Toronto Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Toronto | 203.9m | 52s | Lifetime | a—A

marcus_a_j said:
^ ROCP can be seen further south at Front St. 'Vistas' do not end after 3 blocks.
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No they don't... but to be fair, a vista is only ruined if it is the view is impeded at all distances. If you seek out the Old City Hall ruined-vista distance, you will find it, but there are many still pristine. The same could be said of Queen's Park when the new development gets built. Adelaide on the other hand, is marred by Vu for the whole distance. A very different situation.

But one that may not be permanent...A developer in the future could build something tall and pointy directly behind Vu and suddenly the vista is back! Nothing is permanent in a living city and nor should it be.
 
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Some buildings are permanent in cities as they should be. When a city achieves a great landmark, why not make it permanent? That's the beauty of building: a building is a tough physical object that with adequate maintenance can be permanent. The monuments and buildings of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome are no longer used but stand thousands of years later. Urban planners centuries later built streets around them and created vistas. That's permanence. It doesn't hurt anyone, in fact it provides evidence of the cultural heritage of mankind.

In terms of vistas, Toronto has several that are important achievements in city building. They represent extraordinary efforts in urban planning and architecture that should be respected. They also represent a heritage of a city built literally around public institutions in the most prominent locations and make cityscapes more unique and picturesque. Thus, they should be preserved and respected with every generation.
 
As densities increase in the core, buildings will slowly begin to encroach on those classical vista's. Its going to be very difficult if not impossible to protect any vista in a urban environment from every vantage point indefinitely.
 
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vegeta_skyline said:
As densities increase in the core, buildings will slowly begin to encroach on the those classical vista's. Its going to be very difficult if not impossible to protect any vista in a urban environment from every vantage point indefinitely.
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It may not be easy, be protection of vistas can be done and is worthwhile. Of course, they won't be protected from every vantage point, but at least along linear lines, like along a street or certain diagonal views of several important spires. Also, we shouldn't forget that opportunities for new vistas sometimes present themselves, as do opportunities for the restoration of old vistas. There's a lot of innovation in the aesthetic of the view terminus yet to be realized. They should have an interesting shape, but don't necessarily have to be symmetrical, as Skydome demonstrates. New buildings may also be positioned in a way of enhancing a vista by design.
 
toto said:
A letter in today's Toronto Star blasts the proposed 21 Avenue Road development for destroying the Queen's Park vista. The photo rendering shows these massive towers behind the legislative building. I thought 21 Avenue road was proposed at around 45s. The way it's pictured, it looks to be at least 80s and a supertall. More than a bit of an exaggeration to get the point across I guess. Vista seem to be important to some, but not enough to be protected or enhanced when the opportunity present itself. An example? Vu Condo. Everytime I drive east along Adelaide, I think what a missed opportunity to create a beautiful vista. My apology for going off topic.
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I find this debate amusing and ridiculously moot because if you look south from Avenue and Bloor all you can see directly behind the Legislature building is that pink wrapper covering the top of the Shangri La.
 
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nice photo, the ever so slight setbacks at the top should hopefully add a bit of interestingness to the other-wise box upper portion,
 
Those setbacks definitely help. Hopefully the mechanical on the top is clad in the same glass and looks like just another setback.
 
The Four Seasons today walking down Yonge starting a little south of St. Clair down to Crescent Road (Ramsden Park). What a sharp looking monster!

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 
this thing is crazy.... equally crazy that Uptown/Casa/and Four Seasons weren't there 3 years ago.
cool that this thing is now a landmark, you can say "oh, that's the four seasons".
But, i doubt most people even know what that building is (when complete)! there's no logo, and most people don't even know the old four seasons is going bye bye. correct me if i am wrong please,

and btw: this tower completely raised the bar in the area. the impact is huge from the north ^^^... and we thought Manulife was tall....
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
The Four Seasons today walking down Yonge starting a little south of St. Clair down to Crescent Road (Ramsden Park). What a sharp looking monster!

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

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Anyone else find this tower exceptionally boring from the neck up?

I can't comment on the streetscape effect or the grounds obviously but to be frank this tower is really dull, particularly for something billed as ultra-luxury.

In my opinion One St. Thomas just blows this box away.
 
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