Toronto CIBC SQUARE | 241.39m | 50s | Hines | WilkinsonEyre

  • Thread starter Suicidal Gingerbread Man
  • Start date
ProjectEnd said:
Technically only Commerce Court was built by and for a bank. FCP was O&Y (later Brookfield), Royal Bank Plaza was Y&R (later Oxford), and TD Centre was the Bronfmans / Fairview (working closely with the Lamberts).
Click to expand...
Scotia Plaza was also owned by Scotiabank (along with a consortium that Scotia eventually bought out) but it was initially built by Olympia & York. They sold it to the Scotia led consortium to because of financial issues in 1993. Scotia turned around and sold it to Dream & H&R in 2012.

OK, a bit of that was wrong as corrected by @interchange42 & @ProjectEnd. TIL
 
Last edited:
ProjectEnd said:
Only CIBC was. The aforementioned developers / asset managers were / are the owners. CIBC is now BCIMC / QuadReal.
Click to expand...
You mean Commerce Court is now owned by BCIMC/Quadreal.
max said:
Scotia Plaza was also owned by Scotiabank (along with a consortium that Scotia eventually bought out) but it was initially built by Olympia & York. They sold it to the Scotia led consortium to because of financial issues in 1993. Scotia turned around and sold it to Dream & H&R in 2012.
Click to expand...
Scotia Plaza was built by Campeau.

42
 
ProjectEnd said:
Technically only Commerce Court was built by and for a bank. FCP was O&Y (later Brookfield), Royal Bank Plaza was Y&R (later Oxford), and TD Centre was the Bronfmans / Fairview (working closely with the Lamberts).
Click to expand...
Didn't the banks still have a say in what they wanted their buildings to look like/the architecture when they moved here? I always thought the banks wanted to make a statement with their new buildings/headquarters when they moved them here back in the 70s/80s. I assumed the same thing was happening with this development.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Commerce Court and FCP are pretty conservative buildings overall as well. They do have some upgraded cladding choices, or at least FCP did initially, but otherwise are pretty tame. The extended triangular bracing initially proposed at the base of Commerce Court, which was the "unique" element of that building was axed prior to construction.
Click to expand...
I'm intrigued by this 'triangular bracing' at the base of Commerce Court! Are there any early drawings floating around?
 
That didn’t take long.
D7D6E9BE-6333-4208-BE33-9062B3AD1CF5.jpeg
 
I dread seeing that logo on top. I would love the city to pass a law banning logos on top of buildings. It's an aesthetic insult. Let the architecture shine or at least speak.

There is a reason there are no logos on the main towers of TD Centre (thank goodness). I wish other developments had the same sensibility.
 
alklay said:
I dread seeing that logo on top. I would love the city to pass a law banning logos on top of buildings. It's an aesthetic insult. Let the architecture shine or at least speak.

There is a reason there are no logos on the main towers of TD Centre (thank goodness). I wish other developments had the same sensibility.
Click to expand...
I'll agree with you in that I believe there really shouldnt be a logo at the top of these towers, it's better to let the architecture speak for itself. But unfortunately we'll likely be seeing something go up there.

As for the TD Centre:

1632494677780.png


1632494719671.png
 
alklay said:
I dread seeing that logo on top. I would love the city to pass a law banning logos on top of buildings. It's an aesthetic insult. Let the architecture shine or at least speak.

There is a reason there are no logos on the main towers of TD Centre (thank goodness). I wish other developments had the same sensibility.
Click to expand...

Amare said:
I'll agree with you in that I believe there really shouldnt be a logo at the top of these towers, it's better to let the architecture speak for itself. But unfortunately we'll likely be seeing something go up there.

As for the TD Centre:

View attachment 351013

View attachment 351014
Click to expand...
I think by main towers he means the Mies Van Der Rohe designed towers, the OG 2 towers.
 
From an architecture perspective, I agree with you -but as the branding opportunities are assets worth millions, it is unrealistic to expect the owners of these buildings to prioritize design over financial returns.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top