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

Mongo said:
I'm fairly sure that complaining about the bland developers in Toronto is one of the most frequent subjects at UT.
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Followed closely by complaining about the people complaining about the bland developers in Toronto. :p
 

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^^^

Literally looks like a pile of trash. At least with skyscrapers, his whimsy is constrained by the physical realities of having to keep an 80+ storey tower erect.
 
Ramako said:
^^^

Literally looks like a pile of trash. At least with skyscrapers, his whimsy is constrained by the physical realities of having to keep an 80+ storey tower erect.
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Although i respect your opinion, I would like to say that this is why Toronto doesn't get many unique and interesting developments. It seems that when someone tries to step out of the box even a little they are met with this kind of reaction.
 
Ramako said:
At least with skyscrapers, his whimsy is constrained by the physical realities of having to keep an 80+ storey tower erect.
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Has Gehry done skyscrapers beyond 8 Spruce and this project in its initial design stage? He seems to be best known for mid-size institutional projects. I looked at a couple of his buildings lately that had these flamboyant forms dancing across the front but were tacked on to boxes about as utilitarian as you can find along any stretch of strip malls. The recent rendering posted here with the interesing block material indicates that something similar might be planned here. Given that these units will come at a premium it might be disappointing, the approach and the effort expended might be questionable, if all the wrinkles in the exterior face don't create interesting spaces in the interior. If the exterior form is created by a skin bolted on to a more basic structure, the flashy design might in fact create obstructed sightlines for the people living in the units.
 
ChristopherC said:
Although i respect your opinion, I would like to say that this is why Toronto doesn't get many unique and interesting developments. It seems that when someone tries to step out of the box even a little they are met with this kind of reaction.
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I dunno. The design as depicted looks pretty jumbled and hodge-podge to me, too. All I can say is that I hope this rendering is but an early milestone along a lengthy trajectory of refinement.
 
Lenser said:
I dunno. The design as depicted looks pretty jumbled and hodge-podge to me, too. All I can say is that I hope this rendering is but an early milestone along a lengthy trajectory of refinement.
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I agree. While nobody can deny Gehry is an original and influential architect, I don't like many of his buildings. This isn't because I'm conservative and don't appreciate the daring of them. I just think there are even better architects, making better buildings - Gehry's awkward-form-driven architecture often just doesn't do it for me - although I know many others are consistently moved by Gehry's work.

For me though, it sometimes seems like Gehry has been anointed the "go to" architect for big-spending clients that want a big name to attach to their project - they know everyone knows who he is, and they hire him for his PR value and his record of making "iconic" sculptures, regardless of what he proposes to build (Thompson, Mirvish are cases in point).
 
ChristopherC said:
Although i respect your opinion, I would like to say that this is why Toronto doesn't get many unique and interesting developments. It seems that when someone tries to step out of the box even a little they are met with this kind of reaction.
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Nonsense. First of all, it's possible to appreciate whimsical and out-of-the-box designs without automatically having to love something merely because it's different. I love most of Gehry's work, but that thing posted above literally looks like garbage. Secondly, the reason Toronto doesn't get many flamboyant designs has everything to do with economics, not some popular aversion to adventurous designs.
 
Ramako said:
Nonsense. First of all, it's possible to appreciate whimsical and out-of-the-box designs without automatically having to love something merely because it's different. I love most of Gehry's work, but that thing posted above literally looks like garbage. Secondly, the reason Toronto doesn't get many flamboyant designs has everything to do with economics, not some popular aversion to adventurous designs.
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Like I said I respect your opinion and not everyone is going to love EVERY one of Gehry's works. I just feel like calling it a pile of trash is an exaggeration, which is what I meant when I said that this is the reaction unique projects get in Toronto.

And I think its worth noting that although this project would not be a good fit in Toronto, i don't think it is over the top at all for Abu Dhabi.
 
that museum in Abu Dhabi is such a mess. my eyes hurt when I look at the model.......so much confusion.
 
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