Mostly, with the "L" Hummingbird addition, I see an uneasy dialogue between two buildings, with two styles fighting for dominance, not well resolved. They're not really complementary design opposites, just a newer building shouting at a slightly older one. Though perhaps that's inevitable given the choice of Libeskind to design it - no egoless shrinking violet he! In this case I'd have preferred a polite Toronto style building, by KPMB maybe, with its visibly neo-Modernist roots inevitably showing, paying homage to the important Dickinson's Modernist building it would thus be an extension of. Sculptural sensationalism of the Libeskind variety seems a better design-opposite fit with old buildings such as the two original ROM wings that are from another era, encrusted with charmingly crafted historical decoration as befits the spirit of that distant age, as has risen at Bloor and Avenue Road.
I just re-read this whole thread. I can't help but conclude that simple fear of height is at the core of much of the opposition to what's going down ( or up ) at the Distillery District, couched in talk of how skyscrapers aren't the only way to create density, that these towers are out of context with the neighbourhood, aren't in keeping with the surroundings etc. The point is, surely, that this site is a clean slate and these buildings are creating a context to signpost the neighbourhood.
A fascinating discussion, and one of our best threads, I think.
