Honestly, Aura isn't really the "best" canyon skyscraper or a role model for one... The tower itself is pushed back AWAY from both Yonge and Gerard streets, so if you did have a perfectly lined up street wall, then it would throw off the balance... Thankfully, Aura does have an excuse, considering it is meant to be a landmark/standalone tower, hence, canada's tallest condo.
I'm not the hugest fan of big podiums, as they push towers away from the street. For example, the Ritz. Sure, the podium is very nice, but the north face of the tower is completely boring, and it doesn't help that it's pushed away from the street....
In many TRUE super-dense urban environments (Manhattan), you won't find nearly as many podiums due to the tight spaces that towers need to fit in order to be built. Unless you get a landmark buildings/buildings that serve as massive multi-use centres (like Time Warner Center), big podiums like the Ritz and Aura are scarce... And that probably is a bad example, since Time Warner is on a MASSIVE scale. I wouldn't even call that a podium considering how huge it is....
In conclusion, i sorta feel like Toronto condos go overkill with the podiums.... Unless buildings are this huge/landmark, I feel like Big-City buildings feel more "big-city" without podiums.... Trump TO is a fine example....
And on a side note, I think One Bloors podium is much cooler than Aura's....
