Toronto Bay Adelaide Centre | 217.92m | 51s | Brookfield | KPMB

Any else amused by the fact that virtually every office tower constructed during this boom has been a box, and furthermore that the further we go in time, the boxier our office towers get? I just can't help but be amused by it. It's like some kind of phenomenon.
 
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Any else amused by the fact that virtually every office tower constructed during this boom has been a box, and furthermore that the farther we go in time, the boxier our office towers get? I just can't help but be amused by it. It's like some kind of phenomenon.

Hahaha! It is unbelievable!

I am still lol'ing at my desk from the 'cutting corners' comment. :D
 
Well, the fact that Corus Quay is probably the most interesting office building we've built in this cycle really says something.

I sort of imagine that once the density and shadowing determine the size of what can be built, the architect just makes the floor plate as large as possible. The only time I can see a pension fund building anything that isn't square or rectangular would be if there was an irregular lot size and it helped to further maximize floor plates.
 
The transition from rendering #1 to rendering #2 took what, maybe four mouse clicks at most. The casualness of it makes you question whether there is any design here at all. It really is just an exercise in engineering.
 
The transition from rendering #1 to rendering #2 took what, maybe four mouse clicks at most. The casualness of it makes you question whether there is any design here at all. It really is just an exercise in engineering.

I was wondering the same thing. At what point do you dispense with the pretense of hiring an architect, and just go with a structural engineer?
 
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Surprise. Another big bland boring blue box of blahs.

It is so tempting to make a split from this town, as of this post. It's one thing to have a dumb and stupid mayor (with a brother to chime in, no less) ... I was getting used to that. But, to have a dumb and lazy architectural community? I call that criminal.

NYC, here I come...
 
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If it makes you feel any better, this is what Brookfield is building in Calgary:

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Meanwhile, this is what they're building in New York and London, respectively:

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It kind of tells you what Brookfield thinks about the Canadian office market. The tragedy is that the company is headquarted in Toronto.
 
Um, the examples you have shown in london and new york are also bland and boring, a curve or an angle in a building doesnt make it anymore interesting. There is nothing wrong with boxes
 
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Well, these buildings are being designed for accountants. Form follows function ;) ?

Also, those depressed that this won't be an iconic structure might take solice in the fact that a) the building is tucked into an ultra-dense context where it won't really be seen anyways b) the LEED considerations are not irrelevent. This will likely be an excellent building to actually work in. Many of the architecturally iconic structures I have visited around the world are actually not good buildings.

Other than that, sure I would like to see something more creative and we should push for greater architectural excellence in this city. But jobs and economic activity and confidence in the future of the city matter too.
 
I was wondering the same thing. At one point do you dispense with the pretense of hiring an architect, and just go with a structural engineer?


I'm quite sure thats exactly what they did. It's really quite offensive that a developer would have such casual disregard for the community.
 

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