Toronto Clear Spirit | 131.36m | 40s | Cityscape | a—A

Sometimes I really hate the law that all new condOs must have openable windows. It can really ruin the ansthetic of based like this one and towers like Shargti la and four seasons.
 
Sometimes I really hate the law that all new condOs must have openable windows. It can really ruin the ansthetic of based like this one and towers like Shargti la and four seasons.

Imagine how pristine buildings could look if they didn't have to have windows at all. (this was sarcasm)
 
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Photos from this afternoon. Great reflective properties of the podium glass, and the balcony glass is taking shape on the first tower floor.
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I really love the glass on the podium levels. You rarely see mullions that thin and flush and the huge operable awning windows are very practical and looks very nice even when opened. You can't even tell they are operable panes when they are closed. The overall look is very clean and modern. I wish more buildings were more like this.

A really bad example of window walls would be the Thompson Condos, where it is a mess with those awful small sliding horizontal windows with exterior screens that look like storm windows of an old house. It looks nothing like the sleek original renderings.
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Weren't the original Rackhouse bricks going to be used in the construction of the base?

those look like recycled bricks to me... I cant comment on whether they are from that actual building but they certainly stand apart from the majority of brick we see being used these days. I like it, definitely has the look of an aged building that has been given a modern reno. The only somewhat regrettable detail for me is the French balconies.
 
Sometimes I really hate the law that all new condOs must have openable windows. It can really ruin the ansthetic of based like this one and towers like Shargti la and four seasons.

The law is great because windows that can be opened can make a condo feel more livable by allowing some natural ventilation further from the balcony door (or if there is no balcony door). It's the specific buildings that look worse with open windows that ought to be criticized. As much as I love aA's work, some of their buildings look unfinished from a distance when a lot of the residents have balcony doors open. On the other hand, Four Seasons which is also an aA project, looks positively interesting with its windows open.
 
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The Great Man's condominium building spires punctuate the skyline of 21st century Toronto as distinctively and delightfully as Sir Christopher Wren's church spires announced themselves on London's skyline three hundred years ago.
 
Even though I don't really agree, I see what you're saying. We'll have to wait a few years for the area around it to be developed; then it won't look so out of context.

With the context being the Distillery, it already looks absurd.
 
The Great Man's condominium building spires punctuate the skyline of 21st century Toronto as distinctively and delightfully as Sir Christopher Wren's church spires announced themselves on London's skyline three hundred years ago.

Probably very few people would agree with you there but whatever helps you justify it, go for it. I'd prefer those towers built somewhere else but that's water under the bridge now. Developers are the real planners in this city and everybody knows it.
 
With the context being the Distillery, it already looks absurd.

At first glance I see now obvious reason to believe that's the context, or at least always will be. The context can be indefinitely large depending on our considerations, and with more buildings in that area, it'll be possible to consider them as part of the 'context.' Especially since, as buildings, they'll be similar (and 'context' is usually a function of 'relevantly similar').
 

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