Toronto 401 Bay Street | 143.86m | 33s | Cadillac Fairview | WZMH

[Benito]

Today.

 

[G.L.17]

Sunday:

 

[Momin]

Update:

At 401 Bay Street, the original architecture of the modernist 'Simpson Tower' is giving way to a new—and poorly received—aesthetic.

 

[neuhaus]

Even the scaffolding looks better than this. This huge missed opportunity is turning into a big failure.

 

[Irishmonk]

I'm reminded of Rosemary's Baby for some reason: "This is not a dream, this is really happening!!"

 

[adHominem]

I'd call it a dog's breakfast, but kibble at least has design coherence.

 

[jje1000]

They should have just gone with demo-ing the entire top instead of trying to work in a new design.

 

[marcus_a_j]

June 27, 2017

Eventually Massey Tower will rise above 401 Bay and 20 Queen West from this angle.

 

[GeneralGrievance]

Earlier this afternoon, @Marcanadian and I went to the Grange Park opening, and then took a walk down to see the new Eaton Centre Bridge, and get a quick look at Massey Tower. Enthused about all three projects, I remarked that Toronto is maturing, and that we're beginning to pay greater attention to our civic spaces, and that the quality of architecture and landscaping is finally improving. Standing at the corner of Queen and Bay, Marc's response was merely to point up at this...

 

[G.L.17]

Earlier today:

 

[isaidso]

Maybe in 40 years we can restore this building to its original condition.

 

[junctionist]

Maybe in 40 years we can restore this building to its original condition.

It would also be great if they could do something better with the roofline of the heritage building between the main store building and the tower. As is, there's a mechanical floor clad in zinc panels which doesn't suit the old building well. The mechanical floor should be set further back. The building probably had a prominent cornice at some point, which should be restored.

 

[adma]

It would also be great if they could do something better with the roofline of the heritage building between the main store building and the tower. As is, there's a mechanical floor clad in zinc panels which doesn't suit the old building well. The mechanical floor should be set further back. The building probably had a prominent cornice at some point, which should be restored.

Is it actually a mechanical floor, though? As you can see, it continues the upper row of the Parkin base: a sort of deliberate architectural "bonding agent"--though of course, the reclad will nullify the point of it all.

Now, if you *really* want to see a sloppy and ill-concealed "mechanical" floor, look at the roofline of the original Simpson's store from the Bay-Adelaide Centre plaza.

 

[ProjectEnd]

 

[Solaris]

Classic example of new is not always better than old