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Pug Awards 2011

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No UT poll for the Pug nominees this year, but still a chance to consider and sound off:

UrbanToronto loves a good architectural dust-up, and for the last several years the Pug Awards have provided a way to weigh in on the latest crop of winners and losers completed on our skyline in the previous calendar year. Not that all of the nominees in the Pug Awards are tall, but it is size that matters here: nominated buildings must be 50,000 square feet or larger.

Last year UrbanToronto gave you a place where you could cast votes on the nominees that interpolated two more levels of comfort than the three the Pugs allowed to be registered. The Pugs asked whether you love, like or hate a building, while we allowed you to be Switzerland "I'm Neutral", or merely dislike a nominee too. May 2011 is no time for subtleties however (look who's running the city right now), so this year your only chance to register your commitment, cooperation, or contempt is on the Pug site itself, which we encourage you to do, 38 times.

Pug2011.jpg

The 38 buildings vying for your approval at the 2011 Pug Awards

This years nominees include 28 residential and 10 - uh - other buildings that range from the faintly sublime to the decidedly ridiculous, and we all know which ones are which: last year UT members anointed the same winner and runner-up, as well as loser and sidekick, as the Pugs' own picks.

You have until the end of May to add your voice to the tumult at the Pugs, but we would love/like/hate to hear your thoughts here too. Which are the best, most mediocre, and worst of this year's crop? Tell us below!
 
Residential:

1. Casa
2. Thompson
3. East
4. Tiff
5. 75 Portland

X would be top 3 if it wasn't for you know what.
 
It's funny how some of the buildings were photographed in very unflattering light, and others photographed under optimal lighting conditions - seems like the curators are trying to skew the results a bit? Luna, for one, seems to be a major beneficiary of the optimal lighting conditions strategy.
 
The Pugs are great way to keep people engaged with architecture in the city, even if the voting based on four pictures model is shallow. It's worth the time to go through the list and vote on each one if you care about architecture in the city. Don't let the person who loves kitschy pastiche speak for you :p .

My "love it" list:

Bloor Gladstone Library
Thompson Hotel
TIFF Bell Lightbox
130 Bloor/155 Cumberland
Bloor Street Neighbourhood
CASA
East Lofts
The Printing Factory Lofts
The Residences of Maple Leaf Square
75 Portland

Too bad about X Condo because I would have loved to reward an intelligent design like that one with the highest level of appreciation in the voting system, but it has a clear imperfection that reduces it to the "like it" list.
 
Well Junctionist, your love-it list is covered entirely in yesterday's awards: well done!

Our story is now on the front page here, or read the official press release below:

(Oh, and note that the execrable Eleven Christie, which was not mentioned last night at the awards, was the deserving loser of the awards this year.)

THE ENVIRONMENT YOU CHOOSE WILL SHAPE YOU – TORONTONIANS CAST THEIR VOTES FOR THE SEVENTH ANNUAL PUG AWARDS

VOTERS RANK THE BEST, THE MIDDLING AND THE WORST OF CITY’S NEWEST ARCHITECTURE
* Toronto, June 21st, 2011 – The winners of the 2011 Pug Awards, the People’s Choice Awards for architecture, were announced last night at a ceremony at The Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, the 2010 Pug Awards commercial category winner.
The seventh annual Pug Awards invited Torontonians to vote online from May 1st to May 31st this year at www.pugawards.com for 28 new residential developments and 10 commercial/institutional developments. To qualify, the eligible buildings must have been completed in 2010 and be located in the City of Toronto. They also needed to have an area greater than 50,000 square feet, or be considered noteworthy by the Pug Awards Advisory Board.
The year’s top winners included Seventy5 – 75 Portland Street as the best new residential building, and TIFF Bell Lightbox as top commercial/institutional project. Honourable mentions were awarded to X The Condominium in the residential category and to the Thompson Hotel/550 Wellington in the commercial/institutional category.
Seventy5 – 75 Portland, designed by Core Architects Inc. and developed by Freed Developments, is a modern jewel located in the King West district. The building has been designed in a U-shape that embraces a serene courtyard while maximizing the site and complementing the Portland streetscape. The appearance of this eleven storey structure is characterized by massed elements that shift in and out.
The TIFF Bell Lightbox was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, in association with Kirkor Architects and Planners as Architect of Record and was developed by The Daniels Corporation. The winning competition design for the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower was conceived to create a city of film and as a reflection of the heterogeneity and openness that characterizes Toronto. Located in the heart of the entertainment district, the five storey podium consists of projecting volumes and various levels of transparency that connects the interior to the streetscape while the 42- storey tower, set back from the street, commands the skyline above. The transition between the two occurs where the Lightbox roof meets the Tower’s base. Inside, the podium consists of theatres, a gallery, café and restaurant.
This year, in memory of Paul Oberman, a former Pug Awards Advisory Board member who passed away on March 7th, 2011, the Pug Awards Executive Committee has instituted a new People’s Choice Award entitled the Paul Oberman Adaptive Reuse and Heritage Restoration Award for both the residential and commercial/institutional categories. In each category, the winners of the Paul Oberman award received exceptionally high approval ratings from voters. The residential winner in this new category is The Printing Factory Lofts designed in joint venture between Chandler Graham Architects Inc. and Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc. The building blends the original 1913, three storey podium factory building with a new eight storey glass tower addition and new stacked townhouses along the eastern edge of the site. The project was developed by Beaverbrook Homes and provides a variety of living options for a new residential community in a vibrant section of Leslieville.
In the commercial/institutional category, the Paul Oberman Adaptive Reuse and Heritage Restoration Award was presented to the Bloor Gladstone Library. The Library was designed by Rounthwaite, Dick and Hadley Architects Inc., in association with Shoalts and Zaback Architects and E.R.A. Architects Inc. (heritage architect) and was developed by the Toronto Public Library. Built in 1913, the landmark
1335 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J 1Y3 | P 416 588 5900 F 416 588 7424 | www.pugawards.com

Bloor/Gladstone Branch project is a renovation and addition to a listed heritage property in downtown Toronto. The Bloor Gladstone Library and The Printing Factory Lofts were recognized by the public for their design excellence.
“Torontonians continue to have a strong preference for adaptive reuse projects as winners of the new Paul Oberman Award received top rankings for their ability to juxtapose heritage restoration and contemporary new development,” said Gary Berman, co-founder of the Pug Awards and president of real estate financier Tricon Capital Group. “But a sense of nostalgia alone is not enough to entice voters, as the winners in all building categories showcase strong modern design.”
“There were more positive votes cast toward the nominated buildings in our seventh year than in the past six, implying that Torontonians feel that the quality of our city’s architecture is improving,” said Anna Simone, co-founder of the Pug Awards and Principal of design firm Cecconi Simone. “The results reinforce the fact that developers and architects are making progress towards meeting the design standards that the public is looking for.”
Complete voting results for all nominees are as follows:

*
RESIDENTIAL
1. Seventy5 – 75 Portland Street 2. X The Condominium 3. CASA Condominium 4. The Residences of Maple Leaf Square 5. Panorama (CityPlace)
6. 130 Bloor Street West/155 Cumberland Street 7. East Lofts 8. Luna Condominium Development 9. The Glasshouse Lofts
10. West Harbour City 11. Boutique 12. VÜ North and VÜ South 13. Spring at Minto Gardens 14. eq2 at Equinox 15. Vibe at Liberty Village
16. Accolade 17. The Republic 18. Luxe Condominium 19. 500 St. Clair Ave. West 20. Bloor Street Neighbourhood 21. The Rosewood I and II North & South Tower 22. Mona Lisa Residences 23. Merci Le Condominium 24. The Bayview – Manor House & The Bayview Tower 25. Red Hot Condos Phase I 26. Markham Place 27. Eleven Christie
RESIDENTIAL – ADAPTIVE REUSE AND HERITAGE RESTORATION
The Printing Factory Lofts

*
COMMERCIAL/INSTITUTIONAL
1. TIFF Bell Lightbox 2. Thompson Hotel/550 Wellington 3. Archives of Ontario – York Research Tower 4. Corus Quay 5. Father John Redmond Catholic School & Regional
Arts Centre
6. The Village of Humber Heights 7. All Saints Mausoleum Phase I – Glendale Memorial
Gardens 8. Delmanor Wynford Retirement Community
(Delmanor Accolade) 9. Scarborough Gospel Temple
COMMERCIAL/INSTITUTIONAL – ADAPTIVE REUSE AND HERITAGE RESTORATION
* Bloor/Gladstone Library
The winners were presented with certificates and engraved building plaques to honour their victories. As well, the names of the winning developers and architects are inscribed on the Pug Cup which is prominently displayed at City Hall.
1335 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J 1Y3 | P 416 588 5900 F 416 588 7424 | www.pugawards.com

PUG ED
The winners of the fifth annual Pug Ed student competition were also announced at the awards ceremony. John Ziyang Pan of Jesse Ketchum Public School, Simone Pegis (also of Jesse Ketchum) and Sandy Wu of Queen Alexandra Senior Public School received $2,600 each in educational bursaries.
The Pug Ed program is designed to engage young people in architecture, design and urban development, and to pass on into the future an appreciation for smart and responsible design. There were 25 Grade 8 students from Jesse Ketchum Public School and Queen Alexandra Senior Public School that participated in after-school sessions with some of Toronto’s most influential development professionals and organizations. The students entered a design competition where they had to make a verbal, written and visual presentation on a complete redevelopment proposal for a specific waterfront development.
In addition to the award presentations, last night’s program included the second in a series of Pug Talks entitled Tall Buildings. The talk focused on tall buildings and the role they have in shaping the city. Toronto’s growth is creating development pressure on a finite area of land, and density requirements are pushing the height of buildings ever upward. One of the topics of discussion was a recent study undertaken by the Toronto planning department that may result in significant policy positions on this issue in the near future.
If the Pug Awards and Pug Ed are about inviting Torontonians – both young and old – to be part of the city’s architecture-and-design discussion, Pug Talks is about furthering that discussion by educating the public on key design issues and pushing ideas and creative thought forward. Open to the public, the roundtable discussions at the Pug Talks feature participants from Toronto’s architecture, planning and development arenas.

*
ABOUT THE PUG AWARDS
The annual Pug Awards debuted in 2004 and celebrate the best in Toronto architecture and planning. Founded by Anna Simone, principal of design firm Cecconi Simone, and Gary Berman, president of real estate financier Tricon Capital Group, the awards invite the public to vote on the best, the middling and the worst of Toronto’s newest real estate developments. The goal is to inform the public about design excellence and ultimately contribute to the growth and prosperity of Toronto. The Awards are made possible by the generous support of numerous sponsors and the Pug Awards advisory board. For more information on the Pug Awards and how to vote, please visit: http://www.pugawards.com.
 
Vibe has got to be the ugliest by far. Send a message to all the developers in Liberty Village that we won't take this ugliness anymore!
 
The Pug award itself, which has taken up residence in the rotunda of City Hall, isn't exactly a thing of beauty, either.
 

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