Toronto One Bloor East | 257.24m | 76s | Great Gulf | Hariri Pontarini

I'd take this proposal over the Bazis train-wreck anyday. I trust GG and HP to execute this design without flaws or cheapening or even green glass. The waves, though a bit gimmicky, will contrast nicely with the straight line boxiness of its neighbours. The podium also looks to be quite classy though a little bit of public space would've been nice. All in all, it's not a home run but definitely a solid double.
 
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A cleaner, more refined version of Acqua. Not all that original but it will be eye-catching nonetheless.
 
kettal said:
OnebloorRend4-Mar10.jpg


for some reason this reminds me of Holiday Inn on King
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I was thinking the same thing!!!
 
^That is in the same sense like comparing NY Towers to the Chysler building in NYC . By this, I'm not implying One Bloor will ever be an equivilant to the Chrysler Building just that the Holiday Inn on King is that bad.
 
It's interesting but I can't say that I'm convinced. The tower does look weirdly out of place. The terraced base is interesting but I hate the overhang over the sidewalk. I'm going to go so far as to say that the awnings/arcades/set back first levels are my least favourite part of most current condo projects. It's unattractive, looming, and makes me much less likely to visit the stores. Keeping people out of the rain is an admirable goal but it's not like it's continuous and that's what umbrellas are for anyway.

I'm not too worried about the quality of the retail, though. At this location, I'm sure it will be attractive to some pretty high-end stores and no doubt the condo owners will want to encourage big names in order to maintain the prestige of their building.
 
Traynor said:
We were promised a "gently sloping roof" and the renders do indeed show this. It is not just a trick of the render. However, the slope is so gentle it may be almost imperceptible at a distance. Yet, I imagine that when viewed from the West the shape will be reminiscent of a giant number one.
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The elevations I saw a little while ago indeed showed a considerably less dramatic version of the Ritz building's sloping roof.
 
C'mon, this render is much better than what GG originally showed us. It's something different for toronto. It has texture and might blend in well with 4 seasons and 2 bloor west.
 
I'm wavering between typing: 'not too bad,' and 'pretty good' but my instinctive feelings lie directly in between the two. I'll give it the benefit of a doubt and stick with 'pretty good' for now.

I also see that it didn't take too long until the middlers ripped off SANAA's Serpentine Pavilion and used it as a glossy, condo-brochure 'amenity.'
 
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How groan-inducing-bust-a-gut "iconic". I agree with urbandreamer's assessment of HP's florid approach to some of their buildings. On the one hand they do fine projects like the McKinsey and the Art Collector's Residence, but then some sort of Good Quadrangle/ Bad Quadrangle thing kicks in with "populist" designs like this one. Would it be too unkind to call it the least poor of the designs we've seen so far for this site?
 
Urban Shocker said:
On the one hand they do fine projects like the McKinsey and the Art Collector's Residence, but then some sort of Good Quadrangle/ Bad Quadrangle thing kicks in with "populist" designs like this one.
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What's so "populist" about the design. Most of the people on this thread don't find this building so popular. :)
 
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