It's unfortunate that they won't be going ahead with the Douglas Cardinal design, but new one is nice too. Also surprising to see a Toronto proposal get
shorter (by half!) - perhaps a sign that the developers are more serious about actually getting this built in the current market and not just flipping a rezoned site?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipster duck
Allies and Morrison, a UK-based architecture firm, is behind a number of masterplanned, multi-tower projects that dot Toronto's inner suburbs. None of them are under construction, but they're all at various stages of planning:
- The Downsview site is the latest, but there's also:
- 2150 Lake Shore in Etobicoke's Humber Bay
https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/projects/39382/39382-131515.jpeg
Source:Urbantoronto
- Beltline Yards, near Eglinton and Caledonia
https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/projects/53350/53350-176730.jpg
This one won't impact the skyline, but they have a masterplan for some of the lands at Woodbine racetrack that is midrise in nature:
https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/projects/60476/60476-194481.jpg
I'm not sure if these projects will be built to their full extent, and when, but they all have a very British look to them, and they will stand out in the skyline of the western inner suburbs where they're all located. You'll actually be able to see them from one another, especially since the buildings are placed at non-orthogonal angles to the city's grid, so they'll stand out due to their shape and red brick materials. They're also all located next to a new GO train station, which is how many people will arrive to them.
I've said before that Toronto and other Canadian cities have been gradually drifting away from the US in look and feel, and in Toronto the feel of the city and how it's experienced has become markedly more like London in recent years. There's the youth culture and slang - which is a coincidence of similar immigration patterns and ethnic mixing - but architecturally and transport-wise, the sensation of gliding across the city on an elevated commuter rail line across a landscape of tightly-spaced red brick semis with these types of highrises, designed by British architects, in the distance is very London-coded. |
They do look very British - like some of the big development projects going up in Stratford or Vauxhall or wherever; which would be a slight step up from the usual Toronto masterplanned tower development.
But, these are ultimately just visualizations for planning/rezoning purposes, and the architecture shown here is probably a best-case scenario. Once they're approved, it'll be the usual local developers & architects that are brought on board to actually build out the parcels, who will most likely just churn out the same old garbage.
Remember the vision for Quayside? (coincidentally, also originally designed by British & Danish architects)
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/02/23/adjaye-mass-timber-plants-for-toronto-waterfront/
Versus what we're actually getting:
https://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/quayside-building-1c.53199
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