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When I walk through old suburban neighborhoods (eg Annex) the unity of style isn't boring or stifling, but rather evokes the sense of neighborhood identity and history. Certainly the neighborhood along the Yonge axis will exemplify the 2010s aA type modernism, and from my perspective, the...

This building is monumental: cruzin4u's pics only begin to capture how epically LARGE this building is. The scale of the buildings around the green sward is almost claustrophobic. This new vista will take some getting used to, similar to my experience as a flatlander Ontarian visiting the...

Most condos in this city are "infills," excepting in areas like Donlands and up around the Stockyards. Remarkable though how infills have completely changed the texture of this city: I've lived in the Grenville area since I was a kid, and I remember 21 Grenville being "tall."

Oh crap, sarcasm just doesn't work in print. A very Canadian sorry. YES, I'd like to see more difference in design, not just majestic glass boxes. In the Nederlands, the feverish topic of conversation is all about the buildings, and people seem to enjoy the conversation the new buildings...

Whenever I drywall or lay down a patio, there is a temptation to put something in that might intrigue a future demolitioner. I'd guess here an unofficial time capsule....

Lets not get all excited about Dutch modernism. Sure, it suits the Nederlands well enough - the Calvinist minimalism with a stubborn subversive Catholic minority expression. You sense the architects are trying to aggravate you with something, well, different. However, Torontonian's are so...

The planners intended the Canary to help anchor the new city, but the Canary inconveniently closed (probably) because it wasn't making any money. As Toronto isn't a socialist statelet, this building will undergo adaptive re-use in a manner that makes financial sense. I hope for the best, and...

Around the downtown core there is a band of low-value structures sitting on high value land (eg: Church street, Elm&Edward, Spadina and points west): land-value based taxes are unaffordable for low densities, and inevitably, higher density is the answer. While this site never sat in the parking...

The shop owners appear to be stripping away the garish circus signage, and are probably trying to mimic the chill urban sophisticate look of Bulldog. Im glad this fingernail of an old building will survive - you just can't replace the atmosphere of old buildings, and their use as a latte...

The parking garage at the MET is only 1/2 to 2/3 occupied (excepting the visitor parking), and I've observed that many parked cars are dusty from sitting still. It's entirely true that downtown residents walk, cycle, or use TTC preferentially, and providing more generous allocations of bicycle...

I was watching city council on TV, and it would appear that certain councilors won't given Wong-Tam a break on anything, regardless of how reasonable. She is articulate and informed, but the Mammoliti and Minan-Wong types get all stubborn looking every time she speaks. This (as mentioned) is...

With increasing height, she is now "statuesque".

A couple of days ago I saw them unloading detergent boxes into the store from a PC truck. Very odd to start building inventory in all that mess, but I guess the storage areas would be the easiest to finish off.

I watched Adam Vaughn remind other councilors yesterday that anyone living in the grid pattern of old Toronto should expect traffic, and that traffic was a symptom of vitality. It is a good point, and certainly applies here: when I used to leave that climbing gym at 9 pm, the streets were...

Oh, I realize the Yonge buildings that are part of this project will be nicely integrated into the design. It is the buildings that are not part of the project that will look odd in juxtaposition to the podium. Thanks for posting the render again though - it looks as though people sitting on...

And look! A street skating rink!

The back of the Yonge buildings are interesting, but not lovely. The backsides of buildings viewed from The Opera Place lands, or through the portal at the MET condos are hard to love, as they were never really meant to be seen.

Look at how the hospital massing sets a precedent against the backdrop of Riverdale. Are we seeing the start of a density push across the river? Between Scarborough bluffs and downtown, there is a large march of suburban neighborhoods.

Where will cars park I wonder? This site is a 10 minute walk from Dundas station (for the abled)' which is decent, but not perfect for such a large civic centre. Is there parking beneath the Sears building?

The James Cooper mansion condo on Sherbourne might be a template for this project: the original mansion wasn't compromised, unless you considering tacking on a giant glass rear end as compromised. Another likable example of non-facedectomy is the Five project, where the buildings along Yonge...