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

Our éminences grises.

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Dont people find the greys and blacks and lack of shape monotonous and boring? Splashes of grey brick buildings around are okay, but the design of this area was supposed to reflect architectural diversity and be reflective of designs of buildings and a neighbourhood that evolved over time, with variation within building facades for each building, etc. It looks dreadful and uninspired so far.

The public realm with surely be the best part about the place.
 
PaulF said:
It looks dreadful and uninspired so far.
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I agree that massive construction sites aren't pretty. But yes, the public realm is set to be awesome. Corktown Common is already amazing; and Front Street and Cherry Street will look top notch with many rows of trees. Throw in some decent shops and we have a (potentially) cool neighbourhood. So be patient. The rest of us who live here are patient, but we can see the positive changes occuring almost daily.
 
RiverCity1 said:
I agree that massive construction sites aren't pretty. But yes, the public realm is set to be awesome. Corktown Common is already amazing; and Front Street and Cherry Street will look top notch with many rows of trees. Throw in some decent shops and we have a (potentially) cool neighbourhood. So be patient. The rest of us who live here are patient, but we can see the positive changes occuring almost daily.
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The City fixed up Front Street west of Parliament Street last year and it looks pretty good. WT have (or will) fix the Front Street east of Cherry Street. Any ideas on what is planned for Front Street between Cherry and Parliament? It clearly needs work.
 
I don't mind the grey brick on some of the buildings but the fact that something like 7 new buildings are going up, and EVERY single one is grey, makes me quite disappointed. So much grey spandrel can't be good. Now add in the fact that all the street lamps are grey and the paving stones are grey and now I'm seriously starting to feel oppressed by grey in every direction. I'm already sick of grey, with it being the main colour of 75% of new buildings going up in Toronto but for it to be 100% of the Pan-Am Village, is just downright depressing. Why would anyone want to design a whole neighbourhood in the most depressing colour of all? Don't people realize how colour effects people's moods? We already have long grey winters and many people who suffer with depression, so I'm sure this massive amount of dreary, ugly grey will only help to make it worse. One day, people will be asking WTF were they thinking.

I hope the grey obsession this city is going through, will come to an end soon. All glass boxes are cold enough but add in grey spandrel and it becomes downright depressing. (for me, anyway) At this point, I absolutely hate it! I need some warmth, colour and a little bit of charm.
 
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It's a missed opportunity. I complained about the abundance of grey here and was told to pipe down. Why is there so much grey here? It's so cold and institutional. I pass by this site every day and SMH. River City project is beautiful....then it gets depressing after that. Even Regent Park has a nice mix of color.
 
Another example of a district of grey modern buildings: the old CAMH hospital from the 1970s on Queen St. It looked boring and was recently redeveloped into a district of buildings with different coloured facades. Some might like those facades more than this district's buildings. But in the end, one is just a big hospital, and the other is a neighbourhood. The neighbourhood's sense of place will be stronger.
 
Torontovibe said:
I hope the grey obsession this city is going through, will come to an end soon. All glass boxes are cold enough but add in grey spandrel and it becomes downright depressing. (for me, anyway) At this point, I absolutely hate it! I need some warmth, colour and a little bit of charm.
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AND ORNAMENTATION FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY!!!

While clean lines and simple faces often make for inoffensive design, they usually sacrifice any interest or possible charm. Many old Victorian buildings are falling to pieces but despite their decrepitude, their ornamentation makes them more playful and romantic.
 
junctionist said:
Another example of a district of grey modern buildings: the old CAMH hospital from the 1970s on Queen St. It looked boring and was recently redeveloped into a district of buildings with different coloured facades. Some might like those facades more than this district's buildings. But in the end, one is just a big hospital, and the other is a neighbourhood. The neighbourhood's sense of place will be stronger.
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The remaining four concrete pods contrasted with the new reddish-orange brick medical/apartment buildings create a refreshing contrast from what the site looked like just five or six years ago with so much wasted space, indoor hallways webbed throughout the site.
 
Photos taken 27 March 2014.

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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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