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City-TV & OMNI-TV's H.Q. (formerly Torch, Quadrangle)

You are talking about Rogers here - if they didn't think negative billing, iphone scamming and Internet throttling affect their image, they sure as hell won't think that an ugly building is going to make an impact. Which is really quite unfortunate.

But let's face it, the original building is such an ugly mess - the expectations placed on the reno is probably a bit unrealisitic.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
You are talking about Rogers here - if they didn't think negative billing, iphone scamming and Internet throttling affect their image, they sure as hell won't think that an ugly building is going to make an impact. Which is really quite unfortunate.

But let's face it, the original building is such an ugly mess - the expectations placed on the reno is probably a bit unrealisitic.

AoD
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Right on.

And perhaps they could have painted a mural of a nicer building on fabric, and then just draped that over the current wreckage. It would have been cheap!
 
The property is a prime location, but the streetcar tracks prevent any creative architecture that could have gone there. No matter how many ways you can tear it down and rebuild it; it would still look the same.

Then again 10 Dundas St(former Toronto Life Center) is up for sale:rolleyes:. They don't have to buy the whole building, just the two empty offices spaces upstairs and convert them into TV studios overlooking the square. Perfect enough when(or if) the station expands.
 
Tewder said:
Good points highlighting some of the improvements Metroman, and obviously budget restraints and priorities are part of any project. This is Roger's though and people had greater expectations. What's even more frustrating is that only a few more relatively simple alterations would have netted a much greater impact in transforming Olympic Spirit to the iconic face of Rogers...

Leaving the grey cladding was unfortunate. It renders the changes too subtle such that the memory of the sad olympic centre still lingers. In terms of context the colour blends in too much with the greyness of the square, and links it a little too closely to the tin pile across the square. As for the building itself the cladding has an unfortunate corrugated shack look to it that feels cheap and temporary. A bad choice all around and I can't help but wonder if it would have been so expensive to have gone with something different? The surfaces to clad that face into the square and Victoria Street are really not that big given the fairly small footprint of the building and given the number of windows and signage.

Also, leaving the tower as is was also a mistake. I do hope they proceed with covering some of the blank concrete walls but the crown of the tower simply looks like the cheap afterthought that it is. Again, how much would a new curved crown with screens have really cost given the impact and recognition it would have returned to Rogers??

I understand the importance and priority of getting it right on the inside first where the building functions but this building also sits in Dundas Square in the heart of the city. The exterior should be a priority too, or else why bother being in such a prominent location?
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Agreed. All projects have a budget, but it's puzzling that Rogers limited it enough that the exterior remained virtually the same. This building is essentially a Rogers ad...you'd think they could've done better.
 
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Yes, this is a television studio with a very visible profile for a company that spends millions in branding/marketing/advertising and lord knows how much for a prominent location yet some here think image is negligeable. Good grief, companies open flagship stores in prominent locations at a loss just for the exposure... but they don't typically cheap out when they do, it's sort of not the point.
 
Look at the Sportsnet studios, great on the inside, but not much on the outside (then again it was shoehorned into the Rogers Campus but I digress.)

The new City/Omni building is so small, the TV sales department for Cityline/BT is located at Rogers Campus beside the Publishing group!
 
TheCheapening.jpg
 
I find it bizarre that people have a problem with the streetcar tracks. The idea that streetcars [could] go through this building is obviously it's coolest feature, by far.
 
CodeMonkey said:
The property is a prime location, but the streetcar tracks prevent any creative architecture that could have gone there. No matter how many ways you can tear it down and rebuild it; it would still look the same.

Then again 10 Dundas St(former Toronto Life Center) is up for sale:rolleyes:. They don't have to buy the whole building, just the two empty offices spaces upstairs and convert them into TV studios overlooking the square. Perfect enough when(or if) the station expands.
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the streetcar tracks that pass through this building are unique, interesting and cool!

this building will look the same even if it was torn down, redesigned and rebuilt? simply because of the tracks? that's like saying any building that has an large arched entrance, if torn down, redesigned and rebuilt around that entrance, would look the same. the tower in the picture above is amazing (and certainly doesn't look like the new citytv headquarters).

any architect in this city, and the world for that matter would look at this site and see enormous potential if this thing was razed.
 
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