Quote:
Originally Posted by 905er
I'm happy for Kitchener for getting a new tallest, but have to concur, the design is so incredibly bland. Had that been built 3 decades ago I would have forgiven the design. Seems like a missed opportunity for KW to get a signature tower. Looks like something you'd see go up in Ottawa.
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Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton are apples to oranges from a planning perspective despite their multiple overlaps in size and infrastructure.
From a Planning POV, The architecture of a project doesn't determine its worth, and I would wager that's especially true for condo towers. It is certainly important to us on SSP, but I personally enjoy seeing towers built for the contributions they make to the urban fabric as well. I am a student @UW, so I get to see both Kitchener and Hamilton's growth in tandem as I move from one city to the Other. Comparing Hamilton's pace of development to this region is unfair in just about any context; sure, Kitchener projects look like shit, but their often big, well connected, and (most importantly) enjoy quick, streamlined approvals. If you can bring a project to market quickly, I can't see why a developer would bother sprucing it up. This is 180 degrees away from Hamilton's reasons for poor design and lack of infill, which stems from defeatism and compromises from developers
and the city.
Sometimes us mid-sized cities can't afford architectural criticism, and that's OK. KW/Hamilton-sized cities are in much more dire need of development and infill than 'good' designs, even though I will agree boring/actively bad designs are frustrating. KW is simply more willing to bridge that gap than we are, bad designs included. I would accept sh*t [architectural] design here if there was so much development that the pedestrian experience downtown improved tenfold regardless (like in KW). Screw a signature tower; if the cityscape is good, good projects will eventually follow.
By and large, Toronto's tower designs have gotten better since the modern boom began nearly 20 years ago; the same will happen in KW and in Hamilton too if we ever get ourselves out of this bureaucratic mud. If it ever feels like NO project fits into Hamilton's cityscape (good or bad design), THAT is the fault of our leaders and their inability to create a good rubric for developers to follow. I will forgive every shitty design this city sees so long as the fundamental planning desirables are present (walkability, mixed-uses, quality material, low/no parking, etc). I know alot of people won't agree with that sentiment, but building projects for vanity/architecture is how you get Dubai or to a lesser extent Mississauga. Cool skyscrapers are awesome, but they need to make practical sense for the city before we worry about what they look like.
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