Toronto East Harbour | 214.2m | 65s | Cadillac Fairview | Adamson

I'll miss it personally. Historical ties to the city's industrial past are important to honor. It makes for a more interesting and varied built form. It's a shame it's being pulled down. I often find myself wishing this city had a more daring imagination, one that encompasses both an authentic reverence for the past and a bold forward gaze.
 
No love lost here either. One of the reasons I moved to Toronto from London (UK) is because I like that Toronto is not as constrained by its past as other cities, even though it doesn't always get it right (I'd love for the Temple Building to still be standing, for example).

Living in Europe can often feel like you're living in a museum, which appeals to many, but never did to me. I appreciate that I'm in a minority though.
 
wmedia said:
No love lost here either. One of the reasons I moved to Toronto from London (UK) is because I like that Toronto is not as constrained by its past as other cities, even though it doesn't always get it right (I'd love for the Temple Building to still be standing, for example).

Living in Europe can often feel like you're living in a museum, which appeals to many, but never did to me. I appreciate that I'm in a minority though.
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This is a refreshing take :) Nice to hear. With that said - I don't see how anyone could be ok with a lot of our built form (i.e. sidewalk / road finishes / park maintenance) compared to European cities.
 
I don’t beleive we embrace the future as much as we could. New York seems to be embracing contemporary architecture in a much more bold way. I’m not sure why. Money definitely has something to do with it - a lot of billionaires behind these kinds of projects. Not everything can have a hefty price tag like Quayside or regent park developments, but I digress.
 
As someone who has lived in a converted industrial space, I can say that it is not all that great - sound transference was a huge problem, as was literal material transference. The floors were not entirely plumb with the brick walls, so the cat in the apartment above would kick its kitty litter through the cracks and into my apartment.

That being said, watching Toronto tear down every last scrap of history is pretty deadening.
 
I don’t get this perception that Toronto is losing more of its heritage than Montreal nowadays, when nearly of the developments in this city retain facades (of various value) along its old retail strips, while Montreal is more blaise about removing old buildings (I.e. in Chinatown and its Arts District). Perhaps it was true in the past during our city’s big growth spurt, but I don’t think it is now.

Instead, the issue is more that Toronto has fewer of these older buildings and cohesive streetscapes in total, while much of its modern development fails to elevate the atmosphere and feeling of place- and so the losses we have are felt more acutely. For instance, I still think about the Empress Hotel and the detrimental impact its loss had on Yonge Street whenever I pass through the area, even though it was just a single building.

That people are already dreading what CF will put up is a prime indicator of this IMO.
 
jje1000 said:
I don’t get this perception that Toronto is losing more of its heritage than Montreal nowadays, when nearly of the developments in this city retain facades (of various value) along its old retail strips, while Montreal is more blaise about removing old buildings (I.e. in Chinatown and its Arts District). Perhaps it was true in the past during our city’s big growth spurt, but I don’t think it is now.

Instead, the issue is more that Toronto has fewer of these older buildings and cohesive streetscapes in total, while much of its modern development fails to elevate the atmosphere and feeling of place- and so the losses we have are felt more acutely. For instance, I still think about the Empress Hotel and the detrimental impact its loss had on Yonge Street whenever I pass through the area, even though it was just a single building.

That people are already dreading what CF will put up is a prime indicator of this IMO.
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Hum… no heritage building was demolished in Chinatown in the last 20 years that I know of, except one by a fire. Also there is no such thing as an art district in Montreal. Maybe you are referring to the Quartier des spectacles, where every single new développement in the last 20 years were on surface parking lots, not a single heritage building demolished there. The fact is, very little heritage building has been lost in the city for many years, except the odd ones by fire or by neglect, but they are very few. Also Chinatown is an historical protected area by the Quebec government . You can not bring down old buildings there even if you tried. Heritage protection is one of my obsession and I follow closely what’s going on in Montreal. I could make you an exhaustive list of every buildings of more than 100 years demolished in the city in the last decades. There are a few of course, but very little compare to other NA cities.
 
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The German Gymnasium at Kings Cross would have been a good model for keeping some of the existing buildings. It makes a HUGE impact on that neighbourhood.

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I mean the Unilever plant is probably 10x the size of that example.

Heritage may indeed have helped here, but I’m not sure that’s a good example.
 
I think I'd care less about the heritage loss if there was any appetite from CF for using facades or even reuse of materials like brick. I get that existing ceiling heights, window spacings and building locations often don't work for a new development - but meet halfway and give the development a touch of character rather than glass towers...
 
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