Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners

Problem-solving and working around different site conditions is what makes architecture interesting. This proposal is certainly more interesting now. Dare I say I'm pretty excited about it. The older forms of the towers were interesting, but so are the new ones.

I want to see what the podium would look like but I doubt the previous design ever would have turned out as planned. Especially in the fluctuating Toronto climate, I think Gehry would want to be more careful; especially since a condo board would be responsible for repairs, which would amount very different maintenance and repair bills on a project like this than they would in a more traditional condo design.

This is a project on a large scale. Some people would have felt that if the original proposal was 6 towers it should go through; or 5; since it was 3 towers, that's what the more insufferable people on the boards wanted. But planning is not ambiguous, and developers and architects should always expect to work within the planning framework that exists. The upside is that it pushes architects to problem-solve and really bust out their most creative solutions.
 
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I miss some aspects of the podium, especially the cloud effect, but I think I actually like two towers of differing heights, one of them very tall indeed, better than the three towers of quite similar heights.

Moreover, to be honest, a two tower project that actually gets built, is superior to a three tower model that doesn't.

And finally, the Princess of Wales and the old warehouses are genuinely of value. I think it is possible that this will be a win win.
 
The extent to which this design has been watered down will become clear once we see detailed renderings.

However, I would argue the way this has been handled is a mark of urban maturity. A lesser city, dazzled by the likes of Gehry, might unquestioningly accept what was a deeply flawed plan. King West works exceedingly well currently, and taking the wrecking ball to it for the sake of giving a starchitect a 'clean slate' would have been the truly unsophisticated course of action. I am allergic to New York comparisons, but Gehry's recent residential tower there went through a very similar process, resulting in an extremely restrained base that supports a gorgeously expressive tower.

Toronto shouldn't be afraid of daring designs, but it also shouldn't be willing to clear-cut successful cityscapes. If Gehry is half the architect he is said to be, he can create a beautiful building while working within this dense urban context.
 
allabootmatt said:
The extent to which this design has been watered down will become clear once we see detailed renderings.
Click to expand...

A good design isn't "watered down", and working within a reasonable time-frame, good designers will not have to water-down their design but rather create something responsive to the provided conditions.

Let's see what happens.
 
I'm failing to see how the new tallest building in Canada (with a second tower about as tall as Aura), designed by Canada's best known starchitect is a disappointment, doesn't reflect Toronto as a global city, and was pushed by people who think we live in a giant Ottawa :D
 
waterloowarrior said:
I'm failing to see how the new tallest building in Canada (with a second tower about as tall as Aura), designed by Canada's best known starchitect is a disappointment, doesn't reflect Toronto as a global city, and was pushed by people who think we live in a giant Ottawa :D
Click to expand...

I know. A giant Ottawa would be a 92 floor Claridge Plaza ;)
 
This proposal is just far more reasonable and respectful of the city. Not a super fan of the architecture based on the rendering but at least it isn't insulting to the community. It also responds to some of the criticisms on this thread that the process was all about height or cutting people down to size. Height was never really the issue, nor is the current building design dictated by the city. You might not like the expression but if you don't take it up with the architect and his client.
 
I also don't view this as a compromise. I think it has more aesthetic maturity than the original. While the new design is certainly less whimsical and is more restrained, it looks like it is actually engaged in a dialogue with its context rather than something superimposed on it. These new towers seem both Gehry and Toronto. They seem somehow to share similar ambitions of other Toronto landmarks. The same could not be said of the original. I always found the identical heights of the original three towers awkward. Given that the there isn’t much diversity in the heights of the other condo towers in the area, the original design risked looking like the upper level of a wedding cake. As ambitious as the original podium was, there was certainly an element of “block-busting” to it. The new towers also seem to refine and expand upon what Gehry did with 8 Spruce Street. These towers are certainly more dramatic than 8 Spruce Street, but they also don’t completely break from a successful style like the old design did. Anyway I’m very stoked.
 
I prefer the old design as well. However, the new design is still far superior compared to most architecture in the city being constructed in the last decade

We've become ungrateful in Toronto, we have so many good buildings going up that whatever new comes along has to be the best in the world or else it sucks. If these towers went up anywhere else they'd be applauded.
 
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As much as I preferred the original design, I think that had this been the original proposal we would have seen just as much excitement over it. Still, I'm saddened over the loss of the amazing podium in the previous design. Hopefully we'll see some renderings soon.
 
I think it's great. After all, what represents Toronto more than "tall glass boxes stacked on glass boxes" [omg supertall!!11!] /s

In all seriousness, while I'm not happy that the geometry has been "dumbed down" (boxify-ed, cheapened, etc.), the massing is still good. We finally get something over the arbitrary 300m mark, still designed by a world-renowned architect, while also pleasing city planning staff. The fact that the design's more conservative doesn't mean that it's a disaster.
 
thumbs down here....the original you instantly knew would be incredible.....this new design is meh imo...

The fact that it is better than 99 percent of what we normally see should be a cause for alarm, and not for celebration..

/T.O. bureaucracy strikes a new low...idiots

/and don't really care whether it's a supertall or not..
 
While the new proposal is great, would there be any future issues with this tower setting a precedent for the neighbourhood? Would we see more 90-storey proposals popping up if this gets the go ahead? (which seems likely)
 
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