News   Nov 18, 2024
Tower Crane Installed at 1071 King West While Building Gets Height Bump
 1.3K     1 
News   Nov 18, 2024
City of Toronto Introduces Measures to Protect Renters and Boost Affordable Housing Supply
 593     0 
News   Nov 18, 2024
Canada Lands Company Submits Application Outlining Downsview West District
 1.6K     1 

Unbuilt Toronto 2

Filip

Filip

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
3,538
Reaction score
874
Location
Београд
I'm surprised there isn't a thread about this. I recently bought the book, spent a while thoroughly enjoying it; I think it's far more interesting than the first. The first book had a lot of projects we all knew about, delving into detail that was originally hard to find. The second iteration has projects and concepts I have never even heard of. Lots of PoMo design largesse, such as the original plan for the CBC site at John/Front.

I know the author posted here a couple of times, I'd love to know his personal take on some of these projects.

Feel free to add your thoughts here.
 
Just to add: what I found absolutely mind-blowing was the original design concept by Pei for Commerce Court. It had a flared bottom similar to the W.R. Grace Building in NYC, with these tree-like support columns in the banking hall. Absolutely stunning.
 
Mark Osbaldeston will be giving an illustrated lecture on the book at the ROM on Wednesday, November 23, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Filip, I'm glad you enjoyed the book. As of this week it's in the stores. You are right that with the first book there was a checklist of certain projects that I had to deal with because they were known. But with this book, I didn't have that limitation, and I was able to follow some really interesting leads. You mention the CBC, and that is a case in point. I started out thinking I would be writing about the 1980s competition that led to the Philip Johnson building (which I did), but in the process I found there was a history of proposals going back 50 years before that, which I also was able to write explore.

I'm a big fan of Commerce Court West (I actually worked there for a number of years), but I have always felt it's been a bit overlooked. I don't think that that would have been the case if they had kept the tree columns in the banking hall. Interesting that a flared, Grace-Building-style profile was also proposed for the TD Centre as well.

Urban Shocker, thanks for mentioning the ROM talk on Nov. 23. I'm looking forward to that.

I haven't been very active in this site because I've been busy with the book for the past three years, but I'm happy to be able to re-surface, and to talk about the projects in the book!
 
I think there's the point: there hasn't been a thread because the book's too new--I haven't yet heard any buzz about it *anywhere*, though I'm supposing that'll soon enough be remedied...
 
Going to pick up this book today. Its a shame the original Eatons Centre Complex at College Park wasn't built, it would have been a servicable equivalent to NY Rockafeller Centre.
 
Urban09 said:
Filip, I'm glad you enjoyed the book. As of this week it's in the stores. You are right that with the first book there was a checklist of certain projects that I had to deal with because they were known. But with this book, I didn't have that limitation, and I was able to follow some really interesting leads. You mention the CBC, and that is a case in point. I started out thinking I would be writing about the 1980s competition that led to the Philip Johnson building (which I did), but in the process I found there was a history of proposals going back 50 years before that, which I also was able to write explore.

I'm a big fan of Commerce Court West (I actually worked there for a number of years), but I have always felt it's been a bit overlooked. I don't think that that would have been the case if they had kept the tree columns in the banking hall. Interesting that a flared, Grace-Building-style profile was also proposed for the TD Centre as well.

Urban Shocker, thanks for mentioning the ROM talk on Nov. 23. I'm looking forward to that.

I haven't been very active in this site because I've been busy with the book for the past three years, but I'm happy to be able to re-surface, and to talk about the projects in the book!
Click to expand...
Last night I took time to fully read through the book. What fascinating things you dug up! Wittington Place was an interesting one. I heard of the plans for Weston to build their HQs there in the 80s, even saw the Erickson rendering in the past, but I had no idea this was such an encompassing proposal. The Safdie one with the gates would have represented the 80s and Lastman's leadership (how many Arc de Triomphes does a man need?) but most importantly, would have cemented North York as not just a borough, but a major city in its own right. Even today, Mississauga lacks the urban centre of gravity NY has. You can't build a city anchored by a mall.

It also breaks my heart how over the years, numerous squares were proposed and cancelled. Toronto lacks real squares; sure we have an abundance of parks and informal 'squares' but nothing on the grand level as other cities (especially Montreal).

Finally, in case you're planning a third book, here's a lead I picked up on over a year ago while looking for Ataritiri renderings. While going through an architect's site, I discovered a site plan for a water-based entertainment complex in the Mimico Creek lowlands, just north of Lake Shore Blvd where the old filtration plant stood before being demolished. I remember it having some sort of a shopping mall, a village-like square and retail strip and an aquarium. When I went back looking for it, I couldn't find it. This was proposed in the late 80s, early 90s I believe.
buildup said:
Going to pick up this book today. Its a shame the original Eatons Centre Complex at College Park wasn't built, it would have been a servicable equivalent to NY Rockafeller Centre.
Click to expand...

Wait till you buy the second book and see their early 20th century proposal for a Yonge/Carlton store. Woohoo!!
 
buildup said:
Does one need to buy tickets in advance or is it possibke to just show up and get in? Sounds fascinating.
Click to expand...

I think it's included with general admission.

Copies of the first book turn up, for a few bucks, at the St. Lawrence Sunday Antique Market somethimes. There have also been copies at the recent U of T book sales - I was at Trinity on Thursday and there's a whole section of fairly recent architecture books in the smaller room.
 
There's no charge for the ROM talk, and you don't have to pay ROM admission. You have to enter at the south end of the building, however, near the planetarium (the President's Choice Group Entrance).

I think that Eaton's pre-WWI Carlton Street plans were as impressive, in their own way, as the later College Street plans. I had known that Daniel Burnham had done plans for Eaton's during this period (I mentioned it in the first book), but didn't know anything had survived. It was exciting to find out that the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal had the drawings. I discuss the Burnham plans in a chapter dealing with Simpson's attempts to compete with Eaton's proposed College Street tower in the 1920s. It was news to me that Simpson's originally intended to add another eleven storeys onto its Bay and Richmond building. Knowing that, however, you look at the resulting building differently. It does just sort of stop in mid-air.
 
Filip said:
Just to add: what I found absolutely mind-blowing was the original design concept by Pei for Commerce Court. It had a flared bottom similar to the W.R. Grace Building in NYC, with these tree-like support columns in the banking hall. Absolutely stunning.
Click to expand...

... though local bell bottom architect Uno Prii sure came through for us, in the '60s, with his 20 Prince Arthur, Jane Exbury towers and ( to a lesser degree ) 35 Walmer.
 
Urban09 said:
I'm a big fan of Commerce Court West (I actually worked there for a number of years), but I have always felt it's been a bit overlooked. I don't think that that would have been the case if they had kept the tree columns in the banking hall. Interesting that a flared, Grace-Building-style profile was also proposed for the TD Centre as well.
Click to expand...

I picked up the book as soon as I saw this thread and I agree on Commerce Court. I can picture it with those tree-like structures, and although I like what was built, that earlier design really grabbed me.

I also appreciated the chapter on the BMO building that was demolished for FCP--I hadn't realized it had sat partially built during WWII. Likewise the Bank of Toronto building--seen many an exterior shot of this building, but never what was inside. Reading the book prompted me to finally go out to the Guild Inn park to see the relics from these two structures.

Someone's got to do a book on the evolution of the downtown core at some point. I recently realized that, as far as I can tell, not a single building built in the area destroyed by the 1904 fire remains, as well as the fact that King and Bay as late as about 1965 was such a completely different place than it is now.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top