Toronto X The Condominium | ?m | 44s | Great Gulf | a—A

hmm, in our building, Yonge and Eglinton area. There's actually a traffic light and only one car is meant to go in or out at a time.
For similar reasons there's one entrance / exit and it's small.
 
taal said:
hmm, in our building, Yonge and Eglinton area. There's actually a traffic light and only one car is meant to go in or out at a time.
For similar reasons there's one entrance / exit and it's small.
Click to expand...

A traffic light would be a nice feature. We do have this "light" that blinks when the garage door is opening and also a mirror, but it doesn't help all the time.

The way I see it is if someone is driving upwards to leave the garage and there is someone wanting to go down, the person moving upwards on the ramp should be allowed to head out of the garage first. It is not safe for someone to be reversing down the ramp in order to let the person entering the garage go. But some people do not see it that way and there is lots of confusion as to what to do in those instances. I have been side to side with someone entering/exiting the garage, but it is way too close for comfort. I guess this is what condo living is all about :)
 
http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/hometype/condos/article/995380--hume-getting-high-at-charles-and-jarvis

Condo Critic

X Condos, 110 Charles St. E.: This is one of the most playful pieces of architecture to appear in Toronto in some time. Taking Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Toronto-Dominion Centre as its starting point, this very clever riposte turns the Modernist masterpiece into something more humanistic, less intimidating and even humorous.

Gone is that dour tone and utilitarian conceits favoured by Mies. The basic black tower remains almost as imagined by him, but the recessed balconies and the brightly coloured panels located randomly across the four facades tell us immediately that something different is going on here. One can’t help but enjoy the spectacle.

Unlike the majority of condos built in the city today, this is not a tower on a podium. Much like the towers to which this project pays homage, the building rises vertically and shoots up 44 storeys. But with its public art and attention to details, this makes a welcome addition to the skyline. The idea that a condo could be so consciously situated within an architectural as well as the civic and economic context signals a city of growing sophistication.

GRADE: A
 
but stand alone towers without podiums also create harsher wind tunnel effects on street level pedestrians by drawing high altitude winds toward the ground ... that is one of the key considerations factors that City Urban Design Departments often require 'towers on podium' than not
 
Last edited:
Indeed, and especially in a cold northern city on a lake. Podiums also bring large projects down to a more human scale at street level and provide opportunity for architects to do somthing a little different- not always for the best admittedly.
 
Yet for some reason which is beyond me, no wind tunnels have been created on either Jarvis or Charles Streets, which I walk almost every day.
 
X-Pool:

5773377383_c7cf33fb75_b.jpg
 
That's going to be a really happening space if the sun ever comes out.
 
Bogtrotter said:
Podiums also bring large projects down to a more human scale at street level and provide opportunity for architects to do somthing a little different.
Click to expand...

Don't all designs depend on the skill of the architect, though? The Radio City towers, for instance, have nicely detailed little entrances that are human-scaled and face one another across a pleasant forecourt. I think that the rule: a podium when necessary but not necessarily a podium, works best.
 
WeirdFishes said:
Gone is that dour tone and utilitarian conceits favoured by Mies. The basic black tower remains almost as imagined by him, but the recessed balconies and the brightly coloured panels located randomly across the four facades tell us immediately that something different is going on here. One can’t help but enjoy the spectacle.
Click to expand...

And something different was going on when Mies designed the TD Centre, too, although the familiar form the buildings take is primarily a summary of his late work. For instance, he swiped the Baroque idea of the enfilade and used it in his 54th floor executive suite.
 
When I walked by around 6pm on Sunday, I looked up from Charles Street and the deck was packed. This is from yesterday around 5pm. What a great space.

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 
dt_toronto_geek said:
That's going to be a really happening space if the sun ever comes out.
Click to expand...


Yes....absolutely it will!!! Looks gorgeous.

At the CASA pool this past weekend, on the Sunday, the pool was absolutely packed. Must have been 40 people or so. Lots of buzz in the atmosphere. Lots of residents invite friends over as well so you can get a different mix from day to day, weekend to weekend.
 
Anybody know what the West view is like from X? Can you see the CN tower, say from the 20th floor or so? Can you see the downtown central business district? College park? etc.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top