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

Sept 11, 2019


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She's a beauty!

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I'm actually kind of glad they've preserved this without a tower on top. PJ Condos rising in the back will fill the airspace nicely.

That said, I'm still kind of hoping that Dave Mirvish was able to pull a switcheroo on the city by selling one half of the site to Great Gulf, allowing him to then redevelop the Princess of Wales theatre at some point in the future. It was always meant to be a temporary theatre and it shows.

I'd love it if Gehry were to design a theatre here to go with his towers. But the man just hit 90. We'll be lucky if these two towers get built in his lifetime, let alone another project.
 
I'd love it if Gehry were to design a theatre here to go with his towers. But the man just hit 90. We'll be lucky if these two towers get built in his lifetime, let alone another project.
It's real unfortunate that he didn't do more Toronto projects during his career, despite being from here.
 
It's real unfortunate that he didn't do more Toronto projects during his career, despite being from here.

I'm glad, his stuff is frankly garbage. This one was at least mildly interesting for the first 2 iterations where each tower had a distinct design. Now they are all the exact same, with a lazy offset box flourish on all 3. The offset box thing is already overdone, we have dozens in this city already. Just a really lazy design overall, the art gallery stinks too. I could write paragraphs about how much that building blows.
 
It's real unfortunate that he didn't do more Toronto projects during his career, despite being from here.

I think we should learn from this experience and give more commissions to promising young architects. We shouldn't be so thrifty and conservative that our best talent has to leave the city to make a career for themselves.

We definitely shouldn't wait until they're 90 to hire them.
 
It's real unfortunate that he didn't do more Toronto projects during his career, despite being from here.

This whole being from here is a little overblown if you ask me. He was 18 when he left for Los Angeles. Toronto is a mere footnote in his life IMHO.
 
The (exterior) reno is so-so. I'm not crazy about the windows. Also, it looks like the missing cornice won't be reinstated. That Shopper's restoration on Yonge St aside, missing cornices just aren't on people's radar in this city.
 
This whole being from here is a little overblown if you ask me. He was 18 when he left for Los Angeles. Toronto is a mere footnote in his life IMHO.

Yes and no - he clearly seem to have a soft spot for the city, but he also said on the record that he could not have done what he is doing now if he had remained here. Not wrong there either.

AoD
 
Aside from the thread topic, living somewhere until you are 18 is not a footnote. I notice a life-cycle trend where (mostly men) become fixated on their roots, the place and culture of their childhood at around age 60-65 just prior to retirement. This lasts about 10 years until the early to mid 70’s and often forms a core component of their retirement dream and interests
 
I agree. One’s formative years can be very impactful both positive and negative. I believe they stick with you for life.

- I love this white building with the black accent windows and hope it stays put.
- Saying Gehry is cookie cutter is nonsense at best
- The proposed Gehry edifice is interesting enough. I’d be very pleased if only one was built.
- The Toronto bashing is boring and not constructive and says more about the person than Toronto.
 
^^^ Toronto was a provincial backwater in the 40s. My dad left for Montreal in '52 so he could be where the action was. It's no surprise that the Gehrys/Goldbergs left too.

My parents immigrated to Toronto in the early 60's and were somewhat horrified by it at the time and did not intend to stay.
 

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