TORONTO | Highrise Developments Compilation Thread

[yaletown_fella]

In a perfect world the Libeskind addition would be torn down and someone like this architect or Shim-Sutcliffe would be commissioned to build a replacement addition.

Although I like what Hariri has done with the budget, the metal cladding and black outlines on the 2006 'crystal' is a huge eyesore. As well as the cheap drywall and flourescent strip lights in the interior additions.

[isaidso]

In a perfect world, we'd be able to build architecture that speaks to varying tastes without one subset of the population insisting that everything conform to their personal tastes.

There's a very vocal group who were never going to like a modernist design that strayed this far from convention. For the rest who welcomed it, the issue with the ROM Crystal has always been the cheap cladding they installed. Remember that glorious titanium we were hoping for? That's where they should be spending the money. Instead, they're cluttering the front up with fountains and building stairs/ramp where before neither was needed? This is a case of fixing what doesn't need fixing and not fixing what does need fixing.

Some of those interior renderings look fine at first glance but that's the only positive.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by isaidso

In a perfect world, we'd be able to build architecture that speaks to varying tastes without one subset of the population insisting that everything conform to their personal tastes.

There's a very vocal group who were never going to like a modernist design that strayed this far from convention. For the rest who welcomed it, the issue with the ROM Crystal has always been the cheap cladding they installed. Remember that glorious titanium we were hoping for? That's where they should be spending the money. Instead, they're cluttering the front up with fountains and building stairs/ramp where before neither was needed? This is a case of fixing what doesn't need fixing and not fixing what does need fixing.

Some of those interior renderings look fine at first glance but that's the only positive.

I respectfully disagree. These renovations take an anti-urban, pedestrian hostile ground floor and turn it into a public asset. Better cladding and more glass would also be nice, but they wouldn't have the same bang for the buck as this new entrance.

[Nouvellecosse]

Looks like a nice entrance on its own but definitely does not suit the rest of the architecture. It's a very standard horizontal orientation with lines parallel to the ground which fundamentally disagrees with the rest of the building's gestalt. And having different materials and such a big canopy gives the impression that the entrance as its own separate entity is the focal point. It encourages people to focus on the entrance and disregard the rest of the building as if it was an embarrassment one wishes to hide.

But a successful addition would enhance the whole and play to the strengths of the existing building rather than reject and abandon them. This is an especially important problem when you already have such a contrast between two structures (the historic museum and the crystal addition). The crystal already abandon's and upstages the historic part, but that isn't really a problem since it's so much bigger. Its rightful place is in the spotlight. But the entrance is a comparatively small element. plus now there will be three clashing styles which is just a mess. If there is going to be a new entrance it should be an additional crystal, or better yet, just enhance the exiting entrance to eliminate the builder's basic door way and bland walkway leading to it. But it should invite the eye up to the rest of the building and not away from it. At the very least, the new entrance should be the same colour and materials.

[koops65]

65 Broadway:

• Video Link

[IMG][/IMG]

[Maldive]

CIBC SQUARE | 241.39m | 50s | Hines | WilkinsonEyre l Phase 2 u/c


Johnny Au

Johnny Au

First curtain-wall appearing last week.


mburrrrr


The One | 328.4m | 91s | Mizrahi Developments | Foster + Partners l u/c

From the Lower Don Lands.


jer1961

jer1961

rdaner


The Well | 174.03m | 46s | RioCan | Hariri Pontarini l nearing completion


expo5770

Great to see brunch in full swing.


karldice

karldice

karldice

A ton more food offerings/cafes still to open this year:


NiceForWhat

rdaner

Some finishing touches yet to do on the mid-rises along Wellington.


AHK

[Maldive]

TD Terrace

Year of the Dragon


Red Mars

[koops65]

Alias, bottom centre:

[IMG][/IMG]

[Maldive]

Pinnacle One Yonge | 344.9m | 105s | Pinnacle | Hariri Pontarini l u/c


Red Mars

mburrrrrr


Concord Sky | 299m or 300.6m?? | 85s | Concord Adex | a—A l u/c

Racing skyward (not ;-).


thaivic

@Koops65 has a 300.6 metres (super-tall) height listed on his SSP diagram for Concord Sky, despite UT's official height of 299m.

The “is it a super-tall?” has been much discussed at UT and one member pointed out that height is measured from the lowest pedestrian entrance (there’s an elevation change from south up to north* (*which is the 299m).

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) does indeed measure total height from "the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to.... (the Architectural Top)".

So if the south end of the tower has a pedestrian entrance (presumably not just a fire door lol)... voila! super-tall. If there is no door on the south end of the tower .... height fanboy dreams are crushed.

But Toronto may actually have 3 super-talls under construction. 2 of them are looking fine, 1 tba (Concord Sky) …is bound to cause some serious hand-ringing for the next few years.

But does that entrance exist?? Inquiring minds want to know.


3D (CTBUH criteria)

[Maldive]

^^

Just after my Concord Sky comments were posted, @innsertnamehere kindly put the super-tall discussion to bed.

There is a primary entrance on the (lower elevation) south end of the tower, making this a 300.5 metre super-tall according to CTBUH criteria.


innsertnamehere

So T-Dot does have 3 super-talls under construction.

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by Maldive

^^

Just after my Concord Sky comments were posted, @innsertnamehere kindly put the super-tall discussion to bed.

There is a primary entrance on the (lower elevation) south end of the tower, making this a 300.5 metre super-tall according to CTBUH criteria.


innsertnamehere

So T-Dot does have 3 super-talls under construction.

Then we'll have to ask mods to move it to Supertall Construction.

Edit: Sorry, I see you already did so.

[Maldive]

Even the CTBUH lists it as a super-tall @ 300.2 metres... so whatever height is correct it deserves to be moved to Super-talls Construction.

[Maldive]

The One | 328.4m | 91s | Mizrahi Developments | Foster + Partners l u/c

A beautiful sight (sunset) and site (floor 53 poured).


BloorMan

[Maldive]

619 Yonge | 237.99m | 70s | YI Developments | Core Architects l pre-construction

Height increased from 57 storeys to 70 storeys (238 metres) with a simplified tower envelope and an unusual mech penthouse design.


UT

UT

Changes include retention of the heritage facade below.


UT

UT

[colemonkee]

619 Yonge is a bit of a mess. There's no consistency or pattern to the color differences in the vertical fin elements, and their lack of pattern does not tie in to the mechanical penthouse enough (or frankly at all). And the seemignly random glazing pattern on the balcony glass has the same problem, and is like a poor man's Sugar Wharf Phase 1 (and that's saying something as Sugar Wharf is nothing to write home about itself). I won't even get started on the diamonds on the mechanical penthouse as they aren't anchored in the design anywhere else.

Honestly, they should stick with the simple, white vertical elements and the black window mullions all the way up on the sides. That actually looks quite nice. But these gimmicks gotta go!

[Maldive]

83 Bloor West | 269.05m | 82s | Parallax | Arcadis l pre-construction

This started at 72 storeys, was bumped to 80 and now submitted at 82 storeys. Now balcony-fied on at least one elevation. One of the 2 mechanical penthouse levels includes an indoor observation amenity.


UT

[yaletown_fella]

The removal of the curved elements in the podium ruined it for me. This has been value engineered into oblivion.

[isaidso]

+1

83 Bloor West went from a 9/10 to a 6/10. In its present form, it will be yet another forgettable residential slab. 619 Yonge is even worse. Are we building a bigger better Toronto or just more vapid stuff we'll be forced to look at the next 50 years? Often if feels like the latter.

[koops65]

83 Bloor W:

[IMG][/IMG]

[Maldive]

CIBC SQUARE | 241.39m | 50s | Hines | WilkinsonEyre l Phase 2 u/c

Money $hot.


urb@ndweller

just east of the creek


Alias | 158.69m | 48s | Madison Group | Teeple Architects l u/c

Church Street gettin’ tall.


GTAConstruction

UT

Across the street is The Saint @151m (47s). On the left in the background is 250 Church Street @ 166.1m (52s).


GTAConstruction


The James at Scrivener Square | 81.65m | 21s | Tricon | COBE, Graziani + Corazza l u/c


AlbertC

AlbertC

AlbertC

UT


Biblio Lofts | 28.91m | 7s | NVSBLE | BDP Quadrangle l u/c

Nice infill replacing a non-descript 2 storey building.


flonicky

UT

flonicky