The Great Canadian Skyline Thread!

[leftimage]

by truvativ on reddit

[ssiguy]

That is an amazing shot.

Montreal ma not be the tallest or most dramatic skyline but it definitely has the most character and seems to have grown more organically than Vancouver and Toronto which are awash with ugly blue-glass McDevelopment boxes.

[rousseau]

How anyone can look at that photo and not see that Montreal has the country's second best skyline is completely beyond me. It's as obvious as night and day.

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver
4 to 10 and beyond. Who cares? Not worth ranking.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

How anyone can look at that photo and not see that Montreal has the country's second best skyline is completely beyond me. It's as obvious as night and day.

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver
4 to 10 and beyond. Who cares? Not worth ranking.

The meme about Montreal's skyline being dated and therefore unworthy of being ranked among the top in Canada is a bit weird.

I mean, Manhattan could not have built a single new building since 1975 and it would still be the best skyline in the United Stated by a longshot.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by rousseau

How anyone can look at that photo and not see that Montreal has the country's second best skyline is completely beyond me. It's as obvious as night and day.

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver
4 to 10 and beyond. Who cares? Not worth ranking.

I really didn't want to do this cause I knew it would cause a [poop]storm, but I'm tired of you constantly bringing this up so I'm going to anyway.

1. Toronto
2. Vancouver
3. Calgary
4. I go back and forth on Montreal and Edmonton

Montreal just has too much height variation, so the skyline ends up having enormous gaps in between the handful of buildings that stand out among the rest. Not to mention that out of all of Montreal's prominent towers, Tour de la Bourse is the only one I'd want here. I'm just not a big fan of pomo. Montreal is my favourite city in Canada that I've been to, and it's incredibly dense, but as far as the towers go, the density is lacking. That's not to say this is a bad thing; it's not like it keeps Paris or London from being incredible city. But looking only at skylines, Montreal is lacking.

[O-tacular]

I love Montreal's character and certain buildings like the Batman and le 1250 blvd Renee Levesque, not to mention the mountain, but I think you guys are insane to rank it second in Canada. I know it's all subjective, but to me Montreal's skyline is very bland and unidentifiable for people not familiar with it. Oddly enough the nicest and most instant identifier for me is the Jacques Cartier bridge.

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The meme about Montreal's skyline being dated and therefore unworthy of being ranked among the top in Canada is a bit weird.

I mean, Manhattan could not have built a single new building since 1975 and it would still be the best skyline in the United Stated by a longshot.

That comparison is a bit disingenuous. Though dated, a 1974 Manhattan skyline would still be one of the most massive and feature many of the most beautiful skyscrapers in the world.

That being said, I still prefer Montreal's skyline over Calgary's, but just ever so slightly. Things may change once the current slate of projects in both cities are complete. Vancouver's skyline is a distant 4th for me.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by rousseau

How anyone can look at that photo and not see that Montreal has the country's second best skyline is completely beyond me. It's as obvious as night and day.

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver
4 to 10 and beyond. Who cares? Not worth ranking.

You can call me biased, but the fact that you have completely excluded the fourth largest city and second fastest growing skyline from your list is pretty sad. If you plopped Vancouver down in the prairies I think side by side Calgary would win hands down.

[Ramako]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cosmiquephotography/15719929761

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

You can call me biased, but the fact that you have completely excluded the fourth largest city and second fastest growing skyline from your list is pretty sad. If you plopped Vancouver down in the prairies I think side by side Calgary would win hands down.

You're biased. Calgary's skyline is growing, but it's ugly. It may be interesting to see how it turns out in a few more years.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Montreal just has too much height variation, so the skyline ends up having enormous gaps in between the handful of buildings that stand out among the rest. Not to mention that out of all of Montreal's prominent towers, Tour de la Bourse is the only one I'd want here. I'm just not a big fan of pomo. Montreal is my favourite city in Canada that I've been to, and it's incredibly dense, but as far as the towers go, the density is lacking. That's not to say this is a bad thing; it's not like it keeps Paris or London from being incredible city. But looking only at skylines, Montreal is lacking.

Lots of skylines have height variation and gaps. What Montreal has is a solid selection of mid-rises and a more classic/less modern look that brings to mind places like Philadelphia and Manhattan. Obviously in a much smaller way for the latter comparison.

Montreal also has the awesome density surrounding the skyline, which is important. It doesn't just pop out among suburban-style single family homes surrounded by evergreen trees. That photo of Calgary on the previous page...it's ugly. No other word for it. The way that one great tower sticks out like a sore thumb, like it got lost on the way to Hong Kong? It's not a good look. It doesn't work aesthetically.

[SkahHigh]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

You can call me biased, but the fact that you have completely excluded the fourth largest city and second fastest growing skyline from your list is pretty sad. If you plopped Vancouver down in the prairies I think side by side Calgary would win hands down.

Who cares if it's the fastest growing? It doesn't change a thing... It's pretty sad that people's opinions are not respected here because one does not include Calgary in his top 3.

Does Calgary have some nice buildings? Yes. Is the skyline impressive considering the city size? Yes. Does Calgary have some bland buildings? Hell yes. Is the skyline good-looking from far? Not that much. Is it top 3 worthy? In my opinion, no.

You guys can brag about the new tall developments all you want, but these are only going to make your skyline look more bulky and disproportioned.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Lots of skylines have height variation and gaps. What Montreal has is a solid selection of mid-rises and a more classic/less modern look that brings to mind places like Philadelphia and Manhattan. Obviously in a much smaller way for the latter comparison.

Montreal also has the awesome density surrounding the skyline, which is important. It doesn't just pop out among suburban-style single family homes surrounded by evergreen trees. That photo of Calgary on the previous page...it's ugly. No other word for it. The way that one great tower sticks out like a sore thumb, like it got lost on the way to Hong Kong? It's not a good look. It doesn't work aesthetically.

Well to be fair I don't like Philadelphia's skyline either for the same reason. I like a big wall of buildings for a skyline, and you don't really get that without a huge number of towers that are similarly sized. And until One World Trade Centre, I didn't really like Manhattan's skyline all that much either. I mean it was certainly imposing, but that amount of concrete and stone just doesn't do it for me.

I agree that it looks really awkward to have an enormous CBD surrounded by nothing but residential (not to mention terrible planning in my opinion) but I don't think it has any effect on the skyline itself. I try to just look at the buildings and ignore everything else. The suburbs, or mountains aren't part of the skyline.

[niwell]

Not gonna lie - I agree with Rousseau. I think there are even posts of mine from way back when putting Montreal as #1. A skyline is more than tall buildings and Montreal has the context.

My current ranking would be:
1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver

In my mind Calgary is a solid 4th though.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

You can call me biased, but the fact that you have completely excluded the fourth largest city and second fastest growing skyline from your list is pretty sad. If you plopped Vancouver down in the prairies I think side by side Calgary would win hands down.

Who here has the skill to put every Vancouver tower onto a prairie? Would be interesting to see.

[Tone]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Montreal also has the awesome density surrounding the skyline, which is important. It doesn't just pop out among suburban-style single family homes surrounded by evergreen trees. That photo of Calgary on the previous page...it's ugly. No other word for it. The way that one great tower sticks out like a sore thumb, like it got lost on the way to Hong Kong? It's not a good look. It doesn't work aesthetically.

Yes its a different ball game if things are put in perspective.

Calgary City Skyline by Acuraelin, on Flickr

[Bcasey25raptor]

The problem with Calgary is the BOW.

It's an amazing building, don't get me wrong, but it's too bulky and in the wrong place.

My Favourite skylines are those following a bit of a pyramid or peak design.

The Calgary Tower should be more prominent yet it's being eclipsed by many new business towers in that area.

I'm going to be the odd guy out here and say that Vancouver looking south from lonsdale is my favourite skyline in Canada followed by the Toronto waterfront view you get from the Toronto Islands.



Notice the peak in the skyline around the shangri la and Trump Tower?

Vancouver's balance and density are it's saving grace. No mountains from this view, only the water front.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Ramako

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cosmiquephotography/15719929761

That's a really nice angle. You can see a lot of the meatier buildings and, from this angle, the glass condos really add something without overwhelming the view.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

The problem with Calgary is the BOW.

It's an amazing building, don't get me wrong, but it's too bulky and in the wrong place.

My Favourite skylines are those following a bit of a pyramid or peak design.

The Calgary Tower should be more prominent yet it's being eclipsed by many new business towers in that area.

I'm going to be the odd guy out here and say that Vancouver looking south from lonsdale is my favourite skyline in Canada followed by the Toronto waterfront view you get from the Toronto Islands.



Notice the peak in the skyline around the shangri la and Trump Tower?

Vancouver's balance and density are it's saving grace. No mountains from this view, only the water front.

I like that angle too, but the picture you posted is missing Shangri-La and Trump.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Montreal just has too much height variation, so the skyline ends up having enormous gaps in between the handful of buildings that stand out among the rest.

I thought pretty well everyone agreed that table top plateaus like Vancouver has were iffy at best?

On the gaps front most the people around her seem obsessed with ensuring none of the buildings in a city have a view.