Toronto Pan Am Village in the West Don Lands | ?m | ?s | DundeeKilmer | KPMB

I like that they went all-in on the gray. It looks like a factory to me, referencing the old industrial nature of the location.
 
Hamiltonian said:
The village will look better when all the plants are grown, etc. Hopefully, they'll add bright accents at street-level.
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Trees are always a plus but they are not going to change the fact that we have a whole neighbourhood of dull, grey buildings. (so far) All the trees and plants in the world will not change the monotony of grey in every direction. There is no way you can justify building a large neighbourhood with fairly large buildings, and make them all grey. I just don't accept that.

We had an opportunity to create a magnificent new district/neighbourhood and there is no reason it couldn't have had some diversity in colour and materials. I thought diversity is what Toronto is all about? Do we not have enough grey spandrel in Toronto already? If not, at what point will we have enough? Must every neighbourhood be overwhelmed with grey buildings before people start getting concerned? Why is the city allowing this to happen?
 
We love the George Brown student residence and YMCA complex, but we almost lost it once we found out that Canary Park eliminated the red brick panels. Grey is fine in moderation, but this really is a bit much. We have nothing nice to say about River Sh!tty as residents, but we do appreciate the black and white exterior - its only saving grace. The West Don Lands could have been a logical extension of the Distillery by using a combination of glass and steel and red brick not grey.
 
I find this is all, to a certain degree amusing; These older neighborhoods typically have a very similar trait of uniformity, that is all red brick buildings. No black / grey fans out there ?

Though I do agree I'd prefer red over this.
 
I think once the area gets built out and more retail signage, streetlights, growth of trees occurs it won't look as stark. That being said, I really can't figure why they woudn't have used red brick either, The Berczy-style. Would have blended far more nicely.

Maybe the new buildings that go up in the current parking lots will incorporate that.

Do we know the colours of the Canary District condos?
 
Canary District (Phase 1) is grey which is fine, but Canary Park (Phase 2) is grey, too, which is not fine.

The affordable housing buildings were supposed to have more red colour inserts than we got. We do like the numbers going up the sides of the buildings, however. It's just that a little more thought should have gone into the overall colour choices.

I agree that trees will help out, but for 6 months of the year that we don't have foliage, it's pretty dreary without some warmth. If you look at the Distillery is beautiful year-round and very inviting.

I used to think that those who posted all negatively about how much grey is downtown or the lack of water features were just whiners and trolling, but I'm starting to side with them. The City is very close to becoming amazing with a few tweaks.
 
Wow. umm dark much? At first glance it looks fine but when i start to actually account for the line of dark bricks, dark cladding and dark finishes, i think they could have done something to liven it up just a touch. I like it right now in term of just how dark, and imo modern looking, it is but yah just a touch of white or red cladding could have gone a long way here to helping out.

Gotta say though the colored mechanical tops are a nice playful addition. I'll wait till 2015 to pass full judgement on the area, as things get into place.

The central boulevard plaza down the middle of the main street (Front?) and the public art there are what will really make or break the public sphere here.
 
If you have to rely on trees for color, then there's a problem. I don't quite understand why this city is building entire communities with grey brick. Red? I could understand. It's a warmer color. But grey? Why? Why is this city so afraid of color? This is looking like another missed opportunity
 
It's almost ironic that the only colourful thing in the neighbourhood is the (temporary) sign inviting you to live in it
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Everyone has such poor memories. I remember when everyone was complaining about that reddish/peachy brick all of the developments were using and people were all over themselves when grey brick started getting used because it was "chic."

It's just fashion, folks! Get used to it. In a few years there will be some new trend and we'll all hate that after it's been overused, too. It's not the end of the world.
 
taal said:
I find this is all, to a certain degree amusing; These older neighborhoods typically have a very similar trait of uniformity, that is all red brick buildings. No black / grey fans out there ?

Though I do agree I'd prefer red over this.
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It's not just that the bricks are grey. If you look closely, you will notice that the spandrel, window frames, door frames and over-hangs are also grey. Had enough grey yet? No? The street lights are grey, the streetcar poles are grey, the street paving stones are grey and of course, the sidewalks are all grey. Like other parts of Toronto, most likely, the newspaper multi-boxes will be grey and so will the garbage cans and benches. You literally will have a whole neighbourhood of grey everything.

Sure trees will help but you do realize trees will only be around for half a year, and that's the half where we get lots of bright sunlight. Imagine 6 months of dreary fall/winter, surrounded by grey everything. Maybe because I'm a creative guy, I appreciate colour but even for those who don't, why would you choose to surround yourselves with just one colour? (and grey, of all colours!) The buildings in this area are pretty large and being dark grey, only makes then look and feel more imposing. Go there and see for yourself. From Corktown Commons Park, the mass of grey buildings is overwhelming. This is going to be a high density district.

The whole point is, this is a completely new neighbourhood from scratch. We could have designed it and coloured it, any way we wanted. We already have a city full of grey new condos. Look around people, grey dominates all new condo areas. (see CityPlace or the Entertainment District) It's not like the West Don Lands is the only grey district. It's just that this is the most grey district, in a city filled with grey condos. When did diversity and variety become a dirty word in Toronto and on UT? I'm just asking for a bit of relief here, from the over use of grey. Winter is grey enough for me already.

I get it, you guys like grey, (and I don't) but that's not my issue. My issue is the ubiquitous use of grey spandrel and grey metal everywhere. It just happens to be at ridiculous levels in this new development.

Years from now, when many people start asking why is Toronto so depressingly grey, you'll see my point. Of course, by then it will be too late. I just keep hoping that maybe someone with the power to change things (developer/politician/trend setter) might see my rantings and start to think about why we use so much grey on everything.

I know a lot of people and I can't think of a single person who has ever told me their favourite colour is GREY! (not one single person, ever)

Oh, and by the way Taal, what other neighbourhood has red brick buildings, with red spandrel, red window trim, red street lights, red paving bricks and red street furniture in Toronto? If there is one out there, please tell me because I'd LOVE to see it. Seriously, red is a colour I could get behind. (so let me know)
 
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Parkdalian said:
Everyone has such poor memories. I remember when everyone was complaining about that reddish/peachy brick all of the developments were using and people were all over themselves when grey brick started getting used because it was "chic."

It's just fashion, folks! Get used to it. In a few years there will be some new trend and we'll all hate that after it's been overused, too. It's not the end of the world.
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Grey brick was a welcome change. When used tastefully it looks great. But when you use grey brick, grey spandrel, grey trim, grey streets, grey sidewalks, etc to build an entire community, it's a bit much. Red brick would have been a better option. At least it's warmer color. Too much of anything is never a good thing. I'm sure green and blue glass was welcomed until it showed up in every condo for a decade+.

We complain about Cityplace and liberty village being missed opportunities, then we go and do the same crap with this area. Why this aversion to color? Makes no sense.
 
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^^ FINALLY, some sanity on Urban Toronto instead of justifying bad decisions. Some grey buildings are great. There is nothing wrong with grey, although I personally find it a bit conservative. It's the over-use of grey that is the issue. A grey building at Yonge/Bloor or in Southcore would be perfectly fine. Build beautiful grey buildings, just spread them out a bit. At some point, we will need to find a new colour and god, I hope it's not beige!

Shouldn't a "Canary District" be yellow? lol When I think of canaries, grey is not the first colour, that comes to mind. (or second, or third) I wish Torontonians were more adventurous with colour. Throw caution to the wind and take a risk once in a while, people. There is a whole world out there, full of beautiful, vibrant COLOUR!
 
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