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

Aura by the Toronto star(thunderstorm warning).
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/08/01/toronto_under_severe_thunderstorm_watch.html
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Some people may really dislike this building, but it really did stay true to it's renders. Mind you, I think most people dislike this building not for the look of it, but the materials used to build it.
 
Count me in as one who doesn't so much object to the materials as I do the ungainly, confused massing. The top third looks great but the thing as a whole? Not a fan. It's stodgy and heavy-handed.

It did stay true to its renders.
 
Stodgy? How is Aura stodgy?

Aura is an original. It's like no other building in Toronto, or even the world. (that I've seen) It's a little eccentric and unconventional but that's what people like about it. It may not use the best materials and some parts of it, are rather unfortunate but over-all, it makes a pretty sleek landmark in the middle of the downtown core and I think it adds interest to our rapidly changing skyline. I hope the retail portion evolves in the future but I think that will just take time. As a new landmark skyscraper, I think Aura does a decent job and brings something new to the table, design wise. People in Toronto are so used to seeing grey, spandrel boxes with flat tops, that when something different comes along, they automatically question it and look to criticize. God forbid something should break a few design rules and do something different. Too many people on this site are conservative, closed-minded and boring.

How many towers in Toronto have a roof as interesting as that?

Very, very few!

Bring on the lighting!
 
How is it stodgy? I dunno, could it be the weird massing along the bottom, the predilection for lumps of boxes like barnacles stuck pell-mell onto the lower part of the thing, the inexplicable lack of coherency in how it all comes together in a hot, dazzling mess, like a celebrity plastic surgery fail of epic proportions?

It's dominant and imposing by virtue of its scale and its relative isolation as a tall structure... so no, you can't ignore it, even if you wanted to. It's an original, alright. But all things original are not created equal.

I'm all for breaking design rules, so long as one understands the rules one is breaking. What I'm not into is inelegant buildings, especially of that scale. The top third is a bit of a saving grace, but the totality of the building is that it's a gigantic, brutally totemic freak of nature. All I can hope for in the future is the arrival of other tall buildings that will help obscure its presence and lessen its unfortunate impact.
 
I think it looks awesome. It's a landmark and has people of the public commenting on it. It's a beast alright but that sleek roofline looks really good and when it's all lit up it'll look even more impressive. I say... It's a winner. I hope nothing covers it up.
 
How is it stodgy? I dunno, could it be the weird massing along the bottom, the predilection for lumps of boxes like barnacles stuck pell-mell onto the lower part of the thing, the inexplicable lack of coherency in how it all comes together in a hot, dazzling mess, like a celebrity plastic surgery fail of epic proportions?

It's dominant and imposing by virtue of its scale and its relative isolation as a tall structure... so no, you can't ignore it, even if you wanted to. It's an original, alright. But all things original are not created equal.

I'm all for breaking design rules, so long as one understands the rules one is breaking. What I'm not into is inelegant buildings, especially of that scale. The top third is a bit of a saving grace, but the totality of the building is that it's a gigantic, brutally totemic freak of nature. All I can hope for in the future is the arrival of other tall buildings that will help obscure its presence and lessen its unfortunate impact.

Hear hear !
 
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