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

Big Daddy,

That may be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen written on this forum - and i've been on here for over 10 years... "Lacking Balls"?? This is easily one of the most ambitious projects on the entire planet right now - no one in the real world cares about this so called "super-tall" status - all that is is some kind of arbitrary number that a few internet skyscraper geeks seem to believe is important. Heights are not ever going to be based on a meaningless number of 1000 feet - if it ends up being 997 feet and costing $1 billion by arguably the most famous living architect does that mean it's a "ball less" project, but if a 3 foot $100 flagpole is attached that it will mean something special? Or if another substandard tower built on the cheap by a sub-par architect reaches that magic 1000 foot number that Toronto is special because it has a "super-tall". An arbitrary height number has nothing to do with planning or city-building, but sure I guess it means something to people that like city vs city lists. Can we please just stop talking about or caring about this meaningless term?

Travis3000, proximity to the CN Tower isn't going to have any bearing on discussions with the planning department, nor should it with council. That's not really a planning consideration.
 
but you see, in Toronto, if you were to build a "supertall" you would be building the new tallest building in the city. That's where my attraction to a supertall comes from, not the magical 300m mark.
 
CanadianNational said:
Another screen capture from the video:

gehryx.jpg



They definitely look to be Scotiabank / First Canadian Place height here.

If they were built like this, they would definitely pull the bulk of skyline westward, with Cityplace backing up from the front. East of yonge would seem even more easterly.

One interesting thing they might do is de-emphasize the city's bank buildings as the dominant reason for downtown's tall buildings. Between The CN Tower, the Skydome, Cityplace, the new Shangri-La and Ritz-Carlton plus these three towers with their attendant art facilities, the reason for skyscrapers in the core would be notably moved away from just finance to pleasurable tourism, group events, residency and the arts.
Click to expand...

Has anyone noticed that these buildings aren't in the correct location in this image. They right side of the three towers should just be in front of the shorter left tower at Metro Hall. They should be blocking the view of Dexia and The Ritz.
 
Lately im happy with the heights we been getting here in Toronto, the supertalls will come one day... 10-20 yrs. down the line
By the way is it just me or is anyone else having a hard time connecting to UT

Latest article from the Globe.......
Toronto-should-follow-david-mirvishs-lead-and-think-big-for-once

What? They’re going to tear down a theatre to build condos?

Reaction was fast and sometimes furious when David Mirvish announced a plan to build three soaring condominiums on a strip of King Street West, tearing down the Princess of Wales theatre into the bargain.

“Just what Toronto needs, more condos,” said one reader on the Globe website.

Oh, come on, Toronto. Think big for once. David Mirvish certainly is. His King West plan is far more than just another condo project.

It would remake the entertainment district and redraw the skyline with three striking towers by renowned architect Frank Gehry. It would include a 60,000-square-foot museum for the splendid Mirvish modern art collection. It would create a big new learning centre for OCAD University, bringing the visual arts into the heart of downtown.

In short, it is a once-in-a-generation chance to take architecture and the arts in Toronto to a new level. This is city building at its best and boldest – and it shouldn’t cost taxpayers a cent.

City building is all about seizing opportunities, about looking into the future with confidence and seeing what could be. Only a city with a cramped, limited view of its own possibilities would turn up its nose at something as exciting as this.

The Mirvish-Gehry pairing is a match made in heaven. Both are Toronto boys who made good. Both want to build something great in the heart of downtown while they still have time.

“Frank’s 83. I’m 68. We’ve been 40 years getting here. Why wouldn’t you go for it?” Mr. Mirvish said as he got ready to unveil his project at the Art Gallery of Ontario on Monday.
More.............http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...s-lead-and-think-big-for-once/article4580997/
 
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You are probably right. It's probably much more realistic that this first tower won't be fully complete until 2018, about 6 years away. If the demand continues, the other two towers could be done by 2022 or 2023. This 3-7 year time line by some media is a major exaggeration. This entire project will realistically take over 10 years due to the sheer size of it.
 
Automation Gallery said:
Lately im happy with the heights we been getting here in Toronto, the supertalls will come one day... 10-20 yrs. down the line
By the way is it just me or is anyone else having a hard time connecting to UT
Click to expand...

Yes. the loading time is taking forever. Maybe we're experiencing more traffic than usual because of this project?
 
Yes, UT is definitely like molasses right now, perhaps due to the very high traffic today.

From WhipperSnapper at SSP, one of the "inside information" regulars there, whose information usually turns out to be accurate:

Final (until application) 263m/265m/254m
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This looks about right to me.
 
Huge trade-up....take the deal.

I'm in just for the Mirvish Gallery.

OCAD expansion and show-stopping Gehry podium/street level interaction seal the deal.

If the condo towers turn out nice...bonus.
 
Supertall or not, it's a Gehry project, and 80,84&85 floors is nothing to sneeze at! Now hat the details are out, I'm thrilled, I only pray it gets through city council unscathed,mbut I somehow doubt it. However, we have time on our side, by the time it goes to the city for approval, we may have a whole new cabinet. There are just far too many variables to get excited, but, who am I kidding? I'm already hooked, and will be pissed if the entire project falls through. Nothing is certain, especially in this field, until first few floors are built, and even then there's no guarantees (lest we forget that big block of concrete where the Young/Adelaide tower was suppose to be in the 90's). For now, I'll keep my fingers crossed with unabashed optimism, if all goes well, with the magnitude and scale of this unique and world class project, I'd guesstimate completion of everything sometime in 2018, what's your guess for completion? If anything, this has got us talking, 22 pages in only two days must be a record!
 
Mongo said:
Yes, UT is definitely like molasses right now, perhaps due to the very high traffic today.

From WhipperSnapper at SSP, one of the "inside information" regulars there, whose information usually turns out to be accurate:



This looks about right to me.
Click to expand...

The drawings at the presser today stated

Tower 1 - 82 story 271.5m / 890.7ft
Tower 2 - 86 story 284.0m / 931.8ft
Tower 3 - 84 story 278.1m / 912.4ft

All three buildings will have mechanical penthouses at the top, which are not included in the height.
 
The site has been slammed today - I'm sure there will be record numbers when all is counted up.

What Frank Stella had to say about losing the Princess of Wales with his artwork in it is now up on the front page.

42
 
TOareaFan said:
That's a tad aggressive...no? Shangri-La took more than 4 years from ground breaking in April 2008 to now. That site did not need demolition but did go deeeeep into the ground for parking. They did not go as high up in the sky as these shiny new toys are though.

Can't imagine how any of this is ready within 3 years of breaking ground.
Click to expand...

Shangri-la had to have that excavation done, so that added to the time-frame considerably. Maybe they'll find something under one of these sites too, who knows.
 
I think if this came out 3 years ago the chances of it getting built might of been better. With that number of units to sell, it won't be easy given the latest new home sales numbers from August:

"House sales in Toronto experienced a 70-per-cent collapse in August, the trade industry group BILD reports."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/24/toronto-condo-house-sales-collapse_n_1910576.html

If pre-selling the condos above are critical to moving the project forward, I think Mirvish missed the boat. Inventory is exploding and condo prices are starting to decline. Does not bode well for a 2,000+ unit condo project.
 
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