Canadian Skyline Thread III

[TorontoDrew]

Kotsy has been busy with his drone again.

Since 1951: Canada's Oldest Weather Beacon by kotsy, on Flickr

Sunset Diamonds in the Sky by kotsy, on Flickr

[zoomer]

/\ Cool shots as always

Much closer to earth, or ground/sea level here's an excellent trio of Instagram drone reels of Victoria. Unfortunately they can't be embedded, you have to rotate your device (or head) and they nibble at the edges of downtown and partially over parts but not the entire sha-bang. Still, excellent views of some good density and views. I can't seem to link to the individual videos but if you check out his profile at the link below. you'll see three Victoria videos near the top.

AJ Fotographie

[KnoxfordGuy]

Mississauga from my hotel May 6th. Sorry for the reflections.

[MolsonExport]

Mississauga has incredible height. The density of the towers is getting there too. It puts the skylines of some big USA cities to shame (e.g., Phoenix). But something is missing. Foreground of medium-rise buildings, perhaps?

And of course, MCC at ground level is not exactly a great place for pedestrians to wander.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Mississauga has incredible height. The density of the towers is getting there too. It puts the skylines of some big USA cities to shame (e.g., Phoenix). But something is missing. Foreground of medium-rise buildings, perhaps?

And of course, MCC at ground level is not exactly a great place for pedestrians to wander.

To me, its biggest issue (and this is an issue with all of Canada's suburban skylines) is that it is too linear. The skyline needs more depth.

[SteelTown]

Source: Branden Simon @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/to...34s-liuna-graziani-corazza.31339/page-41


Source: Branden Simon @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/to...34s-liuna-graziani-corazza.31339/page-41

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Mississauga has incredible height. The density of the towers is getting there too. It puts the skylines of some big USA cities to shame (e.g., Phoenix). But something is missing. Foreground of medium-rise buildings, perhaps?

Originally Posted by Pavlov

To me, its biggest issue (and this is an issue with all of Canada's suburban skylines) is that it is too linear. The skyline needs more depth.

That and all the major buildings seem to have a similar stature, while central city skylines tend to have more variety with buildings that are thicker/bulkier (usually office) mixed with taller and thinner (residential). Plus, all the buildings seem to have that "fuzzy" silhouette that results from balconies. Most central cities have a lot of buildings with a sleek exterior.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Mississauga has incredible height. The density of the towers is getting there too. It puts the skylines of some big USA cities to shame (e.g., Phoenix). But something is missing. Foreground of medium-rise buildings, perhaps?

And of course, MCC at ground level is not exactly a great place for pedestrians to wander.

MCC/the high-rise area of Mississauga is terrible for pedestrians. The roads are too wide and the blocks might as well be considered superblocks. At least Vaughan has the subway.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Wigs

MCC/the high-rise area of Mississauga is terrible for pedestrians. The roads are too wide and the blocks might as well be considered superblocks. At least Vaughan has the subway.

+1

All the intensification in Mississauga will be for nought if they don't urbanize. It looks great in skyline photos but remains a car centric waste land devoid of people. Vaughan is more promising.

[905er]

Mississauga has a great skyline and while it's pedestrian feel has historically lacked, as is often beaten to death here... it is continuing to improve. I work in the immediate downtown area and I'm notice the changes. The LRT will contribute to the improvement as well over time. As it stands, it has one of the top skylines in the country.

[Surrealplaces]

I'm not much of a fan of Mississauga's skyline TBH. Simply put it lacks the diversity of varying heights and architectural styles that other skylines have. It looks great as a cluster from a distance, but it has that suburban look for sure.

[koops65]

There is no Big Office, it's all residential...

[KnoxfordGuy]

Flying in.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by 905er

Mississauga has a great skyline and while it's pedestrian feel has historically lacked, as is often beaten to death here... it is continuing to improve. I work in the immediate downtown area and I'm notice the changes. The LRT will contribute to the improvement as well over time. As it stands, it has one of the top skylines in the country.

I suspect many on SSP are pulling for Mississauga but some of the initial optimism has faded the last few years. There haven't been any proposals to chop up those 'super blocks' or to re-build those 'highways' of 6-10 lanes into proper city streets of 2-4 lanes.

I suppose people should be more patient. Maybe when the LRT goes in Hurontario, Burnhamthorpe, and others can be reduced to 4 lanes and wide sidewalks lined with finely grained retail.

[MolsonExport]

North York City Centre (vs. MCC) seems closer to creating a veritable downtown that is at least not entirely devoid of pedestrian activity. Alas, nobody wants to walk along 6-8 lane arterial roads. Port Credit (Mississauga) is currently a much better pedestrian experience than MCC.

I don't know if this could ever be made more pedestrian friendly: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5854678,..._ep=EgoyMDI2MDUwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[905er]

this dislike for Mississauga is discussed ad nauseam here.

The office towers are too short.. that's my criticism.. but there is definitely a lot of variety and different shapes to the skyline so its delusional to say otherwise. The skyline is easily one of the better ones in Canada. The experience street level is another story for now in MCC but continues to evolve... but Port Credit which shall I remind folks is Mississauga has a great pedestrian vibe.

I hope people won't feel discouraged now to share pics of Mississauga ...sheesh.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Source: Branden Simon @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/to...34s-liuna-graziani-corazza.31339/page-41

Like or dislike this Hamilton behemoth, it's got this Soviet monumentality quality to it. It's so massive you cannot look away.
And there's 616 units in the building which is way larger than most condo buildings in Canada.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by 905er

this dislike for Mississauga is discussed ad nauseam here.

The office towers are too short.. that's my criticism.. but there is definitely a lot of variety and different shapes to the skyline so its delusional to say otherwise. The skyline is easily one of the better ones in Canada. The experience street level is another story for now in MCC but continues to evolve... but Port Credit which shall I remind folks is Mississauga has a great pedestrian vibe.

I hope people won't feel discouraged now to share pics of Mississauga ...sheesh.

This is a bit melodramatic. Some brave souls around here post skyline pics of Moncton, so I think this is a safe space for Mississauga boosters.

I'm even brave enough to post a Calgary pic:

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by 905er

this dislike for Mississauga is discussed ad nauseam here.

The office towers are too short.. that's my criticism.. but there is definitely a lot of variety and different shapes to the skyline so its delusional to say otherwise. The skyline is easily one of the better ones in Canada. The experience street level is another story for now in MCC but continues to evolve... but Port Credit which shall I remind folks is Mississauga has a great pedestrian vibe.

I hope people won't feel discouraged now to share pics of Mississauga ...sheesh.

I mean, I get feeling discouraged by others not appreciating something you enjoy. But I don't think it has anything to do with Mississauga specifically. It's just dislike for suburban format development in general, so people tend to judge based on how suburban the typology is. And while a big part of that is at the street level, it does also affect the skyline. Anyone familiar with skylines (such as SSP users) can easily tell that it's mostly residential and mostly from the same era.

Based on SSP database, there are only 2 buildings over 100m and none over 150m built before the last 25 years, so over 96% of the 100m+ buildings are basically brand new. That doesn't mean that they, or the skyline overall, are bad. But many skyline enthusiasts grew up idolizing the big legacy skylines of the world with their layers upon layers or architectural types and eras that is totally missing in a brand new residential suburban skyline. That is a real difference that skyline enthusiasts tend to notice and can have a preference for or against without being biased against any particular city. I've even heard plenty of people criticize HK, Dubai, and Shanghai of all places for similar reasons.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

North York City Centre (vs. MCC) seems closer to creating a veritable downtown that is at least not entirely devoid of pedestrian activity. Alas, nobody wants to walk along 6-8 lane arterial roads. Port Credit (Mississauga) is currently a much better pedestrian experience than MCC.

I don't know if this could ever be made more pedestrian friendly: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5854678,..._ep=EgoyMDI2MDUwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

North York along Yonge just feels like the north extension of downtown or extension of an "uptown" just a tad more suburban. Again the subway really helps!

I recall at the NYE of the Millennium I was with my buddies staying at my friend's aunt's house off the DVP somewhere south of the 401. His older cousin in her mid 20s and her boyfriend took us all around to bars even though we were in high school just shy of being of legal age and we walked all around North York before hopping on the subway to participate in the downtown celebrations and fireworks display near Harbourfront.

That section of North York feels very walkable, anyway, and did 25 years ago.