Toronto 906 Yonge Street | 139.17m | 40s | Gupta | Arcadis

Technically, it's probably little more "stupid" than the James Cooper Mansion scheme--and as there, the banality's more in the new. In fact, we may be better off here because of Ridpaths likely occupying the *entire* Yonge frontage, and the tower relegated to the background (regardless of whether Ridpaths is architecturally superior to James Cooper or not--in which case, maybe it's better to just concentrate on improving the tower elevations and let the Ridpaths front (and as suggested, selected interior elements) remain suitably discrete. In the end, the only people who'd be offended by the Ridpath retention are those who're nostalgic for the days before we got nostalgic for previous nostalgias in the name of preservation--sort of like, Ed Glaeser's their Ayn Rand or something...
 
I love Canadian National's idea. If you like the idea of preserving the facade why not hang it where everybody can see. All those faux mansion loving Rosdale folks can stare at this all day long.
 
If the three storey thin sliver of a facade is mounted on the surface of the new tower, like a cut of Roast Beef of Auld England, and moved up the building by one floor a week, all the residents can enjoy Todorbethan living for at least three weeks a year - throwing Shakespeare In Love and naughty Tudors fancy dress parties for their friends.
 
And if the store is rebuilt at the top of the building, it will also be okay. But, to do it with proper flair, it should be made into a revolving restaurant.
 
I understand that, when the Facade District gets under way in a few years time, there will be a revolving rooftop restaurant with a whole range of different faux fronts facing out in all directions. It'll be truly epic as it spins around.
 
This thread's getting to be like a high-minded opposite number to the Chaz-thread "brutalism sucks, maaaan" yokelfest...
 
Picking on Ridpath's for a lack of architectural 'merit' is sort of like picking on the Joy Gas stations for not being chateau-y enough. Take a laxative and get over it already!
 
I'm of the opinion that, because of the form they take and the context within which they were built, Joy and Ridpath were both placed on the earth primarily for our amusement and I think that's what some of us are embracing here. We're just joshin' about Tudorbethan, Tewder. Moving the Joy station across the street, as was done, and having imaginary fun with the thin sliver of Ridpath facade, are two conceits hatched from the same yolk.
 
Urban Shocker said:
I understand that, when the Facade District gets under way in a few years time, there will be a revolving rooftop restaurant with a whole range of different faux fronts facing out in all directions. It'll be truly epic as it spins around.
Click to expand...

So long as they each rotate in a different direction and at a different speed. It could be a kind of faux facade pole dance in the sky.
 
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