The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[Rico Rommheim]

Depends what you mean by iconic. Most beautiful? Most famous? Most representative of their city, of Canada as a whole?


I don't think Canada really has any iconic skyscraper. Only the CN tower in my view, comes anywhere near being "iconic" in the true sense of the word.

[SignalHillHiker]

Yeah. Chateau Frontenac as well if it counts as a tower.

For anyone at all familiar with Calgary, though, the Bow certainly stands out.

[Rico Rommheim]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Yeah. Chateau Frontenac as well if it counts as a tower.

For anyone at all familiar with Calgary, though, the Bow certainly stands out.

Sometimes on SSP, we assume that the outside world shares our zeal for the skyscraper, where in reality, most people couldn't be bothered with skyscraper names, height, histories.

In Montreal there is only 1 skyscraper that all the denizens can identify, and that is PVM (although the Hydro Quebec building with its iconic big Q sign can put up a fight).

Most other buildings are just that, buildings. Ask a random Montrealer which skyscraper he prefers the most, you'll either hear PVM as a mindless/automatic response or receive a blank stare. And yet PVM isn't the nicest skyscraper, nor is it the tallest. As a matter of fact, most people I know know nothing about skyscrapers, and will easily confuse ESB for the Chrysler or Rockerfeller or more commonly, the American International building. Also, I would wager that if polled, most locals would say that PVM is the city's tallest. Le 1000 is practically a ghost.

[SignalHillHiker]

I think a reporter asking residents of St. John's which tower is their favourite would be putting his/her life at risk.

"NONE OF THEM, YOU'RE DESTROYING OUR CITY!", etc.

[Rico Rommheim]

^A very Montreal-esque reception for the highrise I'd say.

Funny, when I go to Toronto the people I talk to have nothing but negative things to say about the condo boom. It's always "Oh here's goes another condo, what a surpise!" "great, they're building more bland condos!" "Too tall, too boring" "lifeless, cold" etc. In Montreal, the condo boom is admired mostly by the business-minded community and the handful of geeks on SSP, otherwise it's a non-issue, a conversation-killer. The other day I pointed out the newly completed 42 storey Marriott to someone who's lived here for 6 years. She never noticed its construction, she thought it's been there forever, in truth, she never noticed it until I pointed it out. When I lived in vancouver, my local friends seemed to run away from anything associated with highrise living, seemingly suffering from skyscraper hangover ensued by the decades-long skyscraper boom there.

My personal observation is that people in the real world either seem to ignore the skyscraper or not like the skyscraper, at home and abroad.

[caltrane74]

If you ever read condo storirs inCalgary Newspapers in the Google news feed then go below to the comment section in those papers you will see people there seem to have an extremely negative view of condo living. The most annoying comment I see goes something like this 'I will never put my money into buying an apartment" I guess the Calgary people can verify that sentiment if it is legitimate or not. Those comments seem moronic to me, and I hope it is not people in Calgary proper making them.

In Toronto you have negative comments about condo living, but in Toronto you dont have a choice. You either buy a condo, buy a million dollar house or move to Milton. Negative comments in Toronto usually relate to the investment nature and commodities focus of Condo owners and investors.

[saffronleaf]

Yeah, most normal people in Toronto aren't particularly excited about the prospect of living in a condo. They'd much rather live in The Beaches, The Annex, or Kensington Market. If they're very wealthy, of course they'd consider Cabbagetown, Rosedale and a couple others.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Weird, but those shots hardly look like Montreal because neither has Place Ville Marie. PVM is Canada's most iconic office tower and Montreal just doesn't look like Montreal without her.

I dont know any regular non-ssp folks in either Ontario or Western Canada that have ever heard of or seen a specific picture of PVM. I talk about architecture a lot and no one has ever mentioned it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

Depends what you mean by iconic. Most beautiful? Most famous? Most representative of their city, of Canada as a whole?


I don't think Canada really has any iconic skyscraper. Only the CN tower in my view, comes anywhere near being "iconic" in the true sense of the word.

The post I agree with the most.

[spaceprobe]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I don't know, my vote would go to Scotia Place for Canada's most iconic tower.

i'm sure most people even in Canada have no idea what Scotia Place is (or what the Bow is in regards to a later response) and probably will not be able to recognize it.

Iconic, as mentioned would be CN tower (if asked, i think very few people would think of Calgary tower...although I think plenty will recognize it if shown a picture), or perhaps Banff springs hotel. Basically that would be it for iconic. Maybe Montreal's olympic stadium.

[Beedok]

I think FCP is way more well known that Scotia Place. It's tall and bright.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Beedok

I think FCP is way more well known that Scotia Place. It's tall and bright.

So am I, but nobody knows about me.

Just sayin'.

[AB Born]

Skyline from 13th Ave SW by JordanW.ca, on Flickr


Skyline from 13th Ave SW by JordanW.ca, on Flickr


Skyline from 13th Ave SW by JordanW.ca, on Flickr


Skyline from 13th Ave SW by JordanW.ca, on Flickr

[Ramako]

Among the general populace, there aren't that many famous skyscrapers in the world. The average person could probably identify the Sears (Willis) Tower, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, Taipei 101, Burj Dubai or Petronas Towers and a handful of others, but not too much else.

Among skyscraper enthusiasts, or architecture enthusiasts, I'd guess that PVM, TD Centre, Scotia Plaza and the Bow are the noteworthy Canadian towers.

Content removed

[Beedok]

Hamilton's tiny yet colourful CBD.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

^A very Montreal-esque reception for the highrise I'd say.

Funny, when I go to Toronto the people I talk to have nothing but negative things to say about the condo boom. It's always "Oh here's goes another condo, what a surpise!" "great, they're building more bland condos!" "Too tall, too boring" "lifeless, cold" etc. In Montreal, the condo boom is admired mostly by the business-minded community and the handful of geeks on SSP, otherwise it's a non-issue, a conversation-killer. The other day I pointed out the newly completed 42 storey Marriott to someone who's lived here for 6 years. She never noticed its construction, she thought it's been there forever, in truth, she never noticed it until I pointed it out. When I lived in vancouver, my local friends seemed to run away from anything associated with highrise living, seemingly suffering from skyscraper hangover ensued by the decades-long skyscraper boom there.

My personal observation is that people in the real world either seem to ignore the skyscraper or not like the skyscraper, at home and abroad.

If we need an exemple of that, look at the comments following this article from yesterday on Frank Gehry project for King West. It's brutal.

[GlassCity]

It just blows my mind that people think you can fit several million people all into single family houses on large lots.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

If you ever read condo storirs inCalgary Newspapers in the Google news feed then go below to the comment section in those papers you will see people there seem to have an extremely negative view of condo living. The most annoying comment I see goes something like this 'I will never put my money into buying an apartment" I guess the Calgary people can verify that sentiment if it is legitimate or not. Those comments seem moronic to me, and I hope it is not people in Calgary proper making them.

In Toronto you have negative comments about condo living, but in Toronto you dont have a choice. You either buy a condo, buy a million dollar house or move to Milton. Negative comments in Toronto usually relate to the investment nature and commodities focus of Condo owners and investors.

Comments sections on any newspaper websites are the domain of trolls and idiots. Calgary as a whole seems to be embracing condo living as evidenced by the crazy amount of new stock coming onto the market that is being gobbled up by people who actually live in their units (not foreign investors like in Van, TO and Mtl).

That said we are different than any of the big 3 in that the actual CMA of Calgary is massive and would be split into different municipalities if it were another city. Also there is no geographical limitation to sprawl except for the Tsu T'ina reserve to the west. Therefore you don't have the same homebuyer limitations you do in TO. That said, the inner city is quickly becoming a place where condos or renting are the only choices for anyone who't not incredibly wealthy.

[Design-mind]

From a cold week in Calgary.