stjames2queenwest
Senior Member
the model is not as contrasting as I had hoped, but it could just be a lighting thing. Personally I look forward to this one.
Toronto YC Condos -- Yonge at College | 198.42m | 62s | Canderel | Graziani + Corazza
- Thread starter urbandreamer
- Start date
arvelomcquaig
Active Member
Exactly. This tower-of-glass style is so perfunctory that weird balconies are what passes as architecture these days; these towers would be indistinguishable without their balconies. With each new building comes another weird balcony pattern, and that’s their visual contribution to the city.
salsa
Senior Member
A lot of new buildings don't even bother having "weird balconies". Just look at Karma, Casa, Burano, Milan, King Blue, or Festival Tower. It's pure lazy architecture at it's worst.
maestro
Senior Member
You guys expect too much from mid market condo towers. Just about anywhere you'll find mediocrity greatly outnumber the better. I'd rather have "laziness" on the part of aA than Kirkor which attempts to "stands out" with cheap ornamentation.
What would Chicagoan's favorite architectural statement of the last quarter century be without its balconies. Balconies for residential buildings that offer them make up a large part of the exterior design even moreso in Toronto with small narrow units making up tower floor plates. Why shouldn't they be a major focus in the design of buildings particularly those with an extruded floorplate?
What would Chicagoan's favorite architectural statement of the last quarter century be without its balconies. Balconies for residential buildings that offer them make up a large part of the exterior design even moreso in Toronto with small narrow units making up tower floor plates. Why shouldn't they be a major focus in the design of buildings particularly those with an extruded floorplate?
Torontovibe
Senior Member
That's because it can be cheaply made, yet still fool people into thinking they are getting a new, interesting design. In the end, it's still just another glass box.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Who is this "people" referred to? Whether the building in question is a box or not has nothing to do with the ability to judge cheapness. Case in point - One Bloor East is for all intents and purposes a box with interesting design (pretty much entirely the result of balcony placement), but I highly doubt that anyone would call it "cheap".
AoD
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Mike in TO
Senior Member
This whole idea that the "shape" of a tower has anything to do with it being "cheap" is simplistic & ridiculous. Look at the $psf and that will tell you what kind of market they are going after.
Here is a box... with that $95 million dollar penthouse is it obviously "cheap".
Here is a box... with that $95 million dollar penthouse is it obviously "cheap".
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kris
Senior Member
The reason that penthouse is 95 million is because its the tallest building in NYC(by roof height) and the tallest condo in the western hemisphere. That does not factor in quality.
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maestro
Senior Member
All the units in the building have a high price per square foot. The units have column free spaces with 12 foot ceilings. The amenities take up 30,000 square feet with 30 foot ceilings for 105 units.
Most importantly, The exterior may appear cheap to some with cast in place concrete as a finish but those 12X12 expanses of glass without doubt represent superior quality and expense.
Most importantly, The exterior may appear cheap to some with cast in place concrete as a finish but those 12X12 expanses of glass without doubt represent superior quality and expense.
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Uptowner
Active Member
Just in case they are following it I'll say that I don't mind the look. I just wish they wouldn't have been so timid with the height and number of units.
maestro
Senior Member
636 units and 57 floors is not timid in any sense.
Kraylin
Active Member
Sorry just to clarify my own confusion, when you say 57 floors are you referring to residential floors as the thread states 63s.
Thanks.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Are you sure you want to avoid factoring in quality after a cursory look at the project?
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=177316&page=364
Even the complaints over the so called after-thought of a podium compares rather favourably to the majority of projects here.
AoD
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egotrippin
Senior Member
Great, so we should all just start accepting mediocrity as it's the status quo. I'm usually the last person to go all "ra ra evil capitalism" but this latest trend really just represents how low we've sunk to save a few bucks. The bottom line is more important than building something to be proud of. I know not every condo can be an Empire State Building, but even a private residential building is a contribution to a city and its inhabitants; not just something for the immediate purchasers. At some point we'll look back at the legacy of mediocrity we've created and have to ask ourselves, was it really worth it?
Not to mention today's average condo is cheap, and will be a burden on a very near future generation. The window wall systems and cladding used on a lot of these buildings won't stand the test of time, and we're already seeing signs that indicate large-scale cladding replacement is necessary in buildings barely three decades old. Then there's the topic of the exceedingly wasteful nature of all-glass buildings with respect to energy use, especially when extrapolated over the lifespan of the building. Not only is there a lack of respect for aesthetic issues but social issues as well.
Anyway, I digress. This could be a topic for a thread on its own, so to once again bring relevance to my post in this thread, I find the YC is the "straw that broke the camel's back" for me, figuratively, representing the general state of residential highrise architecture in this city right now.
Uptowner
Active Member
That is quite an emphatically stated statement. I just think they could have tried for a bit more. I agree that by local standards it was not timid, but for me that is the problem. As I said, though, the comment is meant as a miniscule encouragement for any developers who might read it. There are in fact disinterested citizens who will, unsolicited, write in to relevant actors to support ambitiously scaled projects that may face opposition.