Filip
Senior Member
Interchange, did you take a picture of the art behind the checkout lanes? I enjoy site-specific pieces like that.
Sorry, didn't get that. I was in a rush actually. Feel free to bring a camera yourself next time you're in there!
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urbandreamer
recession proof
Metro looked busy--quite a number of locals arriving on foot 'twas surprised. A pity it wasn't designed by aA 
Bad Bear
Active Member
Metro looked busy--quite a number of locals arriving on foot 'twas surprised. A pity it wasn't designed by aA
I hear ya... we really needed Casa 4, Casa 5 and Casa 6 in Humber View.
urbandreamer
recession proof
^Actually I was thinking more along their concept for Humbertown meets the Distillery District meets The Brant Park.
Bad Bear
Active Member
^ What about the tower portion?
urbandreamer
recession proof
More like aA's 400 Front Street West proposal meets Kjellander + Sjöberg's aesthetic
Bad Bear
Active Member
aA can actually design a building that is not a variant of the same formula? Shocker.
urbandreamer
recession proof
aA, like any architecture firm in this town, designs buildings that the developer wants to build.
Freed for example, has better taste than most, so pushes the design further. Lamb is more conservative but perhaps more pure with his intentions--esp eg Theatre Park & Parc. OTOH, more cautious developers like Cresford stick to formulas that have worked in the past.
If I were a developer, I'd be building their Humbertown concept x1000.
Contrast to P+S: they don't "design" anything. They engineer mediocrity.
Freed for example, has better taste than most, so pushes the design further. Lamb is more conservative but perhaps more pure with his intentions--esp eg Theatre Park & Parc. OTOH, more cautious developers like Cresford stick to formulas that have worked in the past.
If I were a developer, I'd be building their Humbertown concept x1000.
Contrast to P+S: they don't "design" anything. They engineer mediocrity.
Bad Bear
Active Member
^ Doesn't take away the fact that aA is populating downtown with copy-pasta developments. Murano, Burano, Casa, Casa 2, Casa 3, U Condos, 1Thousand Bay, Peter St Condos, 501 Condos, Karma...
I personally don't have any issue with aA, they are good for small-medium sized projects, I just found them extremely overrated and I can't help but laugh every time I read someone painting them as the best firm in the city.
I personally don't have any issue with aA, they are good for small-medium sized projects, I just found them extremely overrated and I can't help but laugh every time I read someone painting them as the best firm in the city.
urbandreamer
recession proof
I don't have a "best firm in the city" mindset. There's 1000s of architecture firms that are better than aA. But those that defend the P+S/Kirkor/G+C of the town irritate aesthetic snobs like me the most. Have you ever seen a magazine like Dwell, FRAME etc featuring a building by this trio?
Think of the copy paste aA designs like the iphone: successful design is always knocked off. The main thing with aA, as a condo architecture firm, (like Apple) is design consistency: they've never produced a dud.
Oh and look carefully. Other than their twin tower developments, neither project is identical to the next. So know how to find true copy paste designs: stuff like Westlake for example--crappy generic parts picked from the cheapest suppliers and clumsily assembled for the stainless steal and granite countertop elite.
Finally, it's not aA that is populating the city with glass & spandrel towers: it's the developers and their customers duh!
Think of the copy paste aA designs like the iphone: successful design is always knocked off. The main thing with aA, as a condo architecture firm, (like Apple) is design consistency: they've never produced a dud.
Oh and look carefully. Other than their twin tower developments, neither project is identical to the next. So know how to find true copy paste designs: stuff like Westlake for example--crappy generic parts picked from the cheapest suppliers and clumsily assembled for the stainless steal and granite countertop elite.
Finally, it's not aA that is populating the city with glass & spandrel towers: it's the developers and their customers duh!
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TheKingEast
Senior Member
aA is grossly overrated.
maestro
Senior Member
Grossly? Can't think of another prolific firm that has yet to have a major dud to their credit. Even H+P did before they became super awesome. People bitch how all their towers all look the same but, I see few firms that push the envelope.
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Giggle all you want, the joke is on you.
That statement is grossly unfounded.
TheKingEast
Senior Member
UD running around acting like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread doesn't help.
I just find for a firm to be held in such high regard they have produced a lot of meh work in the last little while.