This complex shouldn't be dominated by hulking grade B architecture.

 

[junctionist]

I'm not a fan of the horizontal lines around the corners, for one. They evoke balconies on a condo, which gives the tower a confused look. It's like the architects are so used to designing condo towers that they didn't know what to do with this project.

 

[interchange42]

If you're curious about what went on at the Design Review Panel appearance a week and a half ago, we have a front page story up now.

42

 

[Canadian Chocho]

Mostly agree with what they had to say, particularly about opening up the courtyard to the public.