Puglies 2008: People's Choice Awards for Architecture

[freshcutgrass]

The real reason there's so much shlock in Toronto is precisely people's general tastes, not planning. If it were truly planning our urban form would be easy to fix. I'm so frustrated to live here. Toronto consistently does not achieve its potential.

Well then, you better look for another planet, cause despite your annoying little rant, Toronto is not alone in this.

It is the market-driven age we live in. There was a time when experts dictated taste to everyone (fashion, music, architecture, etc). Now it is a free-for-all, with some frightening results. I blame AIDS.

As for Toronto, you should be thanking your lucky stars that you live in a city where you can buy aA quality architecture at give-away prices...cause you won't find that anywhere else.

 

[Archivist]

Re: Potential and all that.

I do believe that in many ways Toronto does live up to its potential. I had a visitor from Calgary this weekend, and when I was telling her almost offhandedly about the elaborate development game that resulted in the Children's Aid Society getting a new building, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives a permanent home in a heritage building, and will result in the construction of the impeccable Casa condo, I realized how impressive that feat is. And, in fact, how unlikely it would have been without the intervention of the city bureaucrats. She was blown away. Although, she has lived in Calgary for a while now.

Anyways, really, what city does "live up to its potential"? And what does that mean? Lots of schlock gets built in New York and Chicago, too, certainly I've been nowhere that I haven't seen really bad and questionable buildings strewn about.

Not that you shouldn't always want better, but as a source of frustration or depression, it strikes me as overwrought.