Toronto Aura at College Park | 271.87m | 78s | Canderel | Graziani + Corazza

dt_toronto_geek said:
A clip here - http://www.travelchannel.com/video/its-like-different-here
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There are actually 5 clips from that show there, which play sequentially, interspersed by commercials.

Bourdain's enthusiasm for Toronto definitely does not extend to the architecture, and of course he never bothered to visit for "No Reservations", he's only come now for "The Layover", so that's not that complimentary either… but big deal, is he an architecture critic? Nope, he's about the food, and he does find stuff here that he likes. He does admit to have being prejudiced against Toronto by the Vancouver and Montreal chefs that he's gotten to know over the years, and in fact he also declares that he didn't even know that Toronto was on a lake, so his knowledge of Toronto can at best be described as limited. The episode, in the end, comes out of ignorance more than it does from any real knowledge of the city, but it's not all bad.

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interchange42 said:
There are actually 5 clips from that show there, which play sequentially, interspersed by commercials.

Bourdain's enthusiasm for Toronto definitely does not extend to the architecture, and of course he never bothered to visit for "No Reservations", he's only come now for "The Layover", so that's not that complimentary either… but big deal, is he an architecture critic? Nope, he's about the food, and he does find stuff here that he likes.
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He's not an architecture critic but as a well traveled man who strangely knows so little about Toronto he comes to Toronto with few preconceived notions and as a layperson offers up his impressions, likely similar to other tourists, business people & conventioneers who visit Toronto.

ptbotrmpfn said:
where is the "ignorant" man from
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He was raised in New Jersey (and didn't know Toronto was on a lake?!).
 
In terms of Tony the chef, I don't understand why we care what an obviously alcoholic chef thinks, who might just be running his mouth, let alone any sober chef simply because they had an opinion on architecture, a matter to which they likely know very little, and a matter on which no court would grant them expert witness status. I might as well ask some random drunk chef their thoughts on our architecture, because the answer carries about as much weight. Either way, probably gonna not watch his shows, maybe he should stick to critiquing our food, which sounds like it would be his expertise.
 
Frankly, why should we care what anyone thinks? It's what we, the people living here, think, that should really matter. I know what you're thinking, ugly building equals decreased tourism, but in the real world, seldom does the average tourist have any real grasp on architecture, and probably don't even notice the things that drive us nuts. Most that I've spoken too, including personal friends, are more impressed by the sheer size and height of our towers, and no so much how their clad. That being said, it's not like anything we say seems to have any influence, at all, on how things are built, so I suppose, it doesn't matter who's complaining, but as td_toronto_geek said, hey, we're complaining about 70-80 stories, better then a 40 story. we can at least, despite the cladding, be greatful for, and appreciate its shear size. If only we could get a builder to build tall, AND beautiful, we'd be all set!
 
I'm a fan of Bourdain. People here got their nickers in a twist because he finds Toronto to be ugly? Give me a break. I find Toronto to be ugly too. Sue me! I still like Toronto though, largely because it's the home town and I understand it intimately and have nostalgia for it etc. This doesn't mean I expect outsiders, newcomers or visitors to share these feelings. That said, most are impressed to come here and discover a very large urban centre where they may not have even known much of anything existed, never mind a lake!

Unfortunately until Toronto develops a distinctive culture or identity, recognizable history or unique urban scene nobody is really going to care about it all that much. Sucks but that's just reality.
 
I think how we present ourselves to the world is very important. I thought Bourdain's first impressions of our city interesting only to the extent that he's basically a foodie tourist in Toronto and he noted that he didn't like the city's architecture as he came in along the Gardiner. Average tourists like Bourdain may or may not note our green glass horror show down there but it does make an impression on some people and that's unfortunate. That's why I think we should be critical here, plus as Hanlansboy notes, we who live here have to look at it too! In the end most travelers to Toronto will explore the city to find what they came here for in the first place, will surely be pleased and also discover along the way that Toronto is a really great place to visit despite crappy highrises here and there, and that's a good thing.
 
I think the drive in on the Gardiner has become more ugly, and yet more powerful and awe inspiring. Like Aura this city is not becoming more beautiful but it is becoming harder and harder to ignore. The cities that matter in the future, the power centres of the developing world are even uglier and more monsterous than Toronto. Toronto is a model of sane and careful planning by comparison. The model cities of Europe and our colonial past we admire are amazing and yet are essentially globally irrelevent dead wood when it comes to the urban future of humanity.
 
^ very well said. Toronto is definitely becoming harder to ignore. Though I'm not sure I would agree about those older cities being dead wood.

Judging by that clip, he's incredibly ignorant. Aside from that, he criticized Toronto's architecture based on the glass offices in the core and the Royal York? Really? Just from seeing that clip, I can tell that he not only had preconceived notions, but probably hates Toronto maybe because of all the attention this boom is getting. If he had pointed other poor architecture in the city and used that as a basis of his argument, maybe I wouldn't be so quick to judge. It is pretty obvious from watching the first few seconds the kind of snobby mentality he has. As if Toronto is bad, because it is "different" from NY. Give me a break...
 
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dt_toronto_geek said:
I think how we present ourselves to the world is very important. I thought Bourdain's first impressions of our city interesting only to the extent that he's basically a foodie tourist in Toronto and he noted that he didn't like the city's architecture as he came in along the Gardiner. Average tourists like Bourdain may or may not note our green glass horror show down there but it does make an impression on some people and that's unfortunate. That's why I think we should be critical here, plus as Hanlansboy notes, we who live here have to look at it too! In the end most travelers to Toronto will explore the city to find what they came here for in the first place, will surely be pleased and also discover along the way that Toronto is a really great place to visit despite crappy highrises here and there, and that's a good thing.
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In my experience, most are impressed by what you refer to as the green glass horror show along the Gardiner. Those that aren't tend to be more against high-rises within site of the harbour than their architectural prowess which, on a global scale, aren't nearly as bad as you make them out to be despite their shortcomings with window-wall over curtain wall.

We have to be critical but, also realistic which, in my opinion, often get lost on this forum.
 
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maestro said:
We have to be critical but, also realistic which, in my opinion, often get lost on this forum.
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This is the key point folks. Besides, despite conversations with friends that have apparently revealed I am a philistine when it comes to taste in Christmas lights, I don't think that Aura looks bad. It's not a work of art but it's far from hernia-inducing too.
 
It will be interesting to see how the top section works out and what, if any, improvement is made when the balcony glass goes in. I'm not very optimistic, but keep an open mind.
 
I have been watching Anthony Bourdain for years. The Toronto episode didn't turn out well at all. :( He had absolutely no enthusiasm for Toronto and its food. You can tell when he was eating it he wasn't impressed. No fine dining restaurants were featured probably because most "foodies" and critics find them all fairly subpar compared to other big cities around the world.

I'm looking forward to the top section of Aura. Anyone know when the building will be topped out?
 
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