Edward
Senior Member
London is looking good.
Toronto London On The Esplanade Condos | 102.1m | 33s | Cityzen | Burka
- Thread starter G_DOG
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syn
Senior Member
I love the brick base, but I can't say I'm terribly fond of the tower. I wish there was a greater use of brick.
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
(I think modern condo owners want as much glass as possible to enjoy the views)
but that transition of materials is part of what makes this project as a whole work. To the east we have old town which of course has a lot of old brick buildings, so the eastern tower and podium play off that. To the west and north we have the Sony Centre, St Lawrence Centre and beyond that office towers, so we have a transition of materials to concrete and more glass for the west portion of the podium and the taller tower. It all makes perfect sense to me... but I guess taste is still subjective.
but that transition of materials is part of what makes this project as a whole work. To the east we have old town which of course has a lot of old brick buildings, so the eastern tower and podium play off that. To the west and north we have the Sony Centre, St Lawrence Centre and beyond that office towers, so we have a transition of materials to concrete and more glass for the west portion of the podium and the taller tower. It all makes perfect sense to me... but I guess taste is still subjective.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
A big clump of buildings that tries to be all things to all people ( the main tower is particularly schizoid, depending on what angle you look at it from ... ) and ends up being nothing much of anything - tame, time-warped and mid-'90s. It could have been unequivocal and contemporary, given its adjacency to two fine, Modernist cultural buildings. Perhaps we've been spoilt by so much top rank aA lately, and have come to expect more? Even Hariri Pontarini's new towers are looking a bit stale in comparison, with the bar raised that high.
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
it hs nothing to do with being all things to all people. It has to do with the fact that this building is in a transitional location and attempts to address that fact in its architecture. Is it the greatest thing ever? of course not. But I like it because so often in this city we see buildings thrown up with no thought given to context. Here there was some thought given to context and I for one think that should be acknowledged (in my mind its a success). Another thing which I didnt mention in the previous post is the street level and entranceway - quite unique and well done here - definitely adds to the presence of the building.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
Yes, I understand what all the architectural equivocation is about, I just don't think it's achieved much. From this firm, though, it could've been much worse.
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Schizoid though it may be, as long as it doesn't end in an embolism, I think we'll be alright...
SP!RE
°°°°°°
Well I can't think of a highrise condo project better suited to this neighbourhood.
It's been a great project to watch progress and I look forward to seeing it become an established part of the area.
It's been a great project to watch progress and I look forward to seeing it become an established part of the area.
syn
Senior Member
I don't mind the glass. But I'd prefer to see more brick and less precast.
To my eyes, the problem here is not the architect's concept for dealing with LotE's context - transition from the modern glassy core to the older bricky warehouse neighbourhood - which I believe they have dealt with quite well: what I don't like much is the west tower's dullness. Its design is not 'pure' enough to be a classic modernist box, nor articulated enough to be a contemporary looker, but sits somewhere in a very dull middle ground. For a building which has become the view terminus for so many eastward glances down Front Street from the area of Union Station, it's unfortunate that LotE doesn't reward the looker with any particular visual delight. For example, an option I might have enjoyed (depending upon its execution) would be a roofline that echoed the O'Keefe/Hummingbid/Sony Centre's distinctive porte cochère, pinpointing it on the skyline: some gesture would have been nice there.
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Logan
Active Member
This turned out much better than expected. I'm happy with the end result. The only curious thing to me is the angled balconies on the mid-rise. They are oriented facing away from the lake. Why not have them face the other way to take advantage of 1) sunlight and 2) lake views.
Would have made a little more sense no?
syn
Senior Member
That's exactly what I was thinking. The base, etc. aside, it's a pretty dull tower.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
Yes, "dull middle ground" sums it up nicely, interchange - the resolutely Modernist St. Lawrence Centre and O'Keefe are the only adjacent buildings of any significance, and the site mandated something that played off of them creatively ... rather than going all gooey about the sturdy, elderly, red brick warehouses to the east.
A few blocks away, Hariri Pontarini also equivocate - to a lesser degree - with the precast "masonry" cladding their Vu townhomes opposite the former Bank of Upper Canada building; nothing's gained by not maintaining the contemporary approach they take with the identical bays of townhomes further north on George Street and the result's fussy.
A few blocks away, Hariri Pontarini also equivocate - to a lesser degree - with the precast "masonry" cladding their Vu townhomes opposite the former Bank of Upper Canada building; nothing's gained by not maintaining the contemporary approach they take with the identical bays of townhomes further north on George Street and the result's fussy.
marcus_a_j
Senior Member
The base and east tower I find to be really well done. I also agree with the above concerning the west tower's dullness, so to speak. What is unfortunate is that it's a rather uninspiring view terminus looking east on Front from anywhere west of Yonge.
MBS
Active Member
Well fortunately the current view terminus will be terminated by L tower 