taal
Senior Member
Hey did they replace the trees in Yorkville Park (at the east most edge from your pic) ?
Toronto Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Toronto | 203.9m | 52s | Lifetime | a—A
urbandreamer
recession proof
30 August 2014
salsa
Senior Member
There was a time when new buildings were charming and full of interesting details compared to what gets build today. What a contrast.
Ramako
Moderator
If the contrast that you're making is between the heritage buildings in the foreground and the Four Seasons in the background, I disagree that the latter is lacking in interesting details.
salsa
Senior Member
I was making a general comparison. Who actually prefers the plain wall of glass at street level that you get with most new buildings these days? Walking in the southcore is quite a different experience compared to old places like the Annex (or the other half of Yorkville Ave for that matter). As for the Four Seasons, I think it's an elegant building overall but it's yet another variation of the typical glass box. It's completely clad in ubiquitous blue glass, and the podium has been compared to a bunker by some forumers.
Here is the heritage building:
And here is the Four Seasons:
Which one do you like more?
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
salsa:
Honestly, that's comparing apples to oranges - I'd take both, and I actually thought that the Bay Street frontage of Four Seasons is very elegant (albeit street unfriendly).
AoD
Honestly, that's comparing apples to oranges - I'd take both, and I actually thought that the Bay Street frontage of Four Seasons is very elegant (albeit street unfriendly).
AoD
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ProjectEnd
Superstar
The Four Seasons.
It's one thing to (rightly) lament the fact that the International Style was with incredible alacrity usurped by a corporate America uninterested in the social mission or perfectionist-driven detailing of modern architecture before the 1930's and instead focused on cheap, reproducible and easily lettable buildings. It's quite another to simply go: "Glass box bad. Me no like glass box. Which one do u like more?!" (your syntax is slightly better but the overly-simplistic message is still there).
A more fruitful conversation doesn't lie in complaining about the results of a particular stylistic evolution, it's to try and trace why and how that evolution happened. It's also important to recognize when buildings that are (at least partially) the result of that evolution have actually been designed and constructed with some elegance and grace, as has this example.
Methinks you've got some reading to do:
It's one thing to (rightly) lament the fact that the International Style was with incredible alacrity usurped by a corporate America uninterested in the social mission or perfectionist-driven detailing of modern architecture before the 1930's and instead focused on cheap, reproducible and easily lettable buildings. It's quite another to simply go: "Glass box bad. Me no like glass box. Which one do u like more?!" (your syntax is slightly better but the overly-simplistic message is still there).
A more fruitful conversation doesn't lie in complaining about the results of a particular stylistic evolution, it's to try and trace why and how that evolution happened. It's also important to recognize when buildings that are (at least partially) the result of that evolution have actually been designed and constructed with some elegance and grace, as has this example.
Methinks you've got some reading to do:
greenleaf
Senior Member
Wind tunnels created by the Four Seasons are featured here: http://globalnews.ca/news/1616454/c.../?hootPostID=df383b74fa4a2296e86a78875f401bf0
DtTO
Active Member
heaven forbid tall buildings in the downtown of this country's largest city cast a single shadow, cause a bit of wind in the streets, or look too tall for a group of senior citizens! What ever will we do? Give me a break...
greenleaf
Senior Member
...and there's the same complaint from the other side of the coin. You're no different than a senior citizen complaining about height.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
DtTO:
What's wrong with a) reporting on a very real issue that b) can be addressed through adaptation? Wind tunnels from tall towers won't suddenly cease to exist or have an impact just because one doesn't want to hear about it.
AoD
What's wrong with a) reporting on a very real issue that b) can be addressed through adaptation? Wind tunnels from tall towers won't suddenly cease to exist or have an impact just because one doesn't want to hear about it.
AoD
Torontovibe
Senior Member
A bit of wind? We live in a fairly cold city and when the wind kicks up, it makes it feel that much more uncomfortable to walk in and much colder. Why would we build buildings that make our winters colder, when there are proven solutions to prevent it from happening? This building in general has been a disappointment for me, especially the way it kills the pedestrian vibe at street level. Walking up Bay Street is fine until you get to the Four Seasons, then it becomes a dead zone. It just feels so unpleasant walking by this building, which is why so few people do it.
Then you have that uesless park and waterless fountain, which leaves people scratching their heads. I walk by this park all the time and even in the middle of summer, I never see anybody in that park. It clearly was not designed for Torontonians to enjoy. I guess the purpose of this park was to give hotel guests something to look at, from their penthouse windows but it's clear, none of those guests ever venture down for a closer look. This building takes much from the city but gives very little back.
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junctionist
Senior Member
The city needs to address the wind issue. Some buildings are putting so much wind on the street that on some days, walking by them becomes a struggle for healthy able-bodied people.
When I've been by and the mist is flowing, I normally do see people in the clouds.
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Tewder
Senior Member
^Also, i think of it more as a garden than a park per se, a decorative element that is more aesthetic than functional... and I do quite like its formality. I do like the fountain too, though its execution is clumsy and it is very disappointing that it doesn't work.
That said, though the garden/courtyard are pretty design elements I do feel that the other street facades needed much more engagement with the surroundings. The Four Seasons has always been synonymous with Yorkville, it should feel more embracing of its context not less.
That said, though the garden/courtyard are pretty design elements I do feel that the other street facades needed much more engagement with the surroundings. The Four Seasons has always been synonymous with Yorkville, it should feel more embracing of its context not less.