TORONTO | Forma East | 263 M | 72 FLOORS

[MolsonExport]

I say you need one hell of a giant wad of toilet paper to clean up the massive pile of shit that is the Asscrack, Rob Ford.

[Ramako]

My opinion on the Gehry towers (re-posted from the Canada board): I love the effect of the white sheets enveloping the podium and towers to various degrees. It creates a vision of modern (and very industrial looking) skyscrapers perpetually rising out of fog or smoke. On the one hand it evokes the very familiar imagery of fog rolling in off the lake, and on the other hand, it reflects the modern city's emergence from its industrial past as the "Big Smoke". The tower in the middle has barely began to emerge from the dense fog, creating a sense of mystery and makes one wonder what lies ahead. The fact that it's the tallest and the most robust in form makes one think, "great things", which is indeed what people think of Toronto these days. In a way, these towers are both a comment on the city's past and its future.

With respect to the east tower, but I don't particularly love it like I do the other two, so I wouldn't mind see it revised, but what looks like a pile of twisted metal is certainly evocative of heavy industry. I think that plays into the larger vision of an industrial (and eventually modern) city emerging from the smoke. I kind of see it like a timeline: the east tower is the oldest, most chaotic and least formed - just a mess of steel, the west tower is more organized and modern in form, yet still somewhat industrial (especially given the copper colour), and the middle tower (the top of which you can see emerging from the smoke) is the most modern looking with clean and sharp lines that you'd see on any modern skyscraper. It's also white, which is a colour I often associate with the future and sci-fi.

[caltrane74]

Rumours suggest David Mirvish is planning to sell Honest Ed's

If he does, it could result in $100 million in financing for his King West Project.

[Design-mind]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

Rumours suggest David Mirvish is planning to sell Honest Ed's

If he does, it could result in $100 million in financing for his King West Project.

I hope they keep the Honest Ed's sign because it is just so classic Vegas!

[DrNest]

Originally Posted by Design-mind

I hope they keep the Honest Ed's sign because it is just so classic Vegas!

So was Sam's the record store, but that got bulldozed too. A sad loss in my books.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by DrNest

So was Sam's the record store, but that got bulldozed too. A sad loss in my books.

An agreement was made with Ryerson that they must display the Sam the Record sign which is currently in storage on their campus. I'm hoping they will honour the agreement and that the sign will re-appear on Yonge Street or Dundas Square.

[DrNest]

That's good to hear. I hadn't realised the sign was preserved.
Still a loss to lose the store, but I'm happier in knowing the sign still exists.

[NYguy]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/10/...to_struggles_with_the_right_formula.html

Dense living: Toronto struggles with the right formula
The grandiose triple tower Mirvish-Gehry downtown condo proposal brings up a pertinent question: How much urban density is right for Toronto?




Toronto’s chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, has expressed “serious concerns” over the triple-tower development proposal on King St. W. by theatre magnate David Mirvish and renowned architect Frank Gehry. She says it's too dense.


By: Alex Ballingall
Oct 11 2013

How dense is too dense?

For city planners and urban designers, that question represents an essential predicament of the times: the challenge of building more compact, green living spaces that don’t swamp infrastructure or sully communities with untenable congestion.

It also reverberates in the debate over the grandiose triple-tower development proposal on King St. W. that’s being pushed by theatre magnate David Mirvish and renowned architect Frank Gehry. Toronto’s chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, has expressed “serious concerns” over how the already jam-packed downtown strip can handle an influx of people living in three new 80-storey towers.

“I don’t think we as a city have an obligation to absorb this much density,” she recently told the Star’s Christopher Hume.

And yet, many agree — including Keesmaat — the city must get denser; the question of how, and how much, is vital to shaping the Toronto of tomorrow.

[isaidso]

Chief planner Keesmaat still thinks she's running Peterborough. 280m is too much density? Her head would likely explode if we were getting the 500 - 700 m proposals being seen in some other cities.

[caltrane74]

Ok, Community Council has overruled planning on this, and set it on to City Council for approval .....


Little wonder community council declined to endorse the planning department’s recommendation to reject the project. It now gets passed on to the full city council, where it will be discussed at a Dec. 16 meeting


http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/11/...n_challenges_torontos_rigidity_hume.html

[Gresto]

Good, let's hope it's approved as-is, without the dreaded, obligatory Toronto Reduction™.

[cruzin4u]

Originally Posted by Gresto

Toronto Reduction™.

Love that!

[DrNest]

Originally Posted by Gresto

Toronto Reduction™.

Genius!! Love it. (Although in fact I hate the perpetual shortening of proposals. Give me more height, not less.)

[WhipperSnapper]

The Toronto reduction would be a few floors eventhough the reality is towers increase in height as often as they are reduced. These towers are looking at a 100 metres or more.

[333609543]

I was hoping for at least 250+ metres

[MolsonExport]

looks unsteady; a bit like Rob Ford.

[caltrane74]

Wow! the Globe and Mail found 1 NIMBY....

Must be a lonely old woman

Toronto resident Karin Joeveer spoke in opposition to the project, saying “Toronto is losing too many old buildings to these new skyscraping condos. “A condo tower is a condo tower and we have enough on King Street West,” she said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toro...s-over-king-west-condos/article15518696/

[TriWolf]

Any updates on these?

[Gresto]

Not yet.

[uzi]

if this thing don't get approved as proposed. I am going to put firecrackers in the pants of each and every member of city council and I will curse those heritage buildings.