The Burj in Toronto?

[wyliepoon]

A little fun exercise to celebrate the opening of the Burj Dubai/Khalifa (or to mourn the CN Tower's loss of the title of "world's tallest 'building'"). I've plopped a Sketchup model of the Burj Dubai by Densetsu48 from the Google 3D Warehouse onto the site of the CN Tower in Google Earth and snapped some screenshots of the Toronto skyline from Google Earth.

Model link: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=d3e8d9f8a953b45f628640f3c755d6bf

From what I see, Burj Dubai would have made a nice fit on Toronto's skyline. It's big and tall, but is slender enough that while it dominates the skyline, it doesn't overpower it. What do you think?

 

[Jayomatic]

Is that the correct scale? It looks smaller than it should be. Looks great though!

 

[Dylan Leblanc]

Let's keep the CN Tower.

 

[Edward Skira]

Great renders though I personally would hate to have one tower that tall in the city. Overwhelms the rest of the skyline.

 

[Archivist]

I have always appreciated the counterpoint that the CN Tower makes to the highrises of the Financial District, but I could live with the Burj as well. However, if we got this building constructed here, we'd have to accept that we wouldn't need additional office space until, say about, 2073 or so.

On the whole, I will take a scattering of smaller office towers scattered throughout the core.

 

[maestro]

I have always appreciated the counterpoint that the CN Tower makes to the highrises of the Financial District, but I could live with the Burj as well. However, if we got this building constructed here, we'd have to accept that we wouldn't need additional office space until, say about, 2073 or so.

Hmmm, I think we can manage another half million square feet of office space by 2073.

 

[Towered]

No no no no no. That is utterly awful.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Personally I much rather get Calatrava's Chicago Spire here instead of Burj.

AoD

 

[UrbanVigor]

Those renders do look nice. But as previously mentioned, is that to scale?

The CN Tower lost it's tallest building/free standing structure title sometime ago and it never really mattered. The CN Tower has a great story behind it. None of which had anything ego motivated or about being bigger/taller/better. It was something to be proud of without having the necessity of being better than anyone else. It's still something to be proud of and I find it complements our skyline as opposed to being the one and only focal point.

Although I wish the very best for the future of Dubai, I think the Burj Khalifa will always be mired with it's corelation between excess and desperation. They should have left the name as Burj Dubai.

 

[jn_12]

Well according to Guinness, the CN Tower is still the world's Tallest freestanding tower. Whatever that's worth.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/698891

 

[Marcanadian]

Well according to Guinness, the CN Tower is still the world's Tallest freestanding tower. Whatever that's worth.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/698891

Not anymore.

From fosk on SSC.

 

[BobBob]

Doesn't overpower the skyline?? It makes FCP look like a quaint little midrise.

 

[Urban Shocker]

There was local hoopla in 1976 when the CN tower was finished - I remember people gathering around TV sets and heading downtown to watch a famous Russian helicopter lower the top part into place - but nothing like the hype surrounding this thing.

The difference goes way beyond the simple idea that "times have changed", though. Different values underpin our city and theirs. We're about substance, but they're about spectacle, the hyperreal and the notion of city as promotional gimmickry. Our halfhearted attempts at hyperreality are the Bat Cave, Shops of Don Mills and the Cheddington - hardly in the same league.

 

[wyliepoon]

^ Definitely one thing that separates the CN Tower from the Burj Dubai is the level of pride that Canadians can take from the CN Tower. Canadians designed and built the CN Tower. The Burj was designed by Americans, had British engineering consultants, the construction was contracted out to Koreans and Belgians, and the workers came from South Asia. Pretty much the only things Dubai can take credit for is that they provided the land to build this thing.

 

[UrbanPrincess]

Not anymore.

Actually, they still have a title, i'm just not sure which one. I'm pretty sure that it is the tallest tower since it is a tower and not necessarily a building.