Toronto Ripley's Aquarium of Canada | 13.11m | 2s | Ripley Entertainment | B+H

For construction geeks, it doesn't get much better than this.

ripleysm7.jpg
 
With the exception of the CN tower and the Flat Iron condo and Infinity east, none of the buildings in that photo existed 5 years ago. Simply amazing!
 
Thank you p5, glad that I wasn't the only one with a critical eye on this project. Actually I thought it would have been super amazing they had used Canadian wood in something that is "spiritually" similar Tjibaou Cultural Centre by Piano...or something with a materiality that speaks to the Canadian experience (granite "shield"? snow white glazing "ice"?) would have been so much better than this anonymous, out of context addition.

AoD
 
I feel like the backside is rather unfortunate. But I'm not sure what they could have done to make it better.
 
Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
I feel like the backside is rather unfortunate. But I'm not sure what they could have done to make it better.
Click to expand...

It will eventually be covered by the new Convention Centre Extension which will be built up to the sidewalk. In the meantime, I believe they were going to install a line of trees or bushes.

What I'm trying to figure out is what's going on with the CN Tower pavillion. Will it remain partially outside? Are the existing entrance buildings being kept?
 
AlbertC said:
Looks like the ultimate skateboard obstacle course.
Click to expand...

As great as I think it looks, this was my first thought as well. The planters need some kind of "spur" sticking out to keep kids from "grinding" on them. The smaller benches and the white balls are probably prime targets too. I realize there will be a bit of security around but not 24 hours, and the whole plaza could quickly look beat up.
 
This is the CN Tower. It's monitored 24/7. There's a security room down those stairs near the white balls. I do admit that this does look like a skateboarding heaven, but there's no way kids will get away with skating there for more than just passing through. That's still enough to cause damage though, so I hope security is tight and makes an example of the first ones to try by charging them with damage to property and making them pay for repairs.
 
By the time they get caught skating and shooed away, the wax will already be applied to those concrete edges. As Xray said, they should have broken up the expanses of uninterrupted grinding surfaces with some type of raised edges. Although skateboarding isnt a primary mode of transportation, infrastructure would certainly help to keep skaters from waxing up every publicly accessible surface. Its like how you need bike lanes to keep cyclists off of sidewalks and roads. I am sure you wont see many messed up concrete edges in the WDL, because the skater kids have everything they need at Underpass Park. That being said, I really like how this turned out. Wax on or wax off.
 
Lol you guys are taking this skateboard damage thing way too seriously. First of all, though it looks like it there aren't many skateboarding features here other than handrails and the green islands. There aren't any bowls or curves or much of anything that would make one actually go down there to skateboard for a prolonged period. Also, with the traffic that is bound to be travel through there, skateboarders aren't going to be able to damage much. The general public will probably do much worse.
 
^^ I don't know if that's true. Look at Canoe Landing Park. There isn't much there to attract skate boarders, yet almost instantly, the white, metal benches, near the canoe, were completely ruined by skateboarders. They scratched the white paint off that bench within a month of opening. It's in really pathetic shape right now, as the city has not done a thing to repair the damage or cover it with a more durable covering. It should have been designed with skateboarders in mind. Those guys ruin everything that's not skateboard proof.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top