Toronto Aura at College Park | 271.87m | 78s | Canderel | Graziani + Corazza

[condovo]

Queen / University 9 PM

 

[interchange42]

Sorry, no tripod, and a bit of a breeze tonight. From minutes ago:

42

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

This is the first time I've used my Canon in exactly a year - the last photograph on the SD disc was testing the Aura lights on July 24th 2014! Patience please, I need to get to know my Canon again.

 

[Hamiltonian]

OMG!!!

 

[Armour]

What time did the lights go out? I looked for them shortly after midnight and they were off. I guess this was just another test?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

They went off at about 10:30. I was hoping "this was for real" this time.

 

[stjames2queenwest]

They look so good

 

[Tulse]

Yikes, I'm not sure I agree. That first shot from the east to my eye shows exactly how awkward and incoherent this building truly is. The rectilinear base coupled with the curved top look almost comically bad to me...

That's why it's better from a distance, like looking across the Don Valley from Broadview. From that vantage point, the base isn't all that visible and kinda blends in with the main shaft, and the swoop top looks quite stylish. But I agree that once one gets close enough to actually see how the various parts (don't) articulate together, it's a horror.

But those lights are a fantastic addition. It figures that the best part of this building would be how it looks in the dark.

 

[Tuscani01]

They went off at about 10:30. I was hoping "this was for real" this time.

Thats probably the time when they would normally go off, even when they become a permanent fixture. When I lived at Luna, our lights were timed to turn off at 10:30. I believe Parade has theirs scheduled to turn off at 10:00.

 

[junctionist]

This is a metropolitan city. Many people will see the tower even late at night. 10PM sounds rather boring. I'd keep them on until 3AM on any night, and all-night on Friday and Saturday night when people go out in greater numbers. That assumes that the lights aren't shining into a neighbouring building, in which case I'd say 11PM is prudent.

 

[kotsy]

This is a metropolitan city. Many people will see the tower even late at night. 10PM sounds rather boring. I'd keep them on until 3AM on any night, and all-night on Friday and Saturday night when people go out in greater numbers. That assumes that the lights aren't shining into a neighbouring building, in which case I'd say 11PM is prudent.

Agreed. If they shut them off regularly at 10 or 1030 then it will be really disappointing. I was happy when the cn tower decided to leave their lights on all night. We are a 24 hour city and the lighting should be reflected in that.

 

[Tuscani01]

This is a metropolitan city. Many people will see the tower even late at night. 10PM sounds rather boring. I'd keep them on until 3AM on any night, and all-night on Friday and Saturday night when people go out in greater numbers. That assumes that the lights aren't shining into a neighbouring building, in which case I'd say 11PM is prudent.

I'd say 90% of the time, the decision to turn off the lights early is made because of the fact that the lights disturb residents in adjacent towers. With LED's being prevalent, the cost factor isn't really an issue for condo boards like it used to be. These lights look ridiculously obtrusive. Just look at the amount of glare in some of the photos. Can you imagine being in one of those units?

We're a metropolitan city, but that doesn't mean we need to increase the amount of light pollution in the city.

 

[Tuscani01]

For reference:

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

They could/should be dimmed a bit. Turning off light features at 10 or 10:30 is absolutely ridiculous. What's the point if people can only see them in a two-hour window at night, at the times when most people are out & about, in the summer?

 

[Tuscani01]

The city is pretty dead on weeknights around 10. So it's really not much of an issue. On weekends however, I agree.

Im pretty sure that those who bought in the building would disagree though. And to be fair, the building only exists because of them, so their opinion matters more than some people on a forum, or some people walking by on the street.