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Bay Adelaide Centre West Tower (Brookfield, 50s, WZMH)

The building looks stubby at 50 floors, and at 5 or 7 more, it would have a much better impact on the skyline. It's a shame, but what are you going to do? No point in wanking about it.
 
This large site, in the business district - capable of accommodating a complex of several towers - offered a wonderful opportunity to build something that's as significant to today as the TD Centre was to the era when it went up, 40 years ago.

While this building isn't part of such a complex - and that opportunity has been missed - if we get two or three more towers built to the same design, of different heights, and arranged on the site in such a way as to create a dynamic relationship, it'll have a wan, ghostly presence that will be distinctive enough. I don't find the tower that's been built to be ugly or ill-proportioned. Multiples of the same image are a different class of thing ( again, think TD ... ) and are judged differently from one-offs.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with this complex during the next construction cycle; will it be expanded to the same design or will it - like the proposed third tower of Brookfield Place - miss the boat entirely and ( perhaps ) have to wait for the following one?
 
I can't see how anyone can call it *stuby* ... have a look in person - it's far from that. Actually it seems quite slim in nature. It's impact is huge from certain angles!

Still though I wish something a little more creative were built on this site.
 
The building looks stubby at 50 floors, and at 5 or 7 more, it would have a much better impact on the skyline. It's a shame, but what are you going to do? No point in wanking about it.

If anyone is "wanking" about this building, I would be concerned. :eek:
 
I can't see how anyone can call it *stuby* ... have a look in person - it's far from that. Actually it seems quite slim in nature. It's impact is huge from certain angles!

Maybe it just seems stubby with Spire viewed against it

3162450207_c54cf0e201_b.jpg


Speaking of stubby, about 2 mins 10 secs on in here
 
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Wow, a lot of folks dissing this building. I thought I was the only one disappointed by this anti-climax.
 
It's a short glass FCP, it does its job. What I am now looking forward to is the lobby treatment, and nice new sidewalks. They'd better not be cheap and pour crappy cement slabs, at the very least the should pave it with stone or bricks of some sort. I'll take that as an apology for the rest of the building's conservative appearance, as I spend most of my time at street level, walking. All of the big office towers have done a nice job on the sidewalks, so I expect no less here.
 
The courtyard between the east and west towers will be something to look forward to as a potentially top notch public space in the CBD.
 
I'm looking forward to the new public space / courtyard as well. I'm a little worried, though, about the site for phase 2 of BAC, which was/is to be built directly to the East of the new public space. It will be unfortunate if Brookfield just puts up long-term hoardings (think of the huge empty lot bordered by Wellesley, Yonge, Breadalbane and Bay) or leaves it as a gravel lot surrounded by chain-link fencing (as they have done with the Bay Adelaide parking garage entrances). Hopefully they are able to landscape it somehow until something is done with the second site. I'm not holding my breath, though. Too bad, this could remain a blight on the CBD for some time. Wouldn't it be cool if the City was able to obtain it and extend the cloud gardens another block? (There is no chance of that ever happening, but it would still be neat).
 
The building looks stubby at 50 floors, and at 5 or 7 more, it would have a much better impact on the skyline.

To the south Trump, Scotiatower and FCP will block it. Someday the Concourse and the old Sapphire sites will block it from the west. And someday Brookfield will hopefully put up something interesting to the north and east so this tower will effectively be blocked from all sides and will make little impact on the skyline.
 
It's a short glass FCP, it does its job.

I for one would be thrilled to see (da actual) FCP re-clad* with this sort of curtain wall... especially since the bums haven't kept their promise about announcing the recladding of the BMO eyesore in white granite.

That announcement was due 11 months ago. Unlikely they'll spend a dime on it now.



*assumes uproar from adam-types because the building colour/materials are more than 30 years old.
 
My friend who works in FCP told me a few months ago that they'd been told by the building owner that it was going to be reclad in some sort of white glass material (and I think he might have said that there was a test piece on display somewhere in the building). I don't really know any more than that, but if it's true it sounds like it could be interesting.
 

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