Toronto Manulife Centre Podium and Streetscape Renewal | 9.75m | 2s | Manulife Real Estate | MdeAS Architects

[zang]

...it's very apparent that the owners/developers of this tower are embarrassed of this tower's legacy as we are of alterations they've made in attempt to cover that up. /sigh

I don’t feel it was ever an outstanding example of commercial brutalism, but its brutalist legacy was sullied long, long ago. Even before the new facade, they got rid of the POPS courtyard on Bay (now I believe where Indigo lives). From the pictures I’ve seen, it was quite remarkable, and certainly made the building fit better at street level with the rest of it.

 

[Torontosbest]

I appreciate your keen analysis of Manulife's likely behavior....

I would, however, suggest, that in the unlikely event you are wrong, eating a ballcap would likely cause more gastrointestinal issues than it would solve.

Besides, you'd have to go buy one first as it doesn't fit your dapper aesthetic.

Turner is getting close to completion. They are now installing fins on the black-painted underground garage pavilion. The fins are slender wooden boxes (probably made from MDF) with glued-on wood grain formica!!! What do you think is the failure rate of glued formica in outdoor wet, freeze-thaw conditions? I thought they might use anodized gold soft-textured aluminum. The black paint is suspect, but the Formica-clad boxes won't stand a chance...

 

[Bayer]

Turner is getting close to completion. They are now installing fins on the black-painted underground garage pavilion. The fins are slender wooden boxes (probably made from MDF) with glued-on wood grain formica!!! What do you think is the failure rate of glued formica in outdoor wet, freeze-thaw conditions? I thought they might use anodized gold soft-textured aluminum. The black paint is suspect, but the Formica-clad boxes won't stand a chance...

We were told the project would be completed by mid-December and they are now working 6 days a week on it. Looking forward to it; the residential tower entrance has been entirely closed for six months, which wasn't originally planned.