^ IMO, we have seen too many great designs hurt by cladding and poor execution. Names like L tower and Aura are ones that come to mind, designs that you think would sit high atop of a city's list of great new buildings. Instead, buildings like Theatre Park seem to achieve more praise (not a bash on Theatre Park, it's a phenomenal project, but you would expect an L tower to steal the cake over it, at least on the drawing board or based off of renders). As of late, it seems like playfully designed balconies (like with One Bloor or on U Condos) are achieving better success than more abstract building forms, which I assume are more costly to design and construct. And while no single building is perfect or universally praised, I'm still waiting for an Aura done justice (Mirvish + Gehry please come through!
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