Toronto One Bedford | ?m | 32s | Lanterra | KPMB

Re: One Bedford

...just more of the same.
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What, do we want every new building to try and look different and "fashionable"?

You don't wear your H&M shirts from two years ago -- and they won't look so good in 50 years, either.
 
Re: One Bedford

It's not a matter of being fashionable, it's about diversity. While I like this "Toronto style" of condo, it's been done quite a bit recently. Surely, there must be other options that wouldn't risk being dated in a few years. How do we know these won't look dated in the future?
 
Re: One Bedford

The base still looks like some bad late 80's North York office tower. It looks very institutional and I hope that decent retail spaces are incorporated into it.

I don't think there is much of a 'Toronto Style" (you just have to look at some of the developments in other cities, such as New York, to see much the same in condo design) and if there is any 'style' I am not quite sure this building has any. It has some precast and some windows and i guess that is as much of a Toronto style as anything. For whatever reason, I am not excited about this design as its blandness will probably make it disappear into the streetscape pretty quick.
 
Re: One Bedford

I like the base, it should have a strong street presence and hopefully extra height ceilings to attract high quality retail. I also like that the building is set back from the corner, creating a mini public plaza.

While it does look similar to 18 Yorkville, I don't think we should be knocking One Bedford for looking like one of the best residential towers ever built in Toronto. And it's not like this new 'Toronto style' is everywhere - considering the number of 70s slabs all over town I would have no problem if another half dozen 18 Yorkvilles sprouted up in different locations across the city.
 
Re: One Bedford

"The base still looks like some bad late 80's North York office tower. It looks very institutional and I hope that decent retail spaces are incorporated into it.

I don't think there is much of a 'Toronto Style" (you just have to look at some of the developments in other cities, such as New York, to see much the same in condo design) and if there is any 'style' I am not quite sure this building has any. It has some precast and some windows and i guess that is as much of a Toronto style as anything. For whatever reason, I am not excited about this design as its blandness will probably make it disappear into the streetscape pretty quick."


Wow. That seems pretty negative. What magical design elements are missing? Are you saying that every building built within a decade of any other building must be completely different in every way from any existing building? Well, that's not possible. There are going to be common elements to buildings in this city as well as others. That doesn't make them bad. I'm getting tired of this kind of negativity.
 
Re: One Bedford

What is negative about pointing out that our condos look like many of the condos that are in other cities? That could be a positive thing if the other condos are decent.

"Are you saying that every building built within a decade of any other building must be completely different in every way from any existing building?"

No. I don't think I even suggested that. I am saying that those buildings built in North York, at that time period, are pretty cold and institutional.
 
Re: One Bedford

What, do we want every new building to try and look different and "fashionable"?

You don't wear your H&M shirts from two years ago -- and they won't look so good in 50 years, either.
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That isn't what I said. I'm not sure why you'd automatically assume that's what I meant, either.

This type of tower is popping up everywhere...and in a lot of cases they're not that much different.

It would've been interesting to see something different...perhaps with some brick to echo the RCM across the street.
 
Re: One Bedford

Alklay: We're not talking about other cities. We're talking about Toronto in the here and now. This *is* the Toronto style at the moment. Surely even we lowly Torontonians may be pardoned the sin of being self-referential every now and again?

Not every building has to be unique and original: The streets of Paris are lined by row after row of Hausmann-style, second empire buildings of the same height, same colour, same wrought iron window details, etc. Yet to me this comes off as distinctively parisian, rather than oppressively redundant. There are certainly enough standout, landmark buildings in the mix to capture one's attention. As long as the quality is fine and the appeal widespread what is the harm if a Toronto style of highrise develops and gains popularity?
 
Re: One Bedford

I like this building; I'm with Mike on the fact that we could use a lot more of these to break up our concrete 70's forest. I also like the base of this building; from the rendering it has a strong sense of place. I think the only Toronto style condo I'm not a huge fan of is Radio City, I'm not sure why but at night it looks like an old 70's apartment building to me. The Toronto Style I most look forward to is CASA, I love its hat.
 
Re: One Bedford

You don't wear your H&M shirts from two years ago -- and they won't look so good in 50 years, either.
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I would, simply because they're there in my closet and I'm too thrifty to bother buying anything else.

Sort of like a real-time version of Salvation Army chic, but cutting out the Salvation Army part. (That's why a lot of fashion tends to "date" less and less...anything goes...)
 
Re: One Bedford

I'm a big fan of the best examples of our Brutalist concrete '70's forest, just as I'm a big fan of the best examples of our 21st century Modernist Restoration buildings. Both are faux-free reflections of the time in which they were built.

Employing "fashion" as an exemplar to evaluate buildings from any era is a dead end. There is no automatic connection between fashion and good design.
 
Re: One Bedford

Babel, I'm also a big fan of some of Toronto's "Brutalist concrete 70s forest". I may be in the extreme minority, but Manulife is my favorite tower in Toronto after CCW.

I was refering to the 70s slabs that make up St. Jamestown and High Park and are all over the city like weeds (although they do provide an important function as Toronto does have a large affordable rental housing stock due to the number of these towers) when I suggested we could use a few more glass towers to offset those. But I'd be happy to have a few more well done Brutalist towers of the Manulife variety.
 
Re: One Bedford

If the Nightmare on Elm ever goes condo, I'm in there in a flash! Great location. Beautiful building. The parking floors would make a great space for cultural uses, something akin to the nearbye Museum of Textiles for instance, with shopping and restaurants too. There is already a rooftop garden.

But I digress. Back up to Bedford ...
 
Re: One Bedford

but first, a bit more digression

The problem with the commie blocks isn't how they were built, but where. They had a habit of going up away from arteries, in a patch of bulldozed concrete houses. They were homewreckers, y'know? And, like in the neighborhoods east of Yonge, there's just enough of them to destroy any real sense of cohesion or enclosure you might get from the older stock.
 
Re: One Bedford

The problem with the commie blocks isn't how they were built, but where.
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As someone who is no fan of brutalism (save for a few examples like the Manulife tower), I think how they were built is an issue as well. At the time, giant concrete blocks may have seemed novel and fresh but they haven't aged well nor stood the test of time. People generally don't like concrete... it's not considered an attractive material... it's what you should make sidewalks out of, not buildings. Of course brutalism will always have some fans (just like disco will) and I respect that, but I don't have to like them.

I just can't look at a building like this and consider it attractive.
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