dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Wasn't that the initial plan.
Wow, good find.
I just looked back at the Staff Report (2005) and the elevation illustrations do show the mechanical room on the roof. Also, Great Gulf got a minor variance approved for an additional 2 metres in height for the mech. room thus increasing it's prominence.
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.
junctionist
Senior Member
I realized when I saw that Staff Report that the rendering was just from a trick angle to conceal the presence of the mechanical box.
Mike in TO
Senior Member
^ If one were standing at that angle, that's what they would likely see - it's not really a trick than is it.
Here's a different angle with no tricks:
Here's a different angle with no tricks:
junctionist
Senior Member
"Trick" suggests it was underhanded, but it's no coincidence that the rare angle from which it can't be seen was used to emphasize its Miesian aesthetic to build interest in terms of architecture. The mechanical structure is in this case an important detail that should be seen in a rendering.
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Mike in TO
Senior Member
Well it's all sales and marketing and most renderings for various projects are from the street looking up... mechanical penthouses and elevator cores typically aren't a priority for sales and marketing types, nor are they typically visible when looking up from street level - city documents etc are a better source for that type of information.
WeirdFishes
Active Member
Looks like X only has 3 more floors of cladding until it is topped-off. Looking good.
Mike in TO
Senior Member
Hard to tell from this distance, but the mech box appears to have black cladding:
egotrippin
Senior Member
The mechanical box's visibility is quite disappointing. I don't even think it looks all that bad anyway, but rather the blatant rendering lie/trick makes it feel as if we were cheated.
I know renderings are an "artist's impression" type deal, but I really think that developers should be held more accountable when it comes to the old 'bait and switch' technique that is used far too often. If only out of respect for the people who live in this city, and the ones purchasing units in these buildings.
I know renderings are an "artist's impression" type deal, but I really think that developers should be held more accountable when it comes to the old 'bait and switch' technique that is used far too often. If only out of respect for the people who live in this city, and the ones purchasing units in these buildings.
CharmAlarm
Active Member
With all due respect, I don't think that the visibility or non-visibility of a mechanical roof is a deal breaker for someone considering a condo purchase.
khris
Senior Member
Not everyone here is a condo purchaser.
Downtowner_1980
New Member
Agreed, some people may not be condo purchasers... but its the purchasers that can say whether they feel cheated or not.
Myself being a purchaser in this building would have to say that even if the rendering did show the mech. floor on top the way its being built it would not deter me from buying.
The mech. floor is still much better than a lot of new buildings going up and even though its not my preference its not an eye sore either...
Myself being a purchaser in this building would have to say that even if the rendering did show the mech. floor on top the way its being built it would not deter me from buying.
The mech. floor is still much better than a lot of new buildings going up and even though its not my preference its not an eye sore either...
casaguy
Senior Member
It's not that the mechanical box looks horrendous, it's just that they came sooo close to design perfection... and then blew it.
Still a stunner of a building. Just an unfortunate cheap-out at the end.
Still a stunner of a building. Just an unfortunate cheap-out at the end.
Mike in TO
Senior Member
How is it a "cheap-out in the end" when the design hasn't changed from the beginning? And the previous comment about greater accountability for renderings (when the one in question is much closer to reality than some we see out there) - it's like me demanding the city step in the regulate fast food menus if the Big Mac I order looks a little thinner and has less sesame seeds then the big juicy one in the photo as the front of the restaurant.
... anyways, I agree that the mechanical box compromises the clean straight lines that made the structure so sexy. Although most buildings have a mech box that isn't hidden, so this isn't terribly different, but it would have been nice if the roof-top structure was entirely closed in with a steel structure or fins like the BAC.
Edit: I'll just add the comment that the building isn't done and from the drawings the mech structure appears to be only one floor, whereas the photos I took from a distance appear to be two floors... so perhaps some additional steel structure is still coming (this is pure speculation).
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Marcanadian
Moderator
Am I the only one who thinks X could have benefited from a hat, ala Casa?