Toronto Corus Quay | ?m | 8s | Waterfront Toronto | Diamond Schmitt

p5connex said:
Yet, he like most Toronto architects refuse to use any colour to define their projects, which seems to me by the comments on this board, as being tacky, or ill-conceived and if anything amateurish.
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Do you mean the lack of colour, or the comments on this board?
 
junctionist said:
So are you for, or against more colour? That was somewhat unclear. Would more colour be amateurish, or is the current work amateurish for not knowing how to tastefully diversify the palette?
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The issue with those who are arguing for more 'grey' in the city, as long as it's non-spectacle grey and sans wasteful pippy-poos, is the false implication that there is a surfeit of bold colour around the city... besides the point that every swell dresser knows that a little colourful accent to a neutral pops the outfit, dahling...

... but it's not really about colour though is it? It's about a matronly discomfort with change, or with trying something new, bold or beyond the pail. The Toront art and design 'establishment', as with anything that gets established, is constipated in its own inability to venture forth beyond its own rigorous confining definitions and preconceptions of a Toronto context to be able to venture anything more than its boxy, minimalist 'grey' safety net. The bold statements of 'spectacle' being made in this city, of late, have been by imported architects: Alsop, Libeskind, Gehry etc., and that's a shame.
 
There's a case that this should be 'fun' as it is purpose-built for an entertainment company, then. This isn't a bank back-office off the 401. This ain't no Holocaust Centre.
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At the end of the day its an office building. Corus just happens to be the first tenant. Someday an accounting firm could be there.
 
Buildings change owners, so why the matronly discomfort with the idea? The entertainment industry changes, and will continue to do so. It's as ridiculous to suggest that ownership and use of this place will never change as it is to suggest that only a building that offers Filmport-like spectacle should go here, or that the most colourful of colours - grey - is morally wrong.
 
"The most colourful of colours" - good one, Shocker.

I've been trying to find an image from that Simpsons episode when they institute the grey school uniform to mandate conformity and crush the souls of the students - until it is found out that the uniforms were not colour-fast and all hell breaks loose.
 
Grey contains all the other colours, so it's the most colour-full one. It contains elements from across the spectrum and therefore accessorizes better than any other colour. That's why grey-clad buildings such as Corus and the opera house adjust to the ambient lighting conditions throughout the day.

When SP!RE referred to the unique blue of the Corus glass he was seeing it under lighting conditions that emphasized the blue spectrum. Unlike Gehry's AGO, which pretty much remains the same 1970s Government of Ontario regulation blue regardless of the daytime lighting conditions, grey adapts ... and is the most colourful colour.
 
I don't think it's that anyone has issues with the colour grey. The problem is when almost every single new building in this city is grey, it gets to be a bit depressing. No matter how much a person may love steak, you wouldn't want to eat it every day. Variety is the spice of life and Toronto is sadly lacking in that. I'm an artist, I NEED some COLOUR! You can go on and on about your grey fetish and how grey contains the most colours but for most people grey is boring, dreary and conservative. Enough grey, I'm getting depressed.
 
The laws of physics ( optics subdivision ) are hardly a fetish. Alsop, being an artist, hasn't banished grey from his palette - or from his buildings.
 
p5connex said:
Holy shit, this debate has been totally construed - this is not about adding huge amounts of colour or whippty-do's everywhere, and making it into a giant spectacle - at least that is not what I am suggesting. And then to throw the idea that Sugar Beach will be this overly colourful spot which will contrast with Diamond's grey palette. I am not advocating for the use of multitudes of colour in the building, but one could think about the facade in a more intelligent way. Intelligent facades are far more than just coloured windows and panels.

The people of this city love the grey, beige palette, so its no wonder that colour automatically is referred to as "tacky," "garish," and "sore thumb" like..I am not going to debate the use of colour or lack there-of because I, as well as many here know that it is dependent on the structure, context etc., but our fear of standing out, even somewhat is where the problems arise.

maestro -

I fail to see your argument that I am on a 'high-horse,' I was merely stating that we need to look at other buildings of the same nature before we start to compare apples and oranges - especially, when most here automatically think of colour as being tacky and garish. I am not professing to have more knowledge or of being better educated in the matter, yet I seem to be on some high-horse pontificating away.!!!

pfive
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Sad isn't it? It's too bad things have to be so black and white.
 
Urban Shocker said:
Grey contains all the other colours, so it's the most colour-full one. It contains elements from across the spectrum and therefore accessorizes better than any other colour. That's why grey-clad buildings such as Corus and the opera house adjust to the ambient lighting conditions throughout the day.

When SP!RE referred to the unique blue of the Corus glass he was seeing it under lighting conditions that emphasized the blue spectrum. Unlike Gehry's AGO, which pretty much remains the same 1970s Government of Ontario regulation blue regardless of the daytime lighting conditions, grey adapts ... and is the most colourful colour.
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Actually, the blue titanium on AGO can change drastically throughout the day, depending on the lighting conditions.
 
Actually no - compared to the colour changes that take place with Diamond's opera house throughout the day it remains remarkably the same; deep blue doesn't hold the same optical properties as grey - which is, presumably, why Gehry used it. Check out some of the photos on this forum, which have captured the AGO south tower under different lighting conditions - ranging from overcast to bright and sunny - and you'll see that. Or go there in person.
 
"The laws of physics", "The most colourful of colours", "optical properties" - forgive me, but this is uncommon nonsense, and special pleading without restraint, to boot.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of optics knows that grey is a value, not a colour. Any colours it would reflect (being a subset of white) are dimmed by it's gradiation toward black.

In art history, grey has quite a history - and not much of it very exciting. There's a reason for that. Minimalism is a taste that grey goes well with, but grey is not the be-all and end-all. In fact, it's just the workaday middleman on a colourless scale of utility. Good as it goes, but minus just about everything else, except withholding.
 
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You want grey? This grey 'shed' is, fortunately, only temporary! (This from Waterfront Toronto's February Newsletter.

Temporary District Energy

Construction of the temporary district energy facility in the East Bayfront is on schedule to be fully operational in June to service the needs of final development of TEDCO’s First Waterfront Place. The framework of the facility is now up and the exterior enclosing walls were recently completed. It is located south of Queens Quay just east of Jarvis Street and directly north of First Waterfront Place, which will be the new home of CORUS Entertainment. This temporary facility will be in use until the permanent district energy centre is built in East Bayfront. As part of Waterfront Toronto’s commitment to sustainable development, all heating and cooling needs for new waterfront neighbourhoods will be met through centralized district energy systems.
 
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