DtTO
Active Member
It's not great, but I wouldn't go as far as "horrendous." It actually matches the glass with blinds quite well, if you look at X1 in the first pic.
Toronto X2 Condominiums | 160.93m | 49s | Lifetime | Wallman Architects
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Tuscani01
Senior Member
^ Good point. It will blend in well once people occupy the tower.
4grand
Active Member
With all due respect, I think you guys are making excuses for this tower.
There should never, ever, be an instance where the hideously ugly mechanical boxes and HVAC units are completely viewable.
Whatever that thing is on top, it's not a roof, or even a false roof. It's simply a few stories of glass and steel raised up.
I can see the mechanical boxes and HVAC units also on top of the Four Seasons and I always shake my head in disbelief. Surely, they can do a little more to disguise the hideously ugly mechanics of the building. ICE has done it well. The Florian has done it well. The L Tower has done it well. Aura has done it well. It's not impossible.
Why design a sleek, black tower, and then simply plop the mechanical innards, directly on top of the good looking building you just designed?
Is it laziness? Or just cheapness?
There should never, ever, be an instance where the hideously ugly mechanical boxes and HVAC units are completely viewable.
Whatever that thing is on top, it's not a roof, or even a false roof. It's simply a few stories of glass and steel raised up.
I can see the mechanical boxes and HVAC units also on top of the Four Seasons and I always shake my head in disbelief. Surely, they can do a little more to disguise the hideously ugly mechanics of the building. ICE has done it well. The Florian has done it well. The L Tower has done it well. Aura has done it well. It's not impossible.
Why design a sleek, black tower, and then simply plop the mechanical innards, directly on top of the good looking building you just designed?
Is it laziness? Or just cheapness?
Tuscani01
Senior Member
Just wait for it to be finished and occupied and you will see. Here... try this. Point out which sections of X/X2 are mechanical and which are actual units from the image below:
If you can guess correctly, then your fears are justified. If not, wait until the building is done to judge it.
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junctionist
Senior Member
There's no problem with visible mechanical equipment as long as it's incorporated into the architecture, which is what we see here. It would be great if they lit up the mechanical penthouse from the inside at night. The TD Centre took a simpler approach with panels over the mechanical floors (the floors without windows are mechanical and appear as black stripes), but X2's approach is also Modernist and may result in a sophisticated final product.
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whatever
Senior Member
I agree with the Modernist interpretation. Those floors are mechanical, so there's nothing wrong with having them appear different than the floors that are residential provided that it at least uses the same design language. They kept the strong mullions and approximate proportions for the glass as well as the vertical lines, so it works fine for me. To be completely honest, I think what they've done is actually a stronger design decision than it would have been to match the glass below
stjames2queenwest
Senior Member
They don't look that different at all. Not from a distance. It isn't fully finished or enclosed of course it going to look a bit different from a lower angle. I think it looks a lot more sleek than x1, and if they wanted to be cheap they wouldn't have brought the glass and siding all the way up they would have left it the same as x1.
My only slight complaint is that x2 is a bit paler.
My only slight complaint is that x2 is a bit paler.
4grand
Active Member
I must be in the minority here.
I don't ever think that having exposed HVAC equipment is acceptable. It's like driving a car and having all your oil and gas lines visible from the outside. Or it's like using a smart phone that has antennas and microchips glued on to the top of the phone. Or it's like having brain surgery and never having the top piece of your skull reattached. It completely ruins the design of the building.
The Modernist argument I think is flawed. The TD Centre is Modernist, and it does a great job of disguising the HVAC and mechanics.
All X2 had to do was put in non-transparent glass or black vents along the top few floors.
The fact that I can blatantly see the hideously industrial looking HVAC unit is mind blowing to me. It looks cheap and lazy.
Again, I stress that L Tower, Aura, The Florian, and ICE have all accomplished this relatively easy feat.
I don't ever think that having exposed HVAC equipment is acceptable. It's like driving a car and having all your oil and gas lines visible from the outside. Or it's like using a smart phone that has antennas and microchips glued on to the top of the phone. Or it's like having brain surgery and never having the top piece of your skull reattached. It completely ruins the design of the building.
The Modernist argument I think is flawed. The TD Centre is Modernist, and it does a great job of disguising the HVAC and mechanics.
All X2 had to do was put in non-transparent glass or black vents along the top few floors.
The fact that I can blatantly see the hideously industrial looking HVAC unit is mind blowing to me. It looks cheap and lazy.
Again, I stress that L Tower, Aura, The Florian, and ICE have all accomplished this relatively easy feat.
junctionist
Senior Member
Though I haven't yet seen how it was done at X2, there's no reason to hide it if it can be incorporated into the architecture.
salsa
Senior Member
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Torontovibe
Senior Member
^^ If that's the case, then nobody would have any right to criticize any building in Toronto and there would be little use for this site. Rob Ford = first world problems too, so I guess that thread would have to go. This site would just become a place where people who bought a condo in "The Star Of Downtown" come on to praise themselves for buying in such a beautiful building.
HVAC units should be covered up. Look at the ones on Rogers, at Dundas Square. Those ruin the whole view of that square. It's impossible to get a good pic of the full square, without those ugly mofos ruing my shot. At this point in Toronto's development, there is no excuse for not covering up big, ugly HVAC units. Demand better and you will get better.
HVAC units should be covered up. Look at the ones on Rogers, at Dundas Square. Those ruin the whole view of that square. It's impossible to get a good pic of the full square, without those ugly mofos ruing my shot. At this point in Toronto's development, there is no excuse for not covering up big, ugly HVAC units. Demand better and you will get better.
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Red October
Senior Member
Better done than X1 at least...
junctionist
Senior Member
True. You can't see the equipment at X because it's all in that ugly panelled mechanical penthouse.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
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4grand
Active Member
I was waiting for someone to point that out...
Vents are necessary, I realize that, but at least L Tower has somewhat incorporated them into the design. And they aren't just giant boxes stuck on the roof, they're actually incorporated into the facade. There is a false roof too with the L Tower. All the HVAC units and Elevator mechanics are not visible at all. They are neatly tucked away under the top few false floors.
I'd say the three other sides of the L Tower, and their unusual shapes, allow for certain liberties to be taken with the vents on the backside.
In this case, they have ATTEMPTED to incorporate the mechanics into the design.
With X2, they just plopped everything on top and then, for some reason, surrounded it with transparent glass so we can see it all.