Canada's 50 Tallest Proposals

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Ramako

There is a pdf floating around indicating that they might replace the facade of the faux-heritage Addition Elle building on the north side with the facade of the heritage building, but that hasn't been confirmed. Otherwise, it's not a huge loss but it doesn't really seem necessary to me. There's nothing particularly prestigious about a Yonge Street address.

I'd say Yonge has more prestige than Adelaide and there's something about a Yonge street address for the second phase of the Bay Adelaide Complex. The podium has potential. The renderings depict glass of the highest quality. The .pdf does suggest a new faux facade for the Additional Elle Building emulating the historic reconstruction of phase 1. I like the idea of closing Temperance Street but question if a glassed in Atrium akin to Brookfield Place may be better suited to our environment. I hope not.

[Andrewjm3D]

I agree, it looks good. The transparent look of it will help animate the street on dark gloomy days, and really between King and Queen Yonge could use a little updating. The old building we are losing was never much of a looker.

[Andrewjm3D]

Originally Posted by Ramako

Word at UT is that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Harbour Plaza office building at 1 York is next week. Giving that shoring of the site has already began, that means that the office tower is now under construction:

How many floors is this 37? The part of this build I look forward to most is the walkway under the Gardiner.

Some possible good news about this dull design by First Gulf.


There is a new design in the works.

No I don't know who the guy is.
Source: http://www.buzzbuzzhome.com/chat/new-home-projects/1424/new-cool-office-tower-for-toronto

[koops65]

Bay-Adelaide East podium - here is the building in question:
[IMG][/IMG]
source - https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Doesnt look like very much historic loss to me...

[Andrewjm3D]

That building is so out of place in the core. I wish they could tear down buildings like this and rebuild and restore them somewhere else but that will never happen. Unfortunately it's days have been numbered ever since the bank towers went up decades ago.

[Gresto]

Actually, I disagree with the general consensus. That's a nice old brick building with character (absent the pizzeria and other junk at street level). I otherwise don't mind the clean-looking B-A podium, but I'd rather they didn't tear down this nice old edifice to put up more anodyne glass. I think it does have historical value.

[Chadillaccc]

Uhm, why absent the pizzaria and shops at street level? Would you rather a shoppers drug mart be there? or what?

[Andrewjm3D]

I'd be fine with a decent facade job here like at Brookfield Place where the Merche is. If they are talking about moving this buildings facade onto Temperance that's fine by me.

[DrNest]

I agree that the upper floors of the brick building look nice, and would be good if they could relocate the building elsewhere. But the signage at street level take away the character and it just looks grotty and nothing special as is. So in its current state it would be no real loss to the CBD.

[Fatality]

Keeping this building and restoring it would be a much better choice or why not incorporate the building's facade into the podium?

Yes it does look quite old and out of place but thats the whole point of keeping historical buildings no? They have historical value and typically that history and architecture makes it out of place with today's buildings. Also, we already have so much glass down there so that itself might be an argument.

However, at the end of the day if no one is going to rescue the building than I guess we have no choice but to replace it. It's just too bad we almost always have to come to this conclusion with older buildings.

[Andrewjm3D]

I wonder what that building looked like back when somebody loved it?

[isaidso]

Maybe this post will give you a hint:

Originally Posted by koops65

Bay-Adelaide East podium - here is the building in question:

source - https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Doesnt look like very much historic loss to me...

The Dineen Building just 1 block north of this looked very similar; you can see the tarp covering it in the photo you posted. We shouldn't be so quick to deem things of little value. Look how beautiful it turned out. I'd much rather have this building receive the same treatment than get another forgettable glass podium. We can never get these buildings back once we destroy them and we should recognize that some simply need some tlc.

Before

Courtesy of colbyandleila

After

Courtesy of androiduk

[Chadillaccc]

Entire corner of the former Herald Building is gone. The annex and most of the rest of the block have already been demolished.


herald5 by Chadillaccc, on Flickr


Almost time to begin excavation for:

247 meters, 56 floors

[TallBob]

Hope this one gets bumped up to maybe 260-270 meters. Like to see it sinificantly taller than the Bow!

[DrNest]

Originally Posted by Fatality

Keeping this building and restoring it would be a much better choice or why not incorporate the building's facade into the podium?

Interesting point. And certainly with the right attention and care this building could be made to look nice again and incorporated into the modern tower.

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by koops65

Bay-Adelaide East podium - here is the building in question:
source - https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Doesnt look like very much historic loss to me...

Question.. If that and the Addition Elle building are going, and that podium looks like it will take up the whole block, does that mean this guy is going to be razed too?:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=yonge+and+t...kW0vKFsdUa0UpInQ&cbp=12,218.75,,0,-15.79

If so I think it's utterly ridiculous to raze that many heritage buildings for a run of the mill glass podium that accomplishes nothing. Cleaning up this one and the one at Yonge-Adelaide would be the best thing, but it's not like heritage is important to them at all..

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

Question.. If that and the Addition Elle building are going, and that podium looks like it will take up the whole block, does that mean this guy is going to be razed too?:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=yonge+and+t...kW0vKFsdUa0UpInQ&cbp=12,218.75,,0,-15.79

If so I think it's utterly ridiculous to raze that many heritage buildings for a run of the mill glass podium that accomplishes nothing. Cleaning up this one and the one at Yonge-Adelaide would be the best thing, but it's not like heritage is important to them at all..

The Addition Elle building is not going anywhere, nor is it a heritage building. The only question at this point is whether the facade of the heritage building being demolished will be transplanted onto the Addition Elle building.

[Ramako]

This might help clarify things. This is the report that has been mentioned earlier in this thread showing how the new podium will fit into the block and which suggests that the facade of the heritage building is being transplanted on to the pomo Addition Elle building:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/mm/bgrd/backgroundfile-49055.pdf

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by Ramako

The Addition Elle building is not going anywhere, nor is it a heritage building. The only question at this point is whether the facade of the heritage building being demolished will be transplanted onto the Addition Elle building.

Huh, never would have guessed that was Pomo, it's really well done.

That's good to hear about the Temperance heritage facade promenade.

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by The_Architect

Huh, never would have guessed that was Pomo, it's really well done.

That's good to hear about the Temperance heritage facade promenade.

Yeah, given that language in the report, and the knowledge that they want to make Temperance a kind of quasi-pedestrian oriented street, I wouldn't be shocked if they did indeed transplant the facade. It would inevitably be somewhat warped being on a building skeleton that it was not designed for, much like the heritage facade on Bay-Adelaide West.