Quote:
Originally Posted by travis3000
Yeah this list is all Toronto pretty much (9/10), and it looks to remain that way until at least late next summer when Telus Sky (Calgary) debuts in the top 10. Then Calgary will have 2 entries in the list. I still think we need another city in this list. I'd love to see Montreal or Vancouver somehow get an entry. It's not likely, but anything is possible.
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I would like to strongly disagree.
The only way I would feel okay about seeing Montréal or Vancouver on a skyscraper list for "tallest in the country" is if Canada's other mega-municipalities were experiencing slow construction cycles.
Both Vancouver and Montréal have a physical context that is worth protecting. This is not to mean that the Bow River and Lake Ontario, or, rather the parts of the aforementioned that interact with the cores of Calgary and Toronto are... ugly or less attractive.
Absolutely not.
There is a different kind (and by many, preferred) beauty in both Trawno and Cowtown. The flatter geographical realities mean, though, that building taller is not only easier to accomplish but is actually somewhat necessary in order to see what Mont-Royal could do, perhaps if it was in your city instead. I wonder what downtown Calgary would be like if it was nestled at its base? (Photoshop idea?)
Can you imagine Vancouver's mountains surrounding downtown Toronto?
I'm not anti-development; in fact, I avidly advocate for inward urbanism and for an
end to suburban expansion (sprawl) whenever I'm faced with this topic amongst peers and other people I meet.
However: height isn't the only factor that makes a great city. (And... I know of some unpleasant cities that have many tall towers.)
I fully admit: I want Toronto and Calgary to reach for the stars with their skylines, partly so they may enjoy their smoother landscapes (contrasted by their mighty architectural ones); but, for Montréal and Vancouver, I want them to completely hold off on the supertalls and focus on achieving a consistent pace of mid-to-highrise skyscraper construction, to continue building cities of relatively modest heights as to more fully appreciate the topographical assets that would certainly vanish otherwise.
We also need to consider the street level and infrastructural challenges that arise when big buildings rise. Let's see how Toronto copes with this before we encourage other Canadian cities to essentially say "fuck it" and build as much and as tall as possible.