maestro
Senior Member
I think he's referring to the gaps between buildings, something he mentions in numerous threads. And he's completely right, I think. Recent developments, given their use of podiums, mark an uncomfortable mix between the urban and the suburban: urban because they're large-scale developments allowing for high population density, but suburban because they're developed on clearly identifiable lots or plots of land the boundaries of which are physically separated from adjacent plots.
I'm not sure why the podium ever came into vogue at all. I find them clumsy, most of the time.
I'm not a fan of podiums but, I wouldn't necessarily count them as gaps particularly when they do tend to be mid rise in form in Toronto for towers upwards of 40+ storeys or more. Comparably, maybe about half the developments in Toronto have podiums extending outwards. They are everywhere too. The supertalls on 57th Street would greatly exceed the allowable maximum FAR if they weren't these skinny towers on large podiums. Density transfers will only take you so far. The podium is a step up from the tower in a park and there are financial reasons behind the popularity of the tower in a park 30 years ago and the podium of today.
I've seen some discussion to the effect of gaps in the streetwall . The big one Chaz on Charles. Of course, I see little reference to the tower being surrounded by a public lane.