Toronto One Bloor East | 257.24m | 76s | Great Gulf | Hariri Pontarini

A decent looking rendering that will not live up to expectations. Keep in mind it took a long time before Aura became a perceived nightmare by many. I believe this project will be a love it or hate it with no middle groind. We'll know by next summer.
 
got it right said:
A decent looking rendering that will not live up to expectations. Keep in mind it took a long time before Aura became a perceived nightmare by many. I believe this project will be a love it or hate it with no middle groind. We'll know by next summer.
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The difference is that the architect (G+C) and developer (Canderel) that designed and built Aura have pretty shoddy track records, so a lot of us could see the poor quality and execution coming from a mile away. One Bloor, on the other hand, is by an architect (Hariri Pontarini) and developer (Great Gulf) with very solid track records of producing quality work, so the expectations for One Bloor are justifiably higher.
 
got it right said:
Keep in mind it took a long time before Aura became a perceived nightmare by many.
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Hardly the case, with G+C as the architect, never mind Canderel as the developer, Aura was perceived by many as doomed from the start, or with a cautious level of optimism at best. Great Gulf and HP, by contrast, have a much better track record of delivering higher quality buildings, and, even if One Bloor does eventually disappoint in some respects, a nightmare it is very unlikely to ever be.

Plus, you've still got the height cheerleaders who continue to mindlessly defend Aura, in spite of it's many flaws and examples of poor design and execution having being well documented and extensively discussed.
 
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October 16th, 2013. Looking down on the the 3rd floor.

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Great picture, hawk. It really emphasizes the size difference between what's being built and what the street has looked like for about a century before that. Both in terms of lot sizes and of course height.
 
The "fine grain" along Yonge is certainly changing here. But it also makes for a less abrupt transition to Bloor Street.
 
Great pic Hawk. Thanks. Just looking at it brought thoughts of comparing whats across the street and what was on this location. Just in tax revenue for the city, its a boon compared to what they were getting. Its a huge makework project for many professional and construction trades. Construction suppliers benefit. Lending institutions benefit. Retail benefits from all sorts of products being bought from appliances to blinds. Staffing to keep the condo in shape employs people. New revenue from underground private and public parking. Retail. No suburban sprawl. Politicians get more voters in their ridings. These projects get written up in various publications generating work which gets paid by advertising. Benefits all around. If your lucky, partially occupied moldy dilapidated buildings just gives you warm and fuzzy feelings.
 
I'm having a difficult time seeing the similarities between One Bloor and Aura, so I'm not sure why there would be any fears that either is going to turn out like the other. So does the concern stem just from their heights alone? Or that they are both located on Yonge?
 
RiverCity1 said:
I'm having a difficult time seeing the similarities between One Bloor and Aura, so I'm not sure why there would be any fears that either is going to turn out like the other. So does the concern stem just from their heights alone? Or that they are both located on Yonge?
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Other than a similar floor count and locations on Yonge, what could Aura and One Bloor possible have in common?
 
someMidTowner said:
Other than a similar floor count and locations on Yonge, what could Aura and One Bloor possible have in common?
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That's why I'm wondering why some members have such concerns...

Ramako said:
One Bloor, on the other hand, is by an architect (Hariri Pontarini) and developer (Great Gulf) with very solid track records of producing quality work, so the expectations for One Bloor are justifiably higher.
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Agreed. I have higher hopes here even though it won't be higher...in height.
 
Ramako said:
The difference is that the architect (G+C) and developer (Canderel) that designed and built Aura have pretty shoddy track records, so a lot of us could see the poor quality and execution coming from a mile away. One Bloor, on the other hand, is by an architect (Hariri Pontarini) and developer (Great Gulf) with very solid track records of producing quality work, so the expectations for One Bloor are justifiably higher.
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The moment when cladding started at the base, people knew that Aura was going to be shoddily finished.

Conversely, despite people's misgivings of Pinnacle on Adelaide's simplification, the cladding turned out terrific.

I think One Bloor will be a good-looking project.
 
Like I said, we'll know better by next summer. I just have a feeling the actual building is not going to live up to the rendering. Which BTW I am not overly impressed with. The only project that I happen to like is 88 Scott.
 
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