Future Canadian Skylines

[Beedok]

The Bow is definitely blue glass.

[travis3000]

Toronto has some awesome designs, it's not fair to paint the entire city with one brush. Calgary's skyline has many blue glass projects. It's not a bad thing. Regardless, TO's skyline is getting better all the time. I know some people don't know the lake view with all the new condo projects popping up, but I actually really like it. The density is unreal and it's rapidly expanding both E and W to create a super long skyline.

[WhipperSnapper]

The waterfront is dominqted by one architectural firm that specializes in bland design. There still are a few that stand out though.

I enjoy colour and diferentiation but, I'm not going to obsess about it. Most examples of colour implementation across the nation are token gestures and simply don't look good. The same can be said about design. Usually something that makes no attempt to mask it's basic form turns out better particularly in tight budget residential designs.

[Everyday]

Originally Posted by Infrequent Poster

I would suggest the difference is, there are far less football games then there are baseball. Don't know how many games a soccer team plays in a season, but I doubt it is anywhere close to the 160ish games in a baseball season.(I realize only half are home games)

Ya, you cannot compare football to baseball. Football is one game per week, on a weekend, in the day. Baseball is every night. How many people would come out on a tuesday night in -5 to -10 degree weather for three hours? not many. Baseball is also much more of a precision game and is more affected by the elements than football. Montreal would need a dome. That being said, doubt it will ever happen. The instability being created by the PQ right now isn't helping things, that goes for the Nordiques too.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Everyday

Ya, you cannot compare football to baseball. Football is one game per week, on a weekend, in the day. Baseball is every night. How many people would come out on a tuesday night in -5 to -10 degree weather for three hours? not many. Baseball is also much more of a precision game and is more affected by the elements than football. Montreal would need a dome. That being said, doubt it will ever happen. The instability being created by the PQ right now isn't helping things, that goes for the Nordiques too.

Minneapolis and Montreal have a very similar climate and they built an open air baseball stadium. Montreal does NOT need a dome and there's little point in trying to bring MLB back to Montreal if you're going to build a dome.

Ambience is crucial in a sport like baseball. A dome will kill baseball just like Olympic Stadium did.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Ashok

No thank you - please put it in Laval.

God no! If Montreal had an open air stadium downtown the Expos would still be flourishing in Montreal today. Montreal has a long rich baseball history; it must return... and it must go downtown. You're probably too young to remember how important the Expos were to Montrealers.

I think you'd be shocked at how much energy and vitality baseball would bring to downtown Montreal. Baseball plays 81 home games/year. 30,000 fans 81 times/year drawn to downtown Montreal.... and don't forget how many thousands of visitors Montreal would get from other parts of Quebec, Ontario, and the US.

A MLB team in downtown Montreal would instantly give the core a massive permanent bump. And you want to put it in Laval???

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by koops65

I've updated my Future Toronto Render. This one has added to it: 156 Front, Union Centre, 80 Bloor W, YC Condos, Wellesley on the Park, 1 Yorkville, 22/21 Yonge and 501 Yonge S.

[IMG][/IMG]

Original photo, credit to Jason Cook on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookedphotos/9449622323/
[IMG][/IMG]

The Toronto Highrise (Skyscraper) Downtown is marking out it's boundary lines, along Bay, Yonge Church, and University. Then down to the Lakeshore, west to Spadina and North to Queen and back East to University. Then there is lots of the Toronto Lowrise-downtown, which is Kensington Market- Queens Park, U of T. The Toronto Lowrise Downtown when viewed from the air will be surrounded by Skyscrapers and Massive ones on the South, Northeast, and East. Not exactly Central Park, but giving off that feel when seen in these above ground shots.

[MTLskyline]

Originally Posted by Ashok

No thank you - please put it in Laval.

Sure... if you want to draw even fewer people than the Big O... It is not centrally located at all. People working downtown might consider going to a baseball game after work if it is easy to get to. They probably won't go period if it's somewhere far away from everything like Laval. (Not to mention that it is not exactly the image of Montreal you want to put forward to visitors)

The Bonaventure location is the best spot. And I think in this location, the 30,000 fan/game target is achievable. I think most other places in Montreal outside of downtown/Old Montreal/Griffintown that 20,000 is what you'd likely get. In Laval, you'd maybe get 15,000, but probably less.

[dleung]

Originally Posted by Ramako

It's a fair criticism that we're getting too much blue glass (though are 156 Front and Union Centre are hardly "McTowers") I'm confused about why you bring Calgary up as a point of contrast. Aside from The Bow, most big projects they've built or are building are also blue glass.

Neither are the Mirvish/Gehry towers, but they are all just proposals. One only needs to compare the last 5 office towers constructed in either city to realize it's night and day. Glass colour is inconsequential compared to the design and massing.

[caltrane74]

Let's hope for some more ground breaking designs in the next batch of office towers which get built.

[Gresto]

Groundbreaking and pulchritudinous are not synonymous.

[Everyday]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Minneapolis and Montreal have a very similar climate and they built an open air baseball stadium. Montreal does NOT need a dome and there's little point in trying to bring MLB back to Montreal if you're going to build a dome.

Ambience is crucial in a sport like baseball. A dome will kill baseball just like Olympic Stadium did.

Minnesota had to postpone 4 games in April last year, Montreal gets even more precipitation in the spring than the twin cities. Domes don't have to be complete dungeons like the big Owe, stadium architecture has come a long way in 40 years. Something like Miller Park in Milwaukee would be awesome.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Ambience is crucial in a sport like baseball. A dome will kill baseball just like Olympic Stadium did.

^Retractable roof. It's true, though, that when the roof is closed, it's a pretty grim atmosphere.

Montreal wouldn't absolutely need a domed stadium but the alternative would be cancellations, lots of double-headers, mid-week afternoon games, etc. I could deal with it but it wouldn't be ideal.

Anyway, this probably belongs in a different thread.

[ssiguy]

It`s not that I have a problem with blue glass per se. Some designs can be quite striking but in Toronto they seem to be the only thing that gets built over 20 stories. This is especially true of the Waterfront area which is becoming a glass wall with little variation in design or colour.

Just look at those 2 pics, one present and one future and nearly all of the buildings going up are blue glass. The Stalinist bunkers of the 60s have become the blue glass monotony of the 21st century.

[Ramako]

Focussing only on office towers makes it look worse than it really is, considering that the bulk of construction has been and will be residential. We're certainly getting too much blue glass and a lot of bland designs, but the problem is a little overblown. We're also currently building a lot of towers that employ a variety of materials, colours, massings and designs: Theatre Park, Tableau, Picasso, Bisha, X2, Ice, One Bloor, Massey Tower, Five, Yorkville Residences, Exhibit, Backstage, L Tower, 88 Scott, E Condos, Ernst & Young Tower and more.

[Gresto]

^Doubtless, lots of good stuff has been built, is under construction, and is on the docket for the future. It's just that those two office towers in koops's illustration strike me as egregiously insipid and ugly, especially because of their girth, which makes them hard to ignore.

[DrNest]

Originally Posted by Gresto

^Doubtless, lots of good stuff has been built, is under construction, and is on the docket for the future. It's just that those two office towers in koops's illustration strike me as egregiously insipid and ugly, especially because of their girth, which makes them hard to ignore.

The girth would be good with a better looking design. Personally I like the idea of block-wide office towers that are simplistic, yet imposing-in-your-face, such as the XYZ trio of buildings in New York.
I often think about how slender are so many of the new buildings going up in Toronto, and wish we had something with a lot more width. I get that as condos they're generally not going to be particularly wide, which is why when we get the proposals for sizeable offices, I want to see something large and appeasing.

That being said, I am getting more fond of the 151-171 Front St (what is it's actual address?) as I look at it, but the proposal for 156 Front St needs a redesign in my opinion. I like the height and width, but not the overall look.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Ramako

Focussing only on office towers makes it look worse than it really is, considering that the bulk of construction has been and will be residential. We're certainly getting too much blue glass and a lot of bland designs, but the problem is a little overblown. We're also currently building a lot of towers that employ a variety of materials, colours, massings and designs: Theatre Park, Tableau, Picasso, Bisha, X2, Ice, One Bloor, Massey Tower, Five, Yorkville Residences, Exhibit, Backstage, L Tower, 88 Scott, E Condos, Ernst & Young Tower and more.

Saying the difference between the last 5 office projects is night and day is focusing on wow factor over quality design. Of course, Toronto commercial design definitely could use some umph but, at the same time, wow factor is fleeting while good design lasts forever.

Southcore/RBC Wellington vs Centennial/Jameson

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by DrNest

The girth would be good with a better looking design. Personally I like the idea of block-wide office towers that are simplistic, yet imposing-in-your-face, such as the XYZ trio of buildings in New York.

I agree completely. Add TD Centre and Commerce Court to that list. But those buildings are all handsome modernist behemoths; wide on one side, fairly skinny on the other, and with clearly striated window patterns.
Nowadays everything has to be a fully glass-clad blank grey/blue lump with bizarre, nonsensical little curves at the edges. The style just doesn't appeal to me at all.

[koops65]

Another update to my future Toronto render. This one has the One Yonge complex (looking totally out of scale to its surroundings) and a few other towers added, plus some revisions:
[IMG][/IMG]