Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners

[junctionist]

I feel like I'm starting to come around to the 'let's git 'er done' side here. It is a great location for a little spectacle.

It's going to be great to see it built, though I'm certain that the finished product be more interesting for generations with the heritage intact versus some glass wall on King Street.

 

[interchange42]

Look at the rendering. The slopes on the podium are incredible. Below them, however, is a tall wall of glass several stories high, with just a bunch of slanted columns behind the glass to enliven it. (There are also some big posters for the art gallery in the rendering.) That's how the building meets the street, with a long wall of glass not much different from what aA, KPMB and Diamond and Schmitt would do (for example, the BA Centre or the University Avenue facade of the 4S Centre for the Arts). When a glazed facade like that stretches over a fairly long block, it's not that interesting to walk by.

That's not a rendering. That's a concept model that does not show the various doors and walls behind it yet. It's way too early to judge the programming behind the glass. Remember, we have seen floor plans for the initial concept which showed a number of uses at street level. Those aren't going away.

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[junctionist]

No matter what the uses are, the present design looks like a large flat glass facade topped with Gehry's signature sloping surfaces. It would require extensive reworking to change that, which is possible.

 

[DtTO]

No matter what the uses are, the present design looks like a large flat glass facade topped with Gehry's signature sloping surfaces. It would require extensive reworking to change that, which is possible.

As has already been pointed out to you by i42, the current concept is nowhere near the final product. There is no doubt in my mind that the final product will be much more refined (especially considering the uses envisioned for the podium), and so this initial concept should not lead you to the conclusion that the podium will be "sterile." Besides, the irony lies in the sterility of the warehouses that are currently on this site! A wall of glass will always be more dynamic than a wall of nothing.

* Source: Google Streetview

 

[junctionist]

The glass facade is just standard issue contemporary architecture that's getting built all over the place. It's probably the part of the model that's least likely to be changed: it's relatively cheap, simple and contemporary. The existing varied facades produce a streetscape that is visually dynamic and will look great when fully restored, with a glazed facade replacing the buildings that aren't heritage designated.

 

[buildup]

I walked through the area again today, and still failed to get this sense of walkability that so many use to argue for preserving the existing buildings. Metro Hall on the south side has already killed whatever scale was once here. M-G will balance things out and maybe draw attention away from Metro Hall which is very unattractive. POS is very banal, and I'm convinced M will build a bigger better theatre to replace it, although it shouldn't be a precondition.

 

[RC8]

Yeah, it'll be like the pedestrian paradise that is King and Bay.

It's OK for parts of the city to accomodate certain demographics better than others. What is not OK is for certain areas to be pretty much 100% excluding of kids, families, and old people. The entertainment district is a blank slate, it doesn't belong to anyone, and it would be nice to see it grow into a more mature and inclusive neighourhood rather than a collection of temporary residences for young people who'll move away when they want to raise a family.

This development, with modifications, could accommodate everyone very well.

 

[syn]

I get how someone who would hire Frank Gehry would not want to constrain him for the sake of a few mostly non-descript brick warehouses. They would want a full "Frank Gehry" from him.

Their contribution to the health and well-being of King Street has become entirely overhyped. They do quite little for the street in fact, and compared to what Gehry is proposing, detract from it as far as I'm concerned. The problem is the fact of their heritage status. Divorced from that, they are not intrinsic to King Street's future viability on this stretch.

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You could make that argument for virtually any project. They could put a 2nd rate condo with an average base and I'm sure the area will still thrive.

I'm for this project, but I can't discount the character these buildings provide.

 

[adma]

Just reminding you all: to offer the "do little for the street" anti-warehouse argument vs the heritage crowd will go down as well as "unite the left under the Liberals; the NDP can't win" arguments on Babble.

 

[Ramako]

Just reminding you all: to offer the "do little for the street" anti-warehouse argument vs the heritage crowd will go down as well as "unite the left under the Liberals; the NDP can't win" arguments on Babble.

I agree with you on that point, but what an oddly esoteric simile.

 

[interchange42]

Their contribution to the health and well-being of King Street has become entirely overhyped. They do quite little for the street in fact, and compared to what Gehry is proposing, detract from it as far as I'm concerned. The problem is the fact of their heritage status. Divorced from that, they are not intrinsic to King Street's future viability on this stretch.

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You could make that argument for virtually any project. They could put a 2nd rate condo with an average base and I'm sure the area will still thrive.

I'm not making that argument. I'm observing that it's the heritage status that is important here. It cannot be divorced from the buildings.

I'm for this project, but I can't discount the character these buildings provide.

I can. I don't believe they add much character, I think they merely provide something old. There are several old buildings in the Entertainment District with actual character, and these mostly don't rank, not highly.

Just reminding you all: to offer the "do little for the street" anti-warehouse argument vs the heritage crowd will go down as well as "unite the left under the Liberals; the NDP can't win" arguments on Babble.

So, like I said, I'm not offering that argument, just a lament.

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[ushahid]

guys I have an idea. like we remember our loved ones, who are dead through pictures and videos. in the same way mirvish and gehry should built a small museum inside the podium of the building where the pictures, models, archives and paintings of the heritage building should be displayed. outside the buildings there should be an information board which tell the complete history of the heritage building.

there is no use of preserving the building because they are going to destroy this one and built a replica and after 60-80 years again the heritage building will need renovation. well its better and cheaper to make a museum as compare to preserving and renovating the building.

What do you guys think?

 

[RiverCity1]

I think something like that would be appropriate for Ed's Warehouse (once it goes), but it seems a bit much for this site. Based on what's proposed here, I don't see how they can, or even should, incorporate the heritage buildings. Like my mother says, they are just old.

One of my favorite tv commercials of all time was an Ikea one about a little lamp that was discarded on the street in the pouring rain while a new one replaced it safe and warm indoors. Cue sad music. I think rewording the lines from the commercial makes sense here: "Many of you feel bad for these heritage buildings. That is because you're crazy. They have no feelings. And the new ones are much better".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBQj_pBp7YM

 

[ushahid]

I like the commercial.

 

[RC8]

'Their feelings' are irrelevant. It's the feelings they evoke in those of us who grew up with them that are kept alive with their retention - as well as the memory of those who built them and made a city we could later make our own.