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

I don't see why the next two (and much larger) towers will be any better
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Well ... The balconies are angular ;) The marketing suggests two towers of 30 and 35 storeys which is significantly lower than what was first proposed and puts Pure directly in the middle
 
Heavens no, syn, the Distillery District condo towers are simply there. They're not competing with standout public buildings like the ROM or the AGO for attention by making a spectacle of themselves. They lack the pretentiousness of showy historicist pastiche like 1 St. Thomas. They're part of the understated and increasingly widespread context of minimalist Clewes ( and other similar firms ) buildings that are going up all over the place. Spectacle is the last thing they're about.
 
Higher up, the residents of the tower will clearly have one of the best western views of the city.
 
Urban Shocker said:
Heavens no, syn, the Distillery District condo towers are simply there. They're not competing with standout public buildings like the ROM or the AGO for attention by making a spectacle of themselves. They lack the pretentiousness of showy historicist pastiche like 1 St. Thomas. They're part of the understated and increasingly widespread context of minimalist Clewes ( and other similar firms ) buildings that are going up all over the place. Spectacle is the last thing they're about.
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These buildings will arguably stand out from there context more than almost any other buildings in the city.
 
Interesting building, in the end - with more of a disjuncture between the base and the tower than I anticipated.
The height and shaping of the base is great for the surrounding area, methinks, though the brickwork pattern is a bit strident. The tower portion, however economical and temperate in detail, is grossly out of proportion for the area.

This is the one location in the city that can make a Clewes point tower look like a slab.
 
The Distillery District point towers are an integral part of the new context ( a new/old, tall/short, glass/brick design-opposite harmony ) that is being built from the blank slate presented by a collection of disused former industrial buildings. If the development stands out, it is because it extends the character of what already exists at pedestrian level by means of the podium and ribbon buildings, signpost the neighbourhood on the skyline, and fits into the wider context established by other neo-Modernist residential buildings that aA and others are doing all across the downtown.
 
nekz said:
Actually, it's on the second floor, 222. Kind of a crappy unit, I know...
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i dont think its crappy but its prob all complete im 308 and my unit is done im moving in approx 3 weeks!! yay

there is some rumbling that the LCBO is interested in one of the few remaining spots in the podium ;)
 
Tomms... what are the chances you have any pictures of south-facing units on the fifth floor of the podium. I'm really curious if my view will clear the buildings directly south.

An LCBO in the podium would be awesome. I'd never have to leave the area unless I wanted to escape the tourists.
 
baxter said:
Tomms... what are the chances you have any pictures of south-facing units on the fifth floor of the podium. I'm really curious if my view will clear the buildings directly south.

An LCBO in the podium would be awesome. I'd never have to leave the area unless I wanted to escape the tourists.
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i believe you will clear depending on which unit you are in...


I am curious how many of us podium owners here are there, i wonder who my neighbors are hmmm...
 
Urban Shocker said:
The Distillery District point towers are an integral part of the new context ( a new/old, tall/short, glass/brick design-opposite harmony ) that is being built from the blank slate presented by a collection of disused former industrial buildings.
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But it isn't a "blank slate".

You could argue that any development anywhere is establishing a "new context"

Urban Shocker said:
If the development stands out, it is because it extends the character of what already exists at pedestrian level by means of the podium and ribbon buildings, signpost the neighbourhood on the skyline, and fits into the wider context established by other neo-Modernist residential buildings that aA and others are doing all across the downtown.
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The bases extend the character. The towers do nothing of the sort. One of the main arguments in their favour is that they offered a striking contrast to the older structures. I think it's a little disingenuous to now suggest that they aren't at all about spectacle.
 
Well of course it was a blank slate - the site was empty and disused before it was revived, and there were any number of possible ways to develop it. You claim that the towers will "stand out from their context" but they're an integral part of that new context. As you indicate, new developments change context by adding to what already exists - they're not brewing spirits there any more, the old buildings are being reused in new ways, and new structures with new uses are being added.

Putting up three point towers that are similar to other aA point towers visible on the horizon, and similar to the work of other neo-Modernist architects designing condo towers around town, is about expanding what exists. Spectacle - on that highrise scale - would be more like the 'L' tower or 'Marilyn' standing out against the existing context that is being established by our local Toronto Style architects now that developer-culture Cheddingtonista-style is being pushed back to stubborn pockets in Forest Hill, The Bridle Path, and the wild and ungovernable McMansion territories in 905-land to the north of the civilised world.
 
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