I have an impression - and like many impressions it may be mistaken - that Toronto has a lower proportion of structures with spires or other decorative crowns, than do many other cities. There are, of course, exceptions but Toronto does seem to have a lot of towers with what appear to be flat roofs, at least from a distance. It’s not that spires = good architecture, IMO. Like most people here, I prefer the Scotiabank Tower to the (former) Trump erection. But such decorative elements might lend visual interest to the skyline for a visitor. Their relative absence might go a long way to explaining the comment.
 
books said:
Well perhaps we can track down the lady who made that comment and check her academic credentials and see if they meet our stringent standards. Is she entitled to make a comment about the Toronto skyline?

Of course any person who makes a comment about the quality of country music must have at least a masters degree in peasant culture in order that their comment can be taken seriously. I suggest a rigorous system of exams which will provide each of us with the necessary qualifications to comment on architecture and country music (e.g., the much sought-after PhD specializing in tailgate parties).

Your hubris negates your comments.

Anyway, it's a sunny day out and I have better things to do than engage in tiresome arguments with a cultural dilettante.

Have a nice day!
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Hyperbolic hilarity! Oh, @books, you are a card.
 
Lenser said:
I dunno... there's a weird kind of tyranny of using the islands as some sort of alpha perspective for seeing the city. It's fine as far as it goes - in a faintly tacky, picture postcard kinda way - but there's a lot of great vantage points and I'd hate to play favourites. Seeing the skyline from Broadview between the Danforth and Gerrard, for example. Or the view of the city on an exceptionally clear day as seen from Vineland or Grimsby. Or seeing it from the end of Polson Pier. Or from the shoreline at Mimico. Or from Bayview headed south as you go down the hill from Moore Avenue. The list goes on.
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Honestly, if we were going to have the more monotonous buildings clustered somewhere, I'm glad it's on the Waterfront. The city stretches north, east, and west... not south. Those are the skyline views that everyday Torontonians are seeing. And they're the best!

UrbanFervour said:
I, for one, would love to see a few Robert AM Stern historicist towers in this town - they'd be SO REFRESHING in this growing forest of glass and spandrel.
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I've been saying this so often at cocktail parties the last few years that no one will talk to me anymore.
 
books said:
I like to do what I can to jazz up the forum. ;)
Speaking of jazz, I'd really like to see a nice art deco tower break up the monotony of the Toronto skyline, something like the Chrysler Building in NYC.
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If style cycles, Neo-Deco's turn might just be here soon. I will gladly take something like Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
If style cycles, Neo-Deco's turn might just be here soon. I will gladly take something like Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis.

AoD
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Yeah, that is a nice building (saw the pic in Wikipedia). I love the vertical lines and the tapering at the top. It gives the building a subtle "wedding cake" look without going all Stalinesque like the Palace of Culture in Warsaw. Dunno, I'm not an architect but I like the Wells Fargo Center. It would be nice for a change. Here's hoping that Art Deco does come back in style!
 
I had a tourist from Germany at my home in the summer and he did say " It looks as though many buildings have been built at the same time" which is true with our recent condo boom. Another visitor from Buffalo said that most of our new tower clusters are " ugly". These are just regular people and their opinions. A lot of people think that there is too much of a similarity with our new condos and I agree. Perhaps that is a result of an extended boom and too few developers? Is there a condo 'mafia' or is this just due to such strong demand?
 
LUVIT! said:
I had a tourist from Germany at my home in the summer and he did say " It looks as though many buildings have been built at the same time" which is true with our recent condo boom. Another visitor from Buffalo said that most of our new tower clusters are " ugly".
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The visitor from Germany is totally accurate, but the one from Buffalo of all places? Not that we should aim low but at least we have new towers. Just take one block from Southcore and that’s probably the output of new builds there for the last 5 years in amount alone, nevermind quality.

AoD
 
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LUVIT! said:
I had a tourist from Germany at my home in the summer and he did say " It looks as though many buildings have been built at the same time" which is true with our recent condo boom. Another visitor from Buffalo said that most of our new tower clusters are " ugly". These are just regular people and their opinions. A lot of people think that there is too much of a similarity with our new condos and I agree. Perhaps that is a result of an extended boom and too few developers? Is there a condo 'mafia' or is this just due to such strong demand?
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Yeah Buffalo is the last place we should be aiming for. That's their opinion and everyone is entitled to have theirs.
 
Buffalo does have some stunning architecture from their early 20th century heyday, really gorgeous stuff worth a visit. Prudential/Guaranty Building, Buffalo City Hall, all the Frank Lloyd Wright stuff, being just a bit of it.

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LUVIT! said:
I had a tourist from Germany at my home in the summer and he did say " It looks as though many buildings have been built at the same time" which is true with our recent condo boom. Another visitor from Buffalo said that most of our new tower clusters are " ugly". These are just regular people and their opinions. A lot of people think that there is too much of a similarity with our new condos and I agree. Perhaps that is a result of an extended boom and too few developers? Is there a condo 'mafia' or is this just due to such strong demand?
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My son, who grew up in Toronto but has since lived elsewhere, says exactly the same as the German visitor. And, of course, they are both right. A huge percentage of the tall structures of the city actually have been completed in the last decade. It would be interesting to see a computer composite of all that construction as if the city had sprung up ex nihilo in that ten year span. That construction also tends to hide much of the older building stock. You can’t see Commerce Court North from any distance, for example. It was for many years the tallest structure not just in this country but the old British Empire.

Buffalo does indeed retain some lovely architecture as one might expect in a city whose golden age was during the Calvin Coolidge administration or thereabouts!
 
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I checked out the NW part of this site where it is close to the Gardiner and Lake Shore. Since this area will have Tokyo style density, perhaps we can allow some commerical usages underneath the Gardiner like they have under freeways in Japan. It would provide services, cut off some of the noise from Lake Shore, and reduce the visibility and psychological barrier of the highway. In another thread that I can't find, someone posted some great photos of what they do in Japan underneath overpasses.

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from https://www.japan-guide.com/g8/3072_02.jpg
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