TORONTO | Highrise Developments Compilation Thread - Page 57

Maldive · #**1121** Posted **Oct 12, 2007, 8:31 PM**

^Well, close to 100% of them will make it because they are being "made" right now (u/c) or ... in the case of condos and condo/hotels like L Tower and Shangri La... have sold enough to begin construction. If you click on the link below the pic you can see more (very early draft with many more projects to come).

lawsond · #**1122** Posted **Oct 12, 2007, 11:10 PM**

that is truly an awesome compilation of towers.
in defense of big daddy though, there is a compulsion in toronto to build a little too conservatively.

-towers that are juuuust under 1000 feet. why? whyyyyyyy? make it a thousand people! it's like they're afraid of that number.
-massing towers so they don't stand out. trump tower will be almost invisible - for example - on the city skyline.
-hiding amazing architecture. alsop's floating box is very cleverly hidden. some might say "good thing"....but not me.
-penny pinching...look at what frank gehry designed on a shoestring for AGO. it looks like an airport terminal. or the opera house. OMG. it is to weep.

on the whole though, the city is going in a better direction. i just think big daddy has legitimate frustrations.

koops65 · #**1123** Posted **Oct 13, 2007, 12:45 AM**

Its OFFICIAL! Trump Tower begins!
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=TorontoHome

Yue Yi · #**1124** Posted **Oct 14, 2007, 5:50 AM**

[QUOTE=Big Daddy;3108188]Thanks, you make your point - I do get frustrated when I see good projects sidelined by or negatively altered by political forces. (ROCP 3 for example)

You can't be serious! ROCP3 (residences of College Park 3) a good project? Looks like to most ordinary of the lot. I'm sure wherever it is today in its design, it is far better by being positively "altered by political forces". However, I will say it is far superior to ROCP 1 and 2 which, in my opinion are the worst buildings to appear recently on the T.O. skyline. The tops look goofy and the cladding looks soooo cheap!

TOBoy · #**1125** Posted **Oct 15, 2007, 11:56 PM**

Maldive: Just a note that the top far right tower is Luna not Murano.

I must say those look awsome, and some I have never seen before. Great job!

Maldive · #**1126** Posted **Oct 16, 2007, 12:26 AM**

Yeah i haven't fixed all the typos.... you can tell that I copied "Murano" and pasted on Luna. thanx.

Big Daddy · #**1127** Posted **Oct 16, 2007, 3:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yue Yi

You can't be serious! ROCP3 (residences of College Park 3) a good project? Looks like to most ordinary of the lot. I'm sure wherever it is today in its design, it is far better by being positively "altered by political forces".

In a utopian world, political interference or "design process" is supposed to ensure that buildings meet certain criteria in terms of materials and aesthetic design and to make sure it "fits" into the neighbourhood for which it is planned. Unfortunately this process has been hijacked in this and most other major cities as a method of acquiring money or services or land (or other favours) from a developer in exchange for approvals or height bonuses etc. I remember one project in particular where we were told in no uncertain terms what we would be required to do in order to get our project approved (including providing a “cross access agreement” across our site to a neighbouring site to improve their access – owner was a close friend of a prominent politician – and change the appearance of our project so it more closely resembled another project up the street etc etc).

I agree many of the projects approved in Toronto seem to be just boxes of slightly different colour or height but don’t put so much faith in city hall to produce superior design. I have yet to see a project or neighbourhood improved by this process despite its original good intentions. I have however seen many projects rendered infeasible, too expensive or aesthetically mundane. Better to ask yourself how some very bad projects seem to get approval so easily – or to ask yourself to who are these people connected?

caltrane74 · #**1128** Posted **Oct 16, 2007, 4:20 PM**

Maldive amazing work!....

thanks

Maldive · #**1129** Posted **Oct 16, 2007, 6:28 PM**

Yer welcome.

It's time to light a fire in this forum... and that fire is Toronto... a city with more exciting projects underway than ever before in the history of this country.

Or North America for that matter.

Big Daddy · #**1130** Posted **Oct 16, 2007, 11:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maldive

... and that fire is Toronto... a city with more exciting projects underway than ever before in the history of this country.

Your right - I moved to Toronto 30 some years ago and at that time I could name each and every building downtown - forwards and backwards AND I knew every new project that was being planned. Now, my God, I can’t begin to keep track of all the proposed buildings that are going up - Maldive's little project brought that home in spades. I too am amazed to see all the buildings that are going in and the vast majority are well in excess of 40 floors. Truly an interesting time to live here - the skyline has changed dramatically already and there’s much more coming! (although, I do wish some of them had more architectural flair........but maybe that’s just me)

Yue Yi · #**1131** Posted **Oct 17, 2007, 12:52 AM**

Maldive, you do fabulous work and I agree with you 100% . This is an amazing time to live in Toronto. There is so much going on yet the new buildings not only make great skyline impressions, but they also work together to make great streets and public spaces. This is a city that is being improved at every level. In terms of the architecture, I think it is very progressive yet we have a very composed skyline. If every building screamed for attention, we would have a city like Shanghia or Dubai. Having been to both of those places I can tell you my prefernce by far is to have the city we have here.

I applaud the planners, architects, urban designers and the development industry for contributing to this great city.

Skorji · #**1132** Posted **Oct 20, 2007, 7:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yue Yi

I applaud the planners, architects, urban designers and the development industry for contributing to this great city.

I agree. The way cities like Dubai and Shanghai are developing; they look out of scale, and do not function as well as downtown Toronto at the human scale. Better to fill in the missing pieces of the skyline before doing anything too outrageous, and that’s exactly what is happening. Toronto will have its day to construct the flagship projects we are seeing go up in other major cities like Chicago, New York and Dubai (let’s not forget, the CN Tower in its day was one). It is all a matter of time and for the time being, I'd much rather see what we're actually doing right now. The city, planners, architects and urban designers should give themselves a pat on the back.

Maldive · #**1133** Posted **Oct 21, 2007, 1:51 AM**

Here's an advanced "draft" compilation render I put together (consists of existing renders, renders adapted by me and renders created by me based on elevations/available info)

Ignore typos/errors... it's in progress... there are many, many projects I'm not interested in including so this is by no means complete.

Good snapshot though.

rapid_business · #**1134** Posted **Oct 21, 2007, 2:02 AM**

Maldive, it looks great! Now I hate to ask, but how about a map with number corresponding to different projects? Or would anyone else be up to this challenge? The Calgary thread has something like it, and it is stellar in terms of getting a sense of how a building will impact the skyline, but more specifically the streetscape in relation to the neighborhood it is built in.

Anyone skilled in this area and would be up for it? (or has it been done already, and I'm posting for no apparent reason but ignorance?)