Toronto 500 Wellington West | ?m | 10s | Freed | Core Architects

Back of building.

Pic taken June 27, 2011


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At the prices these units are going at ...Underneath of balconies need a good cleaning.
 
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Stratford1 said:
Right. Who wants to live in a 1.5-3 million dollar condos crammed beside the upcoming el-cheapo (200k+) 'This is Downtown Condos' (nothing like two years of construction noise and mess beside you), and overlooking a charming filthy back alley and strip club, also squished beside and looking into 75 Portland condo windows? I'm talking about the usual freed style of exposed interior concrete ceilings and interior pillars (aka too cheap to finish the interior & ceailing with even builders grade drywall and paint but it's sold as a "feature") , with an exterior of mostly glass windows.
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It costs more to leave the concrete exposed than to drop the ceiling and drywall. All wiring and fixtures must be buried in the concrete and the wall finish where it meets the ceiling is difficult to achieve. Exposed concrete results in maximum height while adding richness and substance. Some might prefer more conservative or conventional finishes, but if someone tried to 'finish' my concrete ceiling with drywall I'd show them the boot.
 
neubilder said:
It costs more to leave the concrete exposed than to drop the ceiling and drywall. All wiring and fixtures must be buried in the concrete and the wall finish where it meets the ceiling is difficult to achieve. Exposed concrete results in maximum height while adding richness and substance. Some might prefer more conservative or conventional finishes, but if someone tried to 'finish' my concrete ceiling with drywall I'd show them the boot.
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Actually, this is pretty standard for all the newer condos. All the fixutres and wiring are burried in the concrete. Only diff is the exposed concrete ceillings don't have 1/4 inch plaster on it. I hope this isn't what Freed's doing with this project cuz that's rather cheap. $3M for concrete ceillings makes me nauceous.

In Freed's defense, the concrete slabs look much thicker than the norm.
 
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It's too bad you didn't post a wellington elevation. There is some really weird flashing material on the front which looks like corrugated fiberglass. Someone needs to explain to me what is going on here as it is quite strange.
 
very strange looking building...does not fit in the street well.. columns everywhere, extremely tight fit, except for the top no views... nothing exciting about this building. For 2M-5M-lot of choice-definitely not here. imagine being on the 2 to 5 floor here at that price! can do much better.
 
Pics taken June 28, 11


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400WellingtonGuy said:
It's too bad you didn't post a wellington elevation. There is some really weird flashing material on the front which looks like corrugated fiberglass. Someone needs to explain to me what is going on here as it is quite strange.
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The corrugated material looks like backing for the finished cladding material - which I'm hoping will be zinc coated copper, perhaps? I don't understand the dislike for this design. I think it's a gorgeous little snack of a building - one of the best and most contextually fitting to have gone up in a long time.
 
I believe the final finish over the corrugated panels will be a darker flashing of some sort, either zinc or something with the same aesthetic. I also don't really understand the comment about columns everywhere. I have seen the inside, there are very few columns and almost no walls (ie huge interior spans). This is also why the slabs appear thicker, they are, they must span further than most condo slabs. Also, for the price they're charging for suites, I'm pretty sure they provide the basic ceiling as 'exposed concrete' and give the floor to floor height, then tell the purchaser they are free to add any kind of ceiling finishes they want.
 
3jc15 said:
I believe the final finish over the corrugated panels will be a darker flashing of some sort, either zinc or something with the same aesthetic.
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I guess it could be used as a backing material if you are trying to build out the surface a bit.
 
The building looks great with its alternating floors of deep, recessed balconies and floor to ceiling glass. The sleek and light-looking top two floors finish the design nicely. The unusual cladding is interesting; it may or may not be finished, but right now it adds some needed contrast and I hope that characteristic was taken into consideration in designing the building. When the building is fully finished, it will probably fit in better with the neighbouring buildings. However, some contextualism may have made it better in terms of streetscape cohesiveness. For instance, the four vertical columns on the facades of the two buildings neighbouring it to the east could have appeared in its design while still affording the architect freedom to create a contemporary design.
 
neubilder said:
The corrugated material looks like backing for the finished cladding material - which I'm hoping will be zinc coated copper, perhaps? I don't understand the dislike for this design. I think it's a gorgeous little snack of a building - one of the best and most contextually fitting to have gone up in a long time.
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I agree. It doesn't 'fit' in but it sure does go with it nicely.
 
neubilder said:
Yes it does
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You're actually claiming that it costs less to have another crew come in after the concrete has been poured, to frame, hang and finish drywall then it does to leave the poured concrete as is?
I disagree.
 
I really like the design of this building and the construction is coming together very nicely.

The perforated corregated panels is definitely a backing material (probably part of a rainscreen system) for the finished cladding which from the renderings look like a blackened metal (bronze-like) or some sleek-looking composite panelling.

The interior ceiling finish really should be plaster, as for this price range it should have a more finished and refined look. As well, I would image the homeowners in these units would want lots of recessed custom lighting which is possible to do or change after construction (there are still a number of units still for sale). Having so many pots lights integrated into the concrete slab would be a pain to coordinate during construction, but looking at how thick the floor slabs are looks like that is they way they decided to go with.
I'm sure the exposed concrete ceiling finish will be sanded down and sealed (possibly stained to make for a more consistant appearance), as most of the condo developments with exposed concrete ceilings look too rough and experience more off-dusting from the ceiling.

My major criticism for a building being very high end is how close it is to Seventy5 Portland and the soon to be built 'This is Downtown' building at 504 Wellington. There is going to be a rather dark canyon like feel between these buildings with units looking on to each other.
 
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