Toronto Nathan Phillips Square + Spirit Garden | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

Have any of the windows been replaced on the east tower of city hall yet? Are the new windows going to be reflective or clear like the current ones? City Hall is one building that I think would much better with mirrored windows. It would hide those ugly blinds.
 
It looks amazing with the peace garden taken out.... high modernist glory.
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Couldn't agree more.

Great Finnish minimalism...a reflecting pool...and a Henry Moore. perfection!!

What more could a great square ask for?
 
No mirrored windows on City Hall please, come on!
Those trucks gotta' go, once the restaurant is open hopefully they'll move them away though I'll sure miss a basket of those french fries with gravy from one of those trucks after cycling out to Humber Bay & back :)
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
No mirrored windows on City Hall please, come on!
Those trucks gotta' go, once the restaurant is open hopefully they'll move them away though I'll sure miss a basket of those french fries with gravy from one of those trucks after cycling out to Humber Bay & back :)
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You don't think Four Seasons or Telus House glass would look good on City Hall? Like I said, looking at the buildings and seeing those blinds takes away from the beauty of the architecture. They stand out too much.
 
Earth Heals Herself said:
You don't think Four Seasons or Telus House glass would look good on City Hall?
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The glass on Telus & FS is brilliant but for me, personally, no. It would change the look of the building too much.
 
How would it hurt the appearance of the building though? Good quality mirrored glass wouldn't look any worse than this does. I don't think this is worth protecting. It's not the glass that is at fault, but the crumby looking blinds. But that's the problem with clear glass.

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I think mirrored glass would look best hear because it would give the buildings more uniformity and less visual distractions. The open and closed blinds is such a checkered mess. The council chamber really needs a power cleaning. The concrete is filthy. The towers as well could use a cleaning. They've withstood 50 years worth of dirt and grime.
 
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Hilarious Adma. Just because it's a beloved building, it doesn't mean it wouldn't benefit from mirrored windows. Would you rather be able to look up at the buildings and see the barf green blinds, just for the sake of preserving something that actually takes away from the elegance of the towers? The problem with most preservationists is that they over emphasize trivial characteristics and are overly nostalgic. There's nothing unique about the current windows, other than their curved dimensions. The windows aren't what make City Hall an iconic building. I wouldn't change anything to do with the architecture. The only problem I can think of is that it's been this way since it was built and some people are afraid of seeing any change to something so sentimental. You must be really pissed about the TD Centre window replacement that is underway.
 
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The lack of windows on the outside of the towers contributes to the unique character of the City Hall too, and I don't see how replacing the windows that do exist with mirrored glass to match the rash of buildings now going up would make this heritage building any more unique.

When they built the Sheraton Centre they made a conscious decision to match the same shade of grey concrete used at City Hall. Overcast days with uniform diffused lighting ( as in the photo recently posted by tgam ) serve to enhance the subtlety of what colour does exist, with the street life and in the buildings. It brings out the texture of concrete, for instance.
 
Earth Heals Herself said:
Hilarious Adma. Just because it's a beloved building, it doesn't mean it wouldn't benefit from mirrored windows. Would you rather be able to look up at the buildings and see the barf green blinds, just for the sake of preserving something that actually takes away from the elegance of the towers? The problem with most preservationists is that they over emphasize trivial characteristics and are overly nostalgic. There's nothing unique about the current windows, other than their curved dimensions. The windows aren't what make City Hall an iconic building. I wouldn't change anything to do with the architecture. The only problem I can think of is that it's been this way since it was built and some people are afraid of seeing any change to something so sentimental. You must be really pissed about the TD Centre window replacement that is underway.
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Uh, in case you don't know, the TD Centre windows aren't being replaced by mirrored glass. In fact, there's a deliberate effort to replace them in "aesthetic kind", whatever the technological advances involved. Ergo, if something similar's in store for New City Hall, you'd still be looking at those "barf green blinds" (or at most, a more aesthetically coordinated form of window protection) rather than mirrored surfaces.

Ah yeah: posts like the above demonstrate how forums like this can draw them Sunday Painter Urbanists like flies...
 
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How would it hurt the appearance of the building though? Good quality mirrored glass wouldn't look any worse than this does. I don't think this is worth protecting. It's not the glass that is at fault, but the crumby looking blinds. But that's the problem with clear glass.
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Clear glass with uniform window treatment is far more interesting...especially when you have the window treatments at various levels of open/closed...gives a nice texture. Of course, the preferred way to go is quality drapery...not blinds.

Mirrored windows wouldn't just look stupid...they would seriously change the design and look of the building. The fact you consider such details "trivial" is scary.

What part of "DON'T F*** WITH IT" do people not comprehend???????????

It's a masterpiece...every detail was carefully designed. And all you need to do is maintain it exactly the way it was designed and built...and it will remain a masterpiece. It's a painfully simple concept.

I have absolutely no clue what motivates people to cavalierly make changes to other people's designs.
 
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adma said:
Uh, in case you don't know, the TD Centre windows aren't being replaced by mirrored glass. In fact, there's a deliberate effort to replace them in "aesthetic kind", whatever the technological advances involved. Ergo, if something similar's in store for New City Hall, you'd still be looking at those "barf green blinds" (or at most, a more aesthetically coordinated form of window protection) rather than mirrored surfaces.

Ah yeah: posts like the above demonstrate how forums like this can draw them Sunday Painter Urbanists like flies...
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It doesn't matter if the new TD windows aren't mirrored. The priniciple is still the same. Why change the original windows, even if they'll look similar? I'm sure Mies could care less whether the windows are energy efficient. I guess his choice of windows aren't good enough to preserve.
 
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