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3D's Paint by NUMB3RS, scribbles and other useless musings

Hey - sorry 3D - been busy.

So, no lickspittle involved...

...I only kinda sorta totally love your proposal. You have crafted what would be the most elegant tower in the country were it to be built. While the shiny repeated box shapes of the podium are intriguing, I'd like to see that part of your plan simplified by 50%. Roy Thomson Hall's Board should get a look at your render if only to get them dreaming of what could be. I sincerely hope that some day they will propose a similar plan for their surface lot, but am afraid that reality will keep it from being as pretty as your plan.

I wonder what it would cost to replace RTH's surrounding skylight with the original plan's proposal? I'd love to see that too...

42
 
^ proof that enough nagging and begging can indeed pay off.

Thanks 42.

To answer your questions sorta... the stacked cubes (podium) would host lobby and usually amenities... including the ultimate smooze,/martini type lobby bar which is perfect for RTH patrons (before and after!).

The reason for the cubes is simple: I wanted to ground this bird a little (hey it's Toronto... if they fear the tower, the grid-like aA podium will help alay their fears.

As for my dream developer contribution... the original canopy... they saved less than $2 million on the original $40 million completion cost (big budget in those days) to turn Arthur's sculpture into an angel food cake on a square plate (this is a quote that Alvin/Geeky will remember from a loooong time ago).

Worth it?

Of course not. They claimed they could not find a glass manufacturer willing to take on the challenge of the non-standard glass elements.

Well times have changed. Prices have gone up, but technology has kept pace.

So... $2-$3 million tops to return the hall to its intended glory.


BTW... the canopy was supposed to lean east and I've turned it to the west. Not to worry, Arthur will give me the green light on this.

So? Does that explain it?
 
The RTH condo looks like those Bazis buildings, the Emerald Towers. Different glass and two leaning sides. I like it.
 
3Dementia said:
So... $2-$3 million tops to return the hall to its intended glory.
Click to expand...

Well, I think you're underestimating the cost of this - I'll bet it costs $3 Million just to take down what's already there without destroying the lobby underneath it. I'll be that new glass roof would cost close to $10 Million when all was said and done...

...not that I have a financial analysis study to back up those numbers.

Anyway, yes, Arthur, King of the Britons, would love to see the glass roof in, so please go ahead with this. RTH Board should roll over when you present the plans, as will the City, who will love this plan. Kyle Rae will throw you a party.

Will the tower be a condo, or a condotel? I'd suggest that it might be time for our second Hyatt - a Hyatt Regency this time, and that they could take the lower 20 floors. Or Mandarin. Or Crowne Plaza - wait, nah, not upscale enough. St. Regis - upper end of the Starwood chains. Something like that.

42
 
Pretty grandiose vision of the Roy Thompson hall. Almost has a Frank Gehry feel to the condo.

I'm not too sure about the ground level stuff though. For me, a lot what you feel in a city is on street level. Context is pretty important too. As a stand alone development it's pretty nice, but how well would it fit in to it's surrounding? How does it weave itself into the existing urban environment?

In any event, fun stuff.

If you have anything you've done with a 3d application (Max, XSI, Maya) definitely post.
 
Absolutely embarassing work. What a waste of bandwidth, and not to mention the 20 seconds of time I spent typing up my disapproval.













It actually took me much longer to type that up!
 
theman23 said:
Absolutely embarassing work. What a waste of bandwidth, and not to mention the 20 seconds of time I spent typing up my disapproval.

















It actually took me much longer to type that up!
Click to expand...




what the hell are you talking about,the tower at Y/B is awesome.and building a condo at RTH is a great idea.RTH remake definately mkes it more interesting.
 
Cor!

3D, I accidentally emailed the Mandarin buffet chain, and well, they're interested. They want something more Sino-Suburban though. Pls design.

42
 
ST. MIKE'S SQUARE

This is a massing study that I am proposing for the huge parking lot bordered by Dundas, Mutual, Queen and Dalhousie. I've included the existing study which appears to be 3 smallish towers in a park.

The idea of course is create a gorgeous new urban square which would be animated by restaurants and retail... and perhaps function as the climax to the "sculpture" route that has evolved in the neighbourhood.

As you can see, the new square triangulates beautifully with NPS and Dundas Square.

The basic idea is to stack most of the density on Shuter Street, maintaining a terrific view corridor of St. Mikes (in sort of a Market Square/St. James cathedral manner), using appropriate scale on Queen Street and Mutual Street, and cantilevering live/work lofts over the existing lane on the west side (Dalhousie) allowing service vehicles for Church Street and the new at grade retail in the square.

Of course mucho parking will available underground with an entrance exit on Mutual.

I'm working on an architectural render to show the square in detail and how the buildings will look and work together. The highrise component will essentially be a modern design, while the square will be defined by yellow and orange brick construction.... rather than trying to be clever with wacky and wild architectural concepts around the square... I decided to keep it very restrained and inspired primarily by Queen Street.. it just feels right (and welcoming).



Mikes.jpg
 
I think sometimes people are looking for "news" so your other thread was effective in getting me to look into this thread whose title was originally too long to lure me in.

I have a question. What is a "Massing Study" and who commissions them? Do most projects take on a conventional look because the original massing study precludes unconventional ideas right from the start? What I mean is that, leaving aside engineering and commercial challenges, are massing studies in themselves set up discourage bold ideas? How would a city react to your design assuming it were feasible?

It seems like most buildings are differentiated in their cladding, detailing etc - yet building who'se basic form is original are rare. An example might be Leibskin's Hummingbird condo?

Anyway, I love the illustration it has sort of a Gotham City look, somewhat menacing. Would you describe St Mike's are post-modern fortress? Ghery without the curves?

Keep it coming, and thank you.
 
Your RTH towers looks really cool. You have to show that to some architects and get them built. Of course they'd totally rip them apart but once you leave they'd say, damn that is nice.
 
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