Toronto Clear Spirit | 131.36m | 40s | Cityscape | a—A

Jayomatic said:
I think something within double the height should be fine. Maybe something around 7-14 floors. You can find many excellent examples of mid rises just down the street in another historic district at Jarvis & King.
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personally, I find the mediocre King George is too low key and bland to even be considered architecturally anaemic, and the ungainly King James tries to "fit in" but fails on all accounts though it does have especially nice brick. I wouldn't wish either of these beasts on the DD nor those antiqued brick things from the Imperial Optical development or that eyesore by Tridel on the SE corner of Sherbourne & Richmond. But that is only my opinion. That leaves the Mozo which is very nice and King's Court also has some charm about it. The Mozo (hate that name) would certainly be a decent addition to the DD if only it were taller, say like 50 stories or so.
 
Thank you, Andrew, for posting a picture of the eight storey, all-brick-all-the-time, Chernobylesque bunker of Rack House 'M' for the benefit of the preservationist crowd, most of whom one suspects have never seen it before. Clearly, it was built without any regard to the much earlier two storey buildings adjacent to it that match one-another in style and form. And, who knows, perhaps other fine old buildings were destroyed in the 1920's to make way for it? Fortunately, the beast must die ... so that something better rises!

I think the sailing motif and pools in the lobby are intended to evoke the fact that the lake lapped against the Gooderham & Worts complex when it was first built.

A shame the old windmill is long since gone.
 
If I'm not mistaken, plans call for at least three levels of Garage, then the work/live lofts.

:D
 
Urban Shocker said:
Thank you, Andrew, for posting a picture of the eight storey, all-brick-all-the-time, Chernobylesque bunker of Rack House 'M' for the benefit of the preservationist crowd, most of whom one suspects have never seen it before. Clearly, it was built without any regard to the much earlier two storey buildings adjacent to it that match one-another in style and form. And, who knows, perhaps other fine old buildings were destroyed in the 1920's to make way for it? Fortunately, the beast must die ... so that something better rises!
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Shocker, your argument now appears to be one where the Rack House can be demolished because it does not match with other buildings in terms of style and form, but somehow a twenty-eight floor tower with a glass lobby and pillars expressing a sailing motif (something not found in any of the other buildings on site) is more fitting?

The line of reasoning does not quite make sense.
 
It makes perfect sense, Hydrogen. Not only will the new podium building be a better match in scale to the adjacent older buildings, but it will relate to the design of the other additions - the Pure Spirit podium and the low arm building at the south end of the site. And the tower itself will be subtly different ( gently billowing, like the nautical motif used at street level in the lobby ) from the Pure Spirit tower, yet related to it and the other two proposed towers in materials. Thus, good design knits them all - the new and the old - together.
 
Urban Shocker said:
It makes perfect sense, Hydrogen. Not only will the new podium building be a better match in scale to the adjacent older buildings, but it will relate to the design of the other additions - the Pure Spirit podium and the low arm building at the south end of the site. And the tower itself will be subtly different ( gently billowing, like the nautical motif used at street level in the lobby ) from the Pure Spirit tower, yet related to it and the other two proposed towers in materials. Thus, good design knits them all - the new and the old - together.
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The difference, however, between the 50 storey tower and the actual Distillery is anything but subtle.

Rackhouse M seems like the perfect candidate for conversion into residences.
 
Irishmonk said:
The circular arguements regarding the relative aesthetic merits of the new towers don't address the real issue at hand, namely: what effect will these towers have on the district's ability to become a viable tourist attraction?
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I've been addressing such points all along, but most posts not in the "yes it is/no it isn't" vein have been ignored.
 
Hydrogen said:
Are tourists attracted to condos?

(Some of us might be).
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The condos are just one piece of the puzzle.

One of Toronto's best attributes is its vibrant neighbourhoods. With an historic core of shops, restaurants, galleries and a theatre that is surrounded by dense residential buildings of modern architecture (of varying heights) that contrast and compliment the heritage buildings, the Distillery will hopefully evolve into yet another interesting and unique urban neighbourhood for people to discover, tourists and Torontonians alike.

Also, although I understand the concerns with protecting heritage buildings and don't think we should take this issue lightly, for me one of the aesthetic/design hallmarks of Toronto in general is this stark contrast between heritage and new. Think of the Crystal rising out of the ROM, or the addition to the RCM, or the tower rising out of 1 King West, or Alsop's OCAD and eventually Gehry's AGO looming over the Grange and surrounding streets of Victorians, or the Festival Tower that will loom over lowrise heritage buildings all around, or Calatrava at BCE Place as backdrop to the Bank of Montreal building. This is part of what makes Toronto unique, imo.
 
Tewder said:
Also, although I understand the concerns with protecting heritage buildings and don't think we should take this issue lightly, for me one of the aesthetic/design hallmarks of Toronto in general is this stark contrast between heritage and new. Think of the Crystal rising out of the ROM, or the addition to the RCM, or the tower rising out of 1 King West, or Alsop's OCAD and eventually Gehry's AGO looming over the Grange and surrounding streets of Victorians, or the Festival Tower that will loom over lowrise heritage buildings all around, or Calatrava at BCE Place as backdrop to the Bank of Montreal building. This is part of what makes Toronto unique, imo.
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Though I still disagree, this is one of the strongest and best arguments that can be made in support of Clear Spirit. Nice post, and I appreciate the respect towards the other side as well.
 
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