Toronto 88 Scott Street | 203.9m | 58s | Concert | P + S / IBI

[Parkdalian]

I don't see much sophistication in the design. No strong statement - just a lot of doodadization. It's crazy the way non-box shapes get jizzed over on here. It's as if this were a movie, and we were giving it points for the number of exploding robots it featured, instead of the subtlety of its dialogue.

 

[DSC]

I don't see much sophistication in the design. No strong statement - just a lot of doodadization. It's crazy the way non-box shapes get jizzed over on here. It's as if this were a movie, and we were giving it points for the number of exploding robots it featured, instead of the subtlety of its dialogue.

I couldn't agree more - it says nothing except "I'm not a glass box".

 

[Tewder]

I don't see much sophistication in the design. No strong statement - just a lot of doodadization. It's crazy the way non-box shapes get jizzed over on here. It's as if this were a movie, and we were giving it points for the number of exploding robots it featured, instead of the subtlety of its dialogue.

What's even more amazing is how jizzed some get over yet another derivative minimalist box... if it were a movie it'd be like watching the same remake over and over... and over again. No matter how mannered the film it's just the same old tired flick after a while.

 

[ProjectEnd]

The stepped crown really is the most cogent part of the design and if there were only the one box up there it might set up a nice asymmetry to distract us from the horrors below. Having any number of those boxes gives the effect of someone falling down a deep hole and hitting the sides on their way down. And to counter scrapergeek's suggestion that this might be a opportunity for P+S to spec some quality precast and glass, when has P+S ever specced high-quality precast or glass? Even Museum House which is supposed to target a buyer with a bit more Lira uses materials of a quality lower than many of the 'everyday' condos going up in places like Cityplace (even Luna and Montage make use of better-quality stuff than M H does).

This is to modern skyscraper-design what Shreveport, Louisiana's Horseshoe Casino is to classicism.

 

[Urban Shocker]

What's even more amazing is how jizzed some get over yet another derivative minimalist box... if it were a movie it'd be like watching the same remake over and over... and over again. No matter how mannered the film it's just the same old tired flick after a while.

How many genuinely new ideas are there, though? This ain't one of them, no matter how deeply you're in the thrall of novelty shapes.

 

[Hipster Duck]

I side with Tewder on this one. Actually, it's about the context of the surrounding skyline. If Toronto had too many po-mo ziggurats and buildings with funny hats on them, I'd welcome a minimalist box design. For example, if Toronto were Atlanta, I'd praise a Clewes box as refreshing. However, Toronto is not Atlanta and it suffers from an excessive number of minimalist glass boxes. I welcome a break from this monotony.

Mind you, I'd be even more welcoming if the design was more refined. Something like, say, this:

 

[MBS]

I also think this is a refreshing change from the bland gray glass boxes we have, but also agree that it is overly cluttered. It is not decorated, as one suggested, but it has those two stupid protruding boxes and asymmetrical precast cladding sections. The top of the building is symmetrical, but the bottom is doing something else entirely. I would say the design would be infinitely better if the concrete panel sections were symmetrical and complimented the buildings crown.

Also, the thought of an architect intentionally avoiding high quality materials is pretty absurd. The developer is the one spending the money, so you should blame them if anyone.

 

[ssiguy2]

I think it is quite a handsome building and is far superior to most of what Toronto has built in the last few years.

 

[urbandreamer]

Well I think this is a fantastic building for Yaletown or MCC, but Toronto? I think we've moved on beyond the 2002 school of design.

 

[Register123]

nice way to slag on Yaletown. Pretentious much?

 

[Affordable]

Toronto could sure add a little touch of Singapore to its Skyline

 

[Tewder]

I side with Tewder on this one. Actually, it's about the context of the surrounding skyline. If Toronto had too many po-mo ziggurats and buildings with funny hats on them, I'd welcome a minimalist box design. For example, if Toronto were Atlanta, I'd praise a Clewes box as refreshing. However, Toronto is not Atlanta and it suffers from an excessive number of minimalist glass boxes. I welcome a break from this monotony.

Mind you, I'd be even more welcoming if the design was more refined. Something like, say, this:

Yes, it's reasonable to judge the design for what it is, and within its context, rather than to dismiss it blindly as a 'novelty shape'. I mean, how is a shape a 'novelty'? Who ever decreed that a square is more original than a circle or any other basic configuration of geometry? It is a befuddled perspective, to be sure.

 

[UrbanAffair]

I have to say it would be nice if Toronto tried something a little more outside of the box. Guess I should get ready to be castrated by the usual modern boxes are best crew, and thats cool, to each their own, but it wouldn't hurt to have a few more unique designs on a grand scale thrown in. Those singapore pics make me jealous. My sis and bro in law lived there when they went to Insead uni for MBA work. They said it was an amazingly clean and interesting architecturally.

 

[bmiller]

Shanghai is similar in innovatiion and outside the box ,in their later high rise construction. It makes you wonder why a bit of this hasn't been done in TO yet. It would be a nice surprise to see a new design with a little panache.

 

[Affordable]

I assume its all about making profit...its the "just get it done" mentality at the lowest cost possible.

Curves and cylinders don't meet the budget.....Boxes do. (I think)