Toronto The HUB | 258.46m | 59s | Oxford Properties | Rogers Stirk Harbour

CIBC Square is about as blue as can be (see below). Those document illustrations pretty much never convey how the glass will actually look. Additionally most of he renders show pretty "clear" glass so I'm wondering if they've yet to even land on a finalized glass treatment (or perhaps they just don't want to show it quite yet).

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(Used @sikandar 's image)
 
DavidCapizzano said:
Yeah I am getting pretty tired of the mantra on this forum that I should somehow be cool with boring designs just because the architect knows how to detail cladding (oh my god groundbreaking look at that seam here's your god damn RIBA trophy)

95% of what you just said won't make a single difference to 95% of people who either pass by or use this building, and that is a shame. This is barely RSH - this is milquetoast RSH at best. I said the same thing in the Eaton Centre thread - the design literacy level on this forum is way above the average person, and regardless of the talent involved in the firm, it is extremely obvious that this is a bleak and timid effort on all parts.

CIBC Square was supposed to be incredible, and it's green. The Well was supposed to be incredible, and it's green. I'm going to need a bit more to go on than just "But the details!"
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CIBC Square is gorgeous, I don't see green at all. The glass really reflects the environment, it can look different shades of blue, metallic, black, clear, etc. You're the first person I've heard that doesn't like it but each to their own!
 
The diamond pattern exudes various shades of blue, grey, silver and light. It changes as the day goes on. Sunlight and cloud produce various patterns also. Without the diamond pattern it would be just another glass box with admittedly nice glass.
This shows a small design change can turn a good looking building into something superior, and this one stands out in its surroundings. Kudos to the design team who came up with this idea.
 
If I had to put a guess on what the glass will look like for this I'd probably look to the Leadenhall Building. RSH+P love really clear facades (they love to show off the internal/external skeletons) and most renders seem to suggest that will be the case here. Not to mention both will be owned by Oxford Properties who have a pretty high standard when it comes to landmark buildings.

Edit: Also Adamsson Associates have a pretty glowing record in Toronto now with The Well, CIBC Square, BAE and Union Park and The Hub on the horizon.
 
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What is the point of a huge lobby like this building has? Trying to make people feel small? There is no street presence, just a dead space to walk by. The building makes an attractive architectural model, I'll admit.
 
Alex L said:
What is the point of a huge lobby like this building has? Trying to make people feel small? There is no street presence, just a dead space to walk by. The building makes an attractive architectural model, I'll admit.
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Grand buildings typically have grand lobby spaces. They're not meant to make the people going through them feel small, but just signal that this is not your average building, and that you should be impressed with it. If you were to walk into a significant structure but encounter a small, cramped space instead, I suspect you'd feel that either the developers were cheap or at minimum that the building was not noteworthy.

In this particular case, the lobby is high so that the adjacent Toronto Harbour Commission Building can be prominently displayed to the west without cutting into it. (The lobby lifts the larger office floors above the THCB.)

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Alex L said:
What is the point of a huge lobby like this building has? Trying to make people feel small? There is no street presence, just a dead space to walk by. The building makes an attractive architectural model, I'll admit.
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A tonne of people need a lot of space. That said, the lack of retail is an oxford special:

100 Adelaide no retail
Waterpark Place 3 no retail
85 Richmond no retail
 
Waterpark Place 3 has no retail? There is the food court on the second floor as well as an RBC Branch and Aroma Expresso Bar at grade level. I believe there's a Rexall as well.

Not the most exciting stuff, but retail.

EY Tower kind of makes sense since it's such a tight sight and there is quite a bit of retail in the remainder of the Richmond-Adelaide Centre.

85 Richmond is still under construction, are we sure there is no retail?
 
TouchBistro and Slalom Consulting are taking most of the office here, but there's still an open hole on the first and second floors. Just checked the plans and you seem to be right - won't be retail, but office and amenity.

Odd choice on Oxford's part. Richmond isn't the best retail street, but it's not hopeless either.
 
Although inside the building, expansive lobbies can also be marshalling areas for fire drills and real fires / evacuations.
That's also a reason for exterior plazas and courtyards.
 
officedweller said:
Although inside the building, expansive lobbies can also be marshalling areas for fire drills and real fires / evacuations.
That's also a reason for exterior plazas and courtyards.
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Of course you need large lobbies for that. I guess I should have been more clear. Big TALL multi-story lobbies. I think that bank architecture was famous for this. Just surprised it still goes on. And of course, the point was ground-floor retail. Not basement or upper floor. It makes for a dead connection to the street I think. I like the way One Bloor engages with the street, for example.
 
Alex L said:
Of course you need large lobbies for that. I guess I should have been more clear. Big TALL multi-story lobbies. I think that bank architecture was famous for this. Just surprised it still goes on. And of course, the point was ground-floor retail. Not basement or upper floor. It makes for a dead connection to the street I think. I like the way One Bloor engages with the street, for example.
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I hear you on this - lobbies are smaller in Chicago and most of NYC.

On retail though, this isnt Yonge and Bloor.
 
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