I really don't like how some people think aimless complaining is a substitute for sophistication. And by aimless complaining, I mean: saying it isn't a lightbox when it is covered in glass; that it doesn't use enough materials when it uses more different materials than the 19th century buildings across the street; saying it is boring and that it "doesn't fit in" - if it doesn't fit in, it isn't boring, is it? Are these people actually looking at the building they are complaining about?
I like the building. I like the scale and the grandeur. I like that it doesn't back away from being a little overpowering and majestic, but that it is raised off the ground to give room for pedestrians and other uses. I like the understated but colourful LED display. I like the tower, which faces in all four directions - rather than say, the Shangri-La, which at most, only faces in two. I like the way it brings the Hyatt into the conversation of the street with its similar palette and massing. I like the way it is a major cultural use building, but it feels integrated into the urban fabric rather than some gaudy bauble that we have to approach on bended knee. I think the west wall is the most disappointing part of the building, and where it meets the street could have a little more oomph, but I'm willing to live with that. All in all, it's one of my favorite new buildings in the city, and it gives me pleasure to look at it whenever I pass by.