Toronto Vü Condos | 83.51m | 24s | Aspen Ridge | Hariri Pontarini

February 2008
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April 2010
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Ed007Toronto said:
We're going to tour Vu this week. Please post any questions you'd like answered.
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I'm interested to see what the builder has to say about 'simplifying' the random diagonal columns on the ground floor (towards George St) shown in the original renderings ... those were pretty interesting looking ~

Thanks Ed ~

urbandreamer said:
Ask them why it's so suburban looking!
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Vu's hardly considered suburban looking really ...
 
^^ Vu looks like a suburban McMansion? Large Israeli families at Barthurst and Lawrence? ud, what drugs are you on...or not on?
 
Yeah, those comments make no sense. And I thought it was me and me overdose on cold medication.
 
I used to live in the Bathurst-Lawrence riding. HP is in the mcmansion business, or at least used to be. Vu looks very mcmansion-ish to me--ie multiple treatments of different facades, inappropriate blank spaces facing the street corners, huge front "garage" etc. Perhaps the only thing missing is the copper flashing. :p My mcmansion exposure has mostly been in the B-L area. I'm certain it exists elsewhere, be it with the Amish, Iranians, or whatever background families....

One of the common reasons why the B-L newbies buy these mcmanions is "more room for a large family" and "status." I prefer the old original stylish bungalows==much classier. Vu reminds me more of a mcmansion than a classic modest bungalow design--perhaps the nearby East meets that aesthetic better?
 
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udo said:
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The one thing that really bothers me about this building is how it meets the street at the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis. Due to the curve in Adelaide and the park on the other side of the intersection, Vu sits on one of the most prominent corners in the neighbourhood. Where there should be some kind of signature architectural gesture, we instead have a dark, cavernous entrance with a concrete column haphazardly placed in front. It's uninviting, desolate, and seems like the kind of place that might start smelling like urine after a while. Granted, I haven't walked by here for a few weeks so I don't know if there have been any improvements or added features. Other than putting in a lot of lights, I'm not sure what they could do.

As a point of reference, here are some examples of recent street corner architecture in the area. I'm not saying that these buildings are necessarily better architecture on the whole, but just that they are more coherent and thoughtful in the way they meet the street corner.

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I do think the corner is the ideal location for a public walkway through the complex instead of retaill with the walkway off to one side. It perhaps could of been addressed better though.
 
How long before the fine folks at the Salvation Army next door start hanging out here. I hate walking up this stretch of Jarvis at night. It kind of scares me.
 
I find this building very awkward and a huge disappointment, as well as a wasted opportunity. It should have taken advantage of it's location, with a flat iron type building or something more interesting. Instead we get a pointed corner, with awkward balconies right beside it. (not attractive at all) It should have been a much more streamlined building. At street level, at least it has retail but it's not very well done. The corner is particularly bad. A building at this prominent location, should have been much, much better.
 
I don't mind the building and it fits in well with it's neighbors. It isn't the most attractive structure(s), but it is far, far better than what was there previously. Is it as nice as the original renders? No, but what Toronto building is... none. The city slathers each project with a big heaping of 'bland'. That's why the Absolute World towers could never be done in present-day Toronto.
 
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