Toronto 45 The Esplanade | 130.85m | 39s | Republic | Arcadis

[christiesplits]

Well that was anti-climatic. Why do I feel like the Gold accents will be the first thing stripped out of this very shortly and this will just become 2 good old regular generic boxes?

This is exactly what is going to happen.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Crass.

AoD

 

[egotrippin]

Couldn’t have said it better. This part of the esplanade has a very distinct feel and the ground level treatment of this building feels hugely sterilizing. Very little character and playfulness. I guess the wavy canopy is nice in a novel sort of way .

Unfortunately a dash of colour and touch of waviness is about the extent of engaging or playful architecture we can expect from a condo these days. Lipstick on an expansive glass pig.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The street overhang has gotta go. The podium is already hilariously and uselessly deep anyway, it's not like it would remove a ton of high quality, usable GFA.

Architecture is fine provided they stick to it, albeit the massing is rather awkward.

 

[ADRM]

Yeah, not too much to add to what others have said, other than to underscore how disappointing the ground floor experience is. And, honestly, not to cast stones, but hiring IBI wasn't a great idea if the intention was to deliver a wonderful grade experience. The net result is very much more Anywhereseville staid, overbearing podium-and-point.

 

[Northern Light]

I've been reading comments here and thinking about my take.

Here it is in bits and pieces:

1) I think there is a near consensus that the grade-experience has been mishandled. Some lament the loss of the colonnade; others less so; but all agree that as structured it neither pleases those who would love to see some version of the colonnade stay; nor those who would be happy with a more modern take, if done well.

I'm personally open to there not being a colonnade here. But if there is going to be one, then it should mirror the scale/grandeur of what's next door, even though the treatment might vary.

Regardless, what's proposed does not work.

2) I appreciate the choice for a bold use of colour, which we so often lament a shortage of here on UT. But I'm left feeling that this isn't the right place for this particular expression; it's borderline garish and over-the-top, and just doesn't give off the Esplanade vibe to me. Not a bad idea, wrong spot.

3) The towers are fine. Brilliant no; but decent enough.

4) The way in which the black box is expressed as part of the podium doesn't work for me. I don't mind the box; In a different spot, I might not mind the vertical golden hue; but to me they don't speak cohesively as a single podium; they appear to be 2 different architectural expressions grafted together rather oddly.

Summation: Parts of this are good; but maybe for somewhere else; some parts are bad anywhere. Re-think everything from the podium down.

 

[condovo]

I like the curved parapet. Everything else is a no for me.

I don't like the curved parapet (or the curved bottom/soffit). Everything else is a yes for me.

 

[DavidCapizzano]

Nah this is just bad all over. There's zero chance they spring for something like gold anodized aluminum for those accent fins - even if they did it wouldn't look anything like that due to the inconsistencies in the manufacturing process. Black brick precast on a north facing streetwall that already doesn't get a ton of sun? No thanks. The wavy pattern on the balconies is chaotic and unnecessary, and the vertical tower elements feel out of proportion and busy. This looks like the most hastily prepared, poorly thought out proposal I have seen on here in ages. This is not the site for statement buildings - what this site needs is quiet, high quality buildings with materials that reference the surrounding structures.

 

[.dwg]

No to all of this. Tacky in form and material expression, awkward massing, and a deep inset at ground level on a north face of a block.

And that POPS space is an insult to the very notion of public space.

 

[evandyk]

Without commenting on the proposed design, that side of the street on the Esplanade is a completely terrible pedestrian experience, and that was true long before Covid and the hotel becoming a shelter. It's dark, dingy and monotonous. I would never walk on that side of the street unless it is raining pretty hard. Whatever they propose could hardly be any worse.

 

[evandyk]

If they could make it patio-lined like the other side of the street, it would be great. So much better than a dingy colonnade.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

I'm also in the "good design for the wrong building" group. They can keep those yellow bits once they put the columns back though. <3

 

[DSC]

Without commenting on the proposed design, that side of the street on the Esplanade is a completely terrible pedestrian experience, and that was true long before Covid and the hotel becoming a shelter. It's dark, dingy and monotonous. I would never walk on that side of the street unless it is raining pretty hard. Whatever they propose could hardly be any worse.

Yes, though the IDEA of a colonnade is great, this one WAS (and is) not inviting - I think because there are too many large pillars that make it dark. Having properly covered pedestrian areas is great and, like @evandyk, I would only use the south sidewalk of The Esplanade if it was raining. I wish someone here would come up with a better colonnade design, the new 'equivalent' of having an overhang of glass (as in the L-Tower Yonge side, London Lofts opposite or 75 The Esplanade next door) is useless for rain protection and they are generally poorly maintained so are covered in leaves, mould and bird shit.

 

[Northern Light]

Yes, though the IDEA of a colonnade is great, this one WAS (and is) not inviting - I think because there are too many large pillars that make it dark. Having properly covered pedestrian areas is great and, like @evandyk, I would only use the south sidewalk of The Esplanade if it was raining. I wish someone here would come up with a better colonnade design, the new 'equivalent' of having an overhang of glass (as in the L-Tower Yonge side, London Lofts opposite or 75 The Esplanade next door) is useless for rain protection and they are generally poorly maintained so are covered in leaves, mould and bird shit.

In respect of a heritage offering; I think Knox College at the University of Toronto may have the finest colonnade in the City.

By I, Jphillips23, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2341069

Note that it has natural light on both sides, as it cuts through a court yard space down the middle; but also has lighting.
Observe the hanging plants that 'soften' the stone; as does the warm-toned wood of the seating.

That's rather hard to replicate next to a building.....though, there are ways. We'll come back to that.

 

[Ward8]

Without commenting on the proposed design, that side of the street on the Esplanade is a completely terrible pedestrian experience, and that was true long before Covid and the hotel becoming a shelter. It's dark, dingy and monotonous. I would never walk on that side of the street unless it is raining pretty hard. Whatever they propose could hardly be any worse.

This is a bit of an extreme view in my opinion. I've walked through there plenty of times and found it to be perfectly fine. Though you are correct, it's nothing spectacular. Certainly not Bologna.

All that said - It's much better than what is being proposed. A 90 meter long glass wall with an oppressively large podium overhang. At least the colonnade maintains the established street wall.

As much as we need to intensify in Toronto, it really irks me when we destroy a reasonably large building and replace it with such abysmal urbanism. If we're going to demolish a relatively attractive 8? story building, the street shouldn't be worse off at the end of it. These types of designs are really toxic to street life. This needs a rethink.