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

Jayomatic said:
I really like the project but I really dislike tearing down these properties. The best solution would be to dismantle the heritage buildings and offer them to new developments. A perfect place would be just down the street at the Westinghouse building development. Or for any new developments west of spadina on king street. There are plenty of parking lots, the one next to Starbucks across from fashion house for example, that could use some elements to build up and retain the classic character of king st.
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Fantastic idea!
 
the buildings are around 285m


heres a bigger screen cap from hd fullscreen

USXNS.jpg


click for larger as forum scales the image small
http://i.imgur.com/USXNS.jpg


it seems who ever has made this render and the other sunset one should consult location first........this render shows the building overlapping bell lightbox. the complex of towers is a block east and from this vantage closes the gap to the ritz
 
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kris said:
the buildings are around 285m


heres a bigger screen cap from hd fullscreen

click for larger as forum scales the image small
http://i.imgur.com/USXNS.jpg
Click to expand...

although the positioning of these towers is wrong (they should be blocking Metro Hall), it gives us a good sense of the scale of these things.
*in the promotional video they totally ripped the footage from the New York by Gehry/Beekman video. perhaps that means the middle tower is inspired by that tower? silver titanium cladding anyone? :D
and ya, these aren't so bad as i thought, they are huge, but in the future, they'll be surrounded by an area dominated 150m towers.
I think 2 towers would suffice, if not, i think we should see at least 1 of the towers at a shorter height.

still skeptical for the actual designs of the towers, cause if even 1 of these is executed poorly, it will destroy out skyline. nothing can hide it.
 
If it is 285 m that's still pretty freaking tall. I'm kind of surprised they just didn't go with one 300 m + supertall so they can have bragging rights about having the tallest building in Canada.
 
steveve:

We aren't concerned about Aura ruining the skyline due to "poor execution" but we freak out over Gehry doing that?

AoD
 
The area will be transformed in this manner regardless so I'm happy there is an attempt being made to do so in an exciting and bold way; however, I personally lament this proposal and feel sorry for the people who live in the area.

It's not the theatre loss, it's not the loss of an individual building, and it's not the architecture of the proposal (however vague at this point). My issue is that this proposal consigns every low and mid-rise building in the district to the recking ball through precedent. What replaces the rest of the area will be of much lower quality and we will have essentially erased our primary midrise district and "entertainment area" and replaced it (Mirvish's proposal aside) with something like Bay street between College and Yonge.

On the brighter side for me personally, the destruction of the area and inclusion of so many new units will drive retail and entertainment business out of the area and into the shoulder neighbourhoods of the city core where I am invested. It's just that I'm not a cheerleader for win / lose scenerios.
 
TR:

My issue is that this proposal consigns every low and mid-rise building in the district to the recking ball through precedent. What replaces the rest of the area will be of much lower quality and we will have essentially erased our primary midrise district and "entertainment area" and replaced it (Mirvish's proposal aside) with something like Bay street between College and Yonge.
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I think the precedent has already been set given the plethora of projects in the area that essentially turns away from the mid-rise built form. I think what you'd see is the retention of the mid-rise as the "podium" for taller structure in the area.

AoD
 
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For what it's worth (probably not much in these exuberant parts :p), the Anderson Building - 284 King W and Eclipse Whitewear - 322 King W are both designated as being of cultural and heritage interest. The bylaws enacting the designations can be found here; look-up 1150 and 1151. [hat tip to HeritageRambler]

The bylaws contain interesting descriptions of the respective histories of these two structures, and outline specific heritage attributes that (hopefully) will be preserved to some extent.

"The Anderson Building is physically, functionally, visually and historically linked to its setting on King Street West, where it is an integral member of the surviving group of warehouses between Simcoe Street and John Street that share a complementary scale and appearance, with primarily Edwardian Classical styling. Together with the neighbouring warehouses, the Anderson Building provides a bookend for the Royal Alexandra Theatre at #260 King Street West, which is recognized as a National Historic Site."

"While the Eclipse Whitewear Building is characteristic of the early 20th century warehouses of its vintage, it stands out with its Edwardian Classical detailing and repetition of the round-arched motif in the south entrance and the arcade of window openings above it and along the John Street elevation."

See also:
284 King W heritage detail
322 King W heritage detail
 
Well, this took the city by storm. I will admit, I am not a fan of Gehry's 8 Spruce, the ripples are cool, and the titanium is a bonus, but I've always thought that the set backs were a little unproportional and the flat roof to be a little anti-climactic. Having said that, this looks awesome! particular the middle tower.
 
Okay.. Now that the euphoria I've been feeling for the past 2 days has somewhat calmed down; I can critique this.

First, I'm upset about the loss of the POW, not so much the building itself, but the theatre at this location. I would have been ecstatic had a performing arts centre been included as part of this project. Nonetheless, I have no doubt that if the demand is there after its demolition, Mirvish will quickly build a new theatre.

However, the loss of POW is acceptable given the legacy that this project will bring. We are getting two new museums, lots of retail, classroom space for OCAD and legendary, breathtaking architecture. This is probably Gehry's last major work, and his signature project.
I am somewhat surprised the middle tower doesn't include a ~20 floor hotel portion. This is an ideal location for a good 5 star hotel to service TIFF patrons and visiting businessmen.

Overall I am crossing my fingers, toes and hair that this project will go ahead without being dilluted far enough to impact Gehry's vision. Kudos to Mirvish for leaving Toronto with a legacy that is global in the scope of architecture.
 
Filip said:
Okay.. Now that the euphoria I've been feeling for the past 2 days has somewhat calmed down; I can critique this.

First, I'm upset about the loss of the POW, not so much the building itself, but the theatre at this location. I would have been ecstatic had a performing arts centre been included as part of this project. Nonetheless, I have no doubt that if the demand is there after its demolition, Mirvish will quickly build a new theatre.

However, the loss of POW is acceptable given the legacy that this project will bring. We are getting two new museums, lots of retail, classroom space for OCAD and legendary, breathtaking architecture. This is probably Gehry's last major work, and his signature project.
I am somewhat surprised the middle tower doesn't include a ~20 floor hotel portion. This is an ideal location for a good 5 star hotel to service TIFF patrons and visiting businessmen.

Overall I am crossing my fingers, toes and hair that this project will go ahead without being dilluted far enough to impact Gehry's vision. Kudos to Mirvish for leaving Toronto with a legacy that is global in the scope of architecture.
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Good point.

It would almost seem like a waste not to include hotel space.
 
ganjavih said:
Thumbs down to this thing. We're losing a very pleasant urban block with a nice streetwall for a jumbled, but trendy, mess. Build it on a parking lot, but don't sacrifice this block for that.
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This bothers me too. It's easy to say build it somewhere else, but Mirvish owns this land.

I like the Lightbox, but it would've been something to have Gehry design that complex and condo tower (or towers).

Was there any discussion about integrating the current buildings into the new one? It would really disappoint me to see this strip ruined.

Hopefully we can get some street level renders soon.
 
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