Toronto Designers Walk | 81m | 22s | Cityzen | BBB
- Thread starter AlbertC
- Start date
junctionist
Senior Member
Even without the extensive greenery on the balconies, the organic forms of the facade with many curves are striking. The empty space framed by the podium "bridge" adds a lot of interest as well. The architecture is so interesting and aesthetically pleasing, that it should enhance the sense of place in the area.
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ADRM
Senior Member
I think this is excellent and very exciting, but the neighbours to the south are gonna go BATSHIT.
jje1000
Senior Member
Has a very Singaporean feeling to it with the hole and the greenery.
I feel like this project will do a lot to make for an interesting streetscape.
I feel like this project will do a lot to make for an interesting streetscape.
GenerationLee
Senior Member
Man....the top photo makes the tower look like a tree being devoured by fungi in the form of balconies!
jje1000
Senior Member
That being said, one of the downsides is the loss of a relatively attractive and well-preserved corner storefront.
https://goo.gl/maps/r6ciqUAmVa72
They should keep this (including the painted advertising on the brick wall) and cantilever over it.
I think there will also be significant opposition- especially considering the quasi-parkland east of this is already being redeveloped.
https://goo.gl/maps/r6ciqUAmVa72
They should keep this (including the painted advertising on the brick wall) and cantilever over it.
I think there will also be significant opposition- especially considering the quasi-parkland east of this is already being redeveloped.
yyzer
Senior Member
That building needs to go... it has dubious architectural merit, plus it was the site of a Just Desserts restaurant in the 1990s, where a patron, Vivi Leimonis, was murdered one night during an armed robbery... bulldoze it, please...
drum118
Superstar
The building must go as it doesn't even come close to being save. I have no issue trying to save the wall with the add on it and use it somewhere else on this site.
Another not the run of the mill cookie cutter we see these days and not sure if the balconies will hid the square building like the Monde, or form the design of the building itself. Look forward shooting this building once construction starts on it. I have the as is photos so far.
The more green we get, it will help everyone in the long run. A plus 2 building.
Lenser
Senior Member
Sure looks curvy and welcoming, stuffed at every level with all that lush greenery. Does anyone seriously think it's going to look like that when it gets built?
Still, an attractive design. Love that its supple form follows the street.
Still, an attractive design. Love that its supple form follows the street.
torontologist
Active Member
That Google Maps image doesn't do the Victorian on the corner justice. It's quite nice in person, and is one of the few remaining structures from that era on Davenport. The add on the side is cool too. It's definitely worth saving.
I'm also a big fan of the 1920's warehouse with art deco elements at 326 Davenport. They could very easily demolish the nondescript building in between, use that as an entryway for the tower, and keep the heritage elements.
I'm also a big fan of the 1920's warehouse with art deco elements at 326 Davenport. They could very easily demolish the nondescript building in between, use that as an entryway for the tower, and keep the heritage elements.
Freegoing
New Member
This looks like a great proposal both aesthetically and given that the smallest units are 2 bedroom. It will be interesting to see the reaction as this makes its way through planning, because it's almost directly across the street from the proposal that caused a stir when Margaret Atwood and Galen Weston wrote to their councillor to oppose. Hopefully this doesn't get the same anti-development treatment.
wolfewood
Active Member
I'd also argue the murder at this building justifies going above and beyond to preserve it as it has real merit as a location of a historical event. Maybe not a major one or one people want to "commemorate" but I think it's another factor in at least advocating for its retention. One that a lot of the "nondescript" buildings people argue shouldn't be preserved on this forum don't have. Also too if what you've suggested here is doable with the site's dimensions then why not?
By your logic, should the Bernardo-Homolka house in St. Catharines have been preserved? I cannot speak for the Leimonis family, but I'm not sure I would want the place my loved one was murdered to be memorialized: you want to remember lives, not violent deaths.
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wolfewood
Active Member
^ We have haunted houses and other places where people acknowledge, if not sell the idea, that murders and other grisly things occurred. Should we demolish those too? In any case, I'm not saying it should be turned into some macabre, tourist attraction, just that the site has significance as a historical place above and beyond the norm. My comment was more about addressing the "Toronto has no history so we should just demolish old buildings" meme that comes up from time-to-time (and was implied in the original comment about tearing it down above).
Rascacielo
Senior Member
Designer’s Walk also houses Le Paradis, a French restaurant that’s been around for about 30 years. The prices are very reasonable (for a French restaurant), and the food’s pretty good, but the layout is horrible, with dining areas on multiple levels. The majority of their clientele seem to be old-timers who have been going there since the beginning. I’ve seen some struggling to get around the place with their canes and walkers. Given the tight space, I don’t think they can make it more accessible. I hope they’ll stay in the building in its new incarnation (minus the sunken dining areas).