Redesign-a-Building

[MetroMan]

First Canadian Place, Canada's tallest building, is undergoing a major renovation that will see the checkered dirty cladding replaced with a gleaming glass skin and give Toronto a major skyscraper that we can be proud of.

In that spirit, is there a building in Toronto that has yet to reach its full potential? Take a building you think can be improved and give it an update. Put your Photoshop, Sketch It or AutoCAD skills to work to give Toronto some new gems.

 

[urbandreamer]

See the Trump thread for what I'd like it to look like--dark black granite with magenta spandrels.

 

[Traynor]

I like the Bay Adelaide Center but its width to height ratio makes it look stubby. I wish it had been the same design and floor plate but 90 floors instead. That would make it around 350 meters tall and Toronto's first Supertall! Yay!!!

(Original courtesy mikeinto )

(Original courtesy of mikeinto )

 

[MetroMan]

That's pretty amazing. In your update, it has a similar massing to the World Trade Centre towers. It's too bad that's not an update that can happen though.

 

[Traynor]

The same goes for RBC Dexia. I'd keep the design and floor plate but add about 20 or so floors. I think it would look better in the 65 floor range.

(Original courtesy sammo at SSC)

(Original courtesy sammo at SSC)

 

[egotrippin]

Here's what I'd have liked to have seen as an alternative to Ritz's busy south facade. I think it helps add some more unity, versus the three different sections that don't really go well together as a whole. I like how the face of the tower above the Sky Lobby matches the rest of the sides, and I really like the patterned glass, which is what inspired me to create this mock-up:

(Cross-posted from the Ritz thread, original image credit goes to Tuscani01.)

 

[egotrippin]

Traynor, I took your increased height concept and added B/A Centre East as if it were to follow this plan. It's supposed to be shorter than B/A 1, so I figured that your envisioned tower's twin would be about as tall as Scotia.

 

[Traynor]

^Too funny!!!!

I had done all of these renders months ago for my own amusement and I had already done a BA East as well but didn't include it because I thought it would be overkill. I liked the idea of the east tower being 2/3 as tall as the West tower mostly because I like Scotia Plaza a lot and I would miss seeing it! LOL

(original courtesy Mike In TO)

For this one I added BA North and made it little taller and BA East a little shorter:

(Original courtesy drum118)

 

[MetroMan]

Regarding BA, while it's technically impossible that we could update the building to add more floors, the fact that a second tower is proposed could allow for a taller tower next to the original, creating a step-effect on Bay St with a taller tower behind the one on the street.

 

[Traynor]

Perhaps I misunderstood the intent of this thread. I thought we had free rein to do what we wished a building should have been but a couple of posts have indicated that we are to re-design buildings with feasible and implementable designs.

That is in no way as much fun.

 

[MetroMan]

No Traynor, go crazy! lol

I was indeed looking for ways to feasibly update existing buildings but your suggestions are fun and interesting to imagine. Keep going

 

[egotrippin]

^Too funny!!!!

I had done all of these renders months ago for my own amusement and I had already done a BA East as well but didn't include it because I thought it would be overkill. I liked the idea of the east tower being 2/3 as tall as the West tower mostly because I like Scotia Plaza a lot and I would miss seeing it! LOL

Haha, nice! To be honest, I felt a little bad while covering up Scotia. I'd hate to lose the view of it from the north, especially considering it won't be very visible for much longer from that western viewpoint.

Urbandreamer, if no one's done it by tomorrow I'll see if I can darken up Trump's granite and give it some magenta windows.

 

[wyliepoon]

I did a Sketchup model not long ago of an office tower wrapping around the CN Tower...

 

[jn_12]

well there's one way to ruin one of the city's greatest assets. I'd love to see what you can do to "improve" the Eiffel Tower.

 

[MetroMan]

I did a Sketchup model not long ago of an office tower wrapping around the CN Tower...

OMG no! lol Wylie, this has to be the most terrifying prospect anybody can cook up. The slenderness of the tower is what makes it look so incredibly tall. I'd love to see cladding on the concrete portions and a new base though... Anybody with CAD/Sketchup talents that can put something like this together?