Toronto Pinnacle One Yonge | 345.5m | 105s | Pinnacle | Hariri Pontarini

Somehow, to overaggrandize the desirability of "grandiose and monumental" sounds like a parvenu reflex.

But back to what got me banned, my knock on Peepers' naive knock on Crombie ruining everything...

(a) let's put the shoe on the other foot, huh? If you gotta claim that Crombie ruined Toronto as a place of architectural distinction because he hated skyscrapers, well, remember there's a counter-POV (maybe more common/validly offered 30 yrs ago than now) that the 60s/70s skyline you're worshipping was a far cry from, say, 20s/30s NYC. Like, Empire State vs WTC: no contest. Get the picture? (Which still endures through grousing over glass-and-steel "boxiness" now and again.)

(b) It wasn't just Crombie's Toronto. 1973/74 saw the (to that point) biggest economic slump since the Great Depression--and compounded by the oil crisis, rust-belt economies being battered by competition from Japan and elsewhere, perceptions of urban blight and migration of jobs to the suburbs, to the Sun Belt, to Mexico and elsewhere, office tower construction ground to a virtual halt *everywhere*, most especially in the Great Lakes and US Northeast regions. And much of what *was* completed around this time (most especially the WTC) wound up being a white elephant for years.

(c) Ironically, you *can* blame the Crombie-era stoppage for this: maybe the tendency to worship the 60s/70s skyline has something to do with, well, the fact that its fundamental form remained basically the same (w/Scotia and BCE added for good measure) for two or three decades. Enough for it to settle into being an old-shoe "classic"--OTOH had the building boom continued, we'd in all likelihood have ended up w/simply an earlier version of what we have now, and the "classic" skyline would have gotten lost in the morass much earlier. (Conversely, if anyone deserves political credit for the re-emphasis upon height...well, none other than the Layton/Chow household, for giving the "validating" thumbs-up to Cityplace.)

And (d) if *any* cancelled project can be blamed in part on those "Crombie-esque" forces, it's Metro Centre. But we saved Union Station in the process--and anyone who thinks that was "not worth it" has got to be off their rocker...
 
^Politicians always get the memo too late. Or maybe they get a PM from the builders saying "condo/apartment tower bubble please limit the height so we can still build stuff!" I think it's a bit of both--politicans and builders work together. So I fully expect with this coming slowdown politicians will say build midrises--and midrises we'll get. (I suspect builders could care less what they're building as long as they're making money.)

Jolly good show indeed.
 
I'd love to see a toronto architectural firm gain some international clout. Not necessarily on the level of starchitect, but to the point where they do consistent international work. aA is kind of like that currently, but I'd love it if HP could surpass them and we could see some big HP designed skyscrapers in places like china and Europe.
 
IMO too many towers on the northern part of the site. I'd much rather they consolidate the four towers into three taller ones. I'm also hoping some warmer materials will be used in certain areas- trees and lighting can only do so much.
 
Queens Quay looks brutal for the pedestrian. There's no articulation of the glass wall. I like the glass canopy though.
 
1 YONGE ST Ward 28 - Tor & E.York OPA / Rezoning
Application to amend Zoning By-Law 438-86 for the City of Toronto, as amended. The redevelopment seeks to retain the existing Toronto Start building and obtain zoning permission to redevelop the site with a series of mixed use towers including: residential condominiums, retail uses, a new office building, a hotel and entertainment and ancillary uses.

Last we heard, the city wanted the developer to hold off on submitting an application until a planning study was completed for the area. This proposal being formally submitted is an act of defiance. :cool: I'm glad to see this one moving along.

Queens Quay looks brutal for the pedestrian. There's no articulation of the glass wall. I like the glass canopy though.

For such an important site, Pinnacle better get this one right.
 
Seems promising, but, since it seems every current city height bylaw (when the heck were they wrote, the 1800's? Seems no matter how tall a building is, they have to amend the bylaws, time to change the height limits!), I'm not getting excited until the final approval is given. Every time, in the past, I was all hyped up on a project with the promise of finally breaking FCP’s height record, I am always disappointed when the city, without fail, has to be a killjoy and either force the developer to reduce the height, just to appease the minority who whine the loudest, or, kill the project all together. I'll remain cautiously optimistic, it would be nice to see more then just the first few floors though, hope they release the completed renderings just to give us a better look :D
 
Oh you didn't hear the news? I've just converted to another religion....:D

Wow, when you switched I didn't realize you were joining Scientology!

This is quite a departure from the all-glass, rectilinear form of aA:

0726_20070629_PLANCHE_BLEURY-620x465.jpg

(found Here )
 

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