Toronto Festival Tower and tiff Lightbox | 156.96m | 42s | Daniels | KPMB

It's to the west of Canteen, and it has been behind hoarding until recently. Its windows are presently covered in ads to keep the interior a secret for the time being.

Since you have already decided that "It can't be very impressive", you may be setting yourself up for a pleasant surprise.

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My assumption that the entrance can't be very impressive is based on the fact that none of the photo updates have focused on it yet. Admittedly it is only an assumption but if the entrance were a vaulted archway with enameled inlay and stainless steel sconces soaring 35 feet on either side, then guys like Caltrane would have been photographing its progress all along.

I scanned back through this thread and found this picture below. If this is the front door, then there is nothing that can be done to impress me. I don't care what is on the other side of those doors, it is the outside that I was hoping would impress me. It should be three times this height with clear glazing to show some giant modern Swarovski crystal chandelier. There should be an overhanging modern lighted marquise to protect the limousines as they roll up to deliver their celebrity passengers. Somthing that screams Hollywood of the 21st century, not shopping mall fire-exit of the last century.

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(Courtesy Jasonzed in thius thread found here: http://urbantoronto.ca/showthread.p...-Tower-(Daniels-42s-KPMB)&p=431324#post431324 )
 
There might be another set of doors in the right of the picture. That may be a grand entrance..

Otherwise, they might plug in new doors for Next Years festival...

You're right the entrance should be nice... and it's possible we're missing something with this current set up. These current doors could be on rails and slide open like the doors at a mall to get the cars and stuff in...

Let's hope..
 
Before I read that review, I made a list of things that I thought Lisa Rochon would say in it. Not based on the building, but just on what Rochon always seems to say. I was not disappointed, the review was pretty much just what I had expected from her. One star for her review. Does she EVER have anything positive to say about Toronto developments that do not involve large, sweaty construction workers?
 
^^ She likes the National Ballet School. Her review's pretty harsh, maybe too harsh, but there is something dissatisfying about the building, which I can't quite put my finger on. I'm not sure she has either. Maybe it's the scale. Maybe it's the materials. Maybe it's overall design concept. Probably a combination of the three. That said, I want to see it fully animated and absorbed into the community before passing final judgment. Still, I'm kind of disappointed.
 
I agree with LR. It's today's version of the HBC centre--a fairly major blunder. Look at the lack of human scale--one huge restaurant dominates the ground floor while across the street a couple dozen restaurants take up the same frontage. Those blank walls and lack of red brick at the base make it very cold. S+P or aA would've done much better...
 
urbandreamer said:
I agree with LR. It's today's version of the HBC centre--a fairly major blunder. Look at the lack of human scale--one huge restaurant dominates the ground floor while across the street a couple dozen restaurants take up the same frontage. Those blank walls and lack of red brick at the base make it very cold. S+P or aA would've done much better...
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Canteen takes up like 1/8th of the length of Lightbox. I don't know what you're talking about...


I don't get what is up with all of the judging, when it's not open yet. Let's wait until we see lights on, and everything working as it's supposed to.
 
I love the contrast in scale between the two sides of the street. The old fashioned smaller scale retail fronting on one end, then the modern facade on the other, laid bare and with minimal and classy exterior. If the designers had tried to mimick the historic design or scale on the otherside of the street all the fashion divas here would be crying 'kitch'. Just need something to whine about.
 
Traynor said:
I scanned back through this thread and found this picture below. If this is the front door, then there is nothing that can be done to impress me. I don't care what is on the other side of those doors, it is the outside that I was hoping would impress me. It should be three times this height with clear glazing to show some giant modern Swarovski crystal chandelier. There should be an overhanging modern lighted marquise to protect the limousines as they roll up to deliver their celebrity passengers. Somthing that screams Hollywood of the 21st century, not shopping mall fire-exit of the last century.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. This is the best they could come up with? Once again, it appears that they didn't think about an architectural statement, but how can we keep costs down. This is a major cultural event with people and media from all over the world, we need something to match. Look at the Kodak Theatre in L.A. and Cannes. This looks like the entrance to an office building. I wish someone on city council, or some government body would have stepped in and said you can't get the go-ahead until you have a better design. lol
 
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E.B. said:
I agree 100%. This is the best they could come up with? Once again, it appears that they didn't think about an architectural statement, but how can we keep costs down. This is a major cultural event with people and media from all over the world, we need something to match. Look at the Kodak Theatre in L.A. and Cannes. This looks like the entrance to an office building. I wish someone on city council, or some government body would have stepped in and said you can't get the go-ahead until you have a better design. lol
Click to expand...

I especially appreciate the superfluous "lol" at the end of your post.
 
I don't disagree with the Lisa Rochon's thesis - i.e. the building is rather boring - I just found it rather disingenious for her to present the whole thing as a "surprise" when the general form of the project has been established years ago. Like seriously, she should have offered her critique then.

AoD
 
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