Toronto Sugar Wharf Condominiums (Phase 2) | 283.6m | 85s | Menkes | a—A

Incidental reference to this project in a report on new school priorities to the Planning and Priorities Ctte of the TDSB on April 6th.

Link here: https://pub-tdsb.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=8381

From said report:

A new elementary school is required to support rapid intensification that is occurring along the City’s central waterfront area. The Lower Yonge Precinct elementary school is embedded within the podium of a mixed-use development. A condition of the Memorandum of Understanding that has been entered into with the developer, Menkes, requires that funding approval for the new school be received by October 2021. The 2021-22 Capital Priorities window is the only opportunity to ensure that the funds are in place to support this new school.
 
Toronto Model 05-01-21 Sugar Wharf.png
 
This very well may be Menkes signature piece whether they like to refer to it as such or not, and quite frankly it's woefully underwhelming and bland.

What's up with these developers who like to embarrass themselves with massively scaled developments that offer 0 redeeming features? Surprisingly Pinnacle next door is one of the very few who are bucking that trend.
 
Riseth said:
I don't see any changes from the previous renders. Still the same mediocre trash that will make a blight on the waterfront for decades to come. The real kicker here is, nothing will ever be able to block them out!
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It will depend on their implementation/materials. Nobody thought the first tower of Pinnacle’s One Yonge would turn out the way it has.
 
Oh, more buildings with soulless wraparound balconies on every floor. I wonder who the aArchitect is.

poop said:
Key difference is Pinnacle chose the best architect in the city. HP nearly always delivers. aA makes their living on building bland towers.
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It's funny how different HP and aA have become. I remember when aA used to actually deliver some nice designs, like Four Seasons, Burano, and others. Now, they're just doing the Casa formula ad nauseam. Meanwhile, HP has essentially pioneered curved glass in this city and incorporates more curtain wall on residential buildings than any other architect. Even on developments with a tight budget, HP often delivers really nice results with what they're given (ex. Garrison Point), while aA produces the same recycled trash with progressively less and less attention paid to the details (compare their latest works to Ice, their designs at the Distillery District, etc.).

The only saving grace is that aA tends to do nice podiums, and these renderings are no exception.
 
Strange Advance said:
The consensus on these seems to be hatred and contempt, but I like them very much. In their austerity, they evoke the WTC twins, and I have no quarrel with wraparound balconies. They supply visual texture to what might otherwise be an undifferentiated mass of glass.
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I'd say they more so evoke Casa 2 and 3 on Charles St than the WTC towers.
 
If Phase 1 is any indication, the materials used on Phase 2 will likely also be of a better quality for the pop. So I don't think these renders will do that any justice until we see this project being constructed. Thusly, the book may end up being better than its cover here.
 
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