Archive for the ‘Architecture’ Category

Yes, it’s true, as Canadians we are rather polite people…but in Toronto we’re also quite vocal! One of the many things I love about living in the City is how involved the people are in voicing their opinions, especially when it’s about the look of our high-rises!

Like any industry, the real estate one has a bunch of awards and competitions set up to reward builders for a job well done…problem is, none of these gives out trophies for the bad or the ugly. Thankfully we also have the Pug Awards!

Founded in 2004 (by Anna Simone, principal of design firm Cecconi Simone, and Gary Berman, president of real estate financier Tricon Capital Group)  the goal of the Pugs is to give every day citizens a voice amongst the City planners and developers on what works and what doesn’t.

In total 41 projects (completed in 2009) are up for nomination. This year they’ve expanded the awards to also include projects outside of the downtown core. Pure Spirit at the Distillery, Toy Factory Lofts, the Arc and 60 Richmond East Housing Co-Operative are just a few of the 34 residential projects up for an award!

Past Pug winners include: the Art Gallery of Ontario, One St. Thomas Residences and Argyle Authentic Lofts…and for the losers we have: Hampton Plaza, Marriott Residence Inn, and Wellington Square to name a few. The Pugs will wrap up on June 16,2010 at the Art Gallery of Ontario with an award ceremony and round table discussion by several of the mayoral candidates.  The candidates will be sharing their thoughts on how tomorrows Toronto should look like!

I’ve submitted my votes and now it’s your turn to either ”Love”, “Like” or “Hate” the newest additions to the Toronto skyline!

The Deoxyribonucleic Acid (or DNA) of Canderel Stoneridge latest project, DNA3, is really starting to come together! The developer is no stranger to the King West/Liberty Village area having already built DNA, DNA2 and The Massey Harris Lofts! For DNA3 I particularly like the rectangular highlights placed along the condos facade as shown in the rendering above.

Approximately 600 units will be constructed on the King and Shaw site with suite finishes designed by Cecconi Simone. Other amenity spaces will include an outdoor terrace space, sundeck and misting station, private lounges and dining areas, a state of the art fitness facility and relaxing yoga lounge.

You may remember me talking about DNA3 back in October as the site was also used as the headquarters for LG Fashion Week…since then, the catwalk has been cleared and the curtains closed to make way for a new star. With all the interest surrounding DNA3, I’ll be posting more details as well as preview opportunities in the coming weeks!

It all started a few weeks ago while shooting some video at the River City construction site…Along one of the blue walls was an advertisement for Banksy’s new film titled “Exit Trough the Gift Shop”!!  I quickly got on the phone and made plans to see it with an old friend and fellow Banksy enthusiast… Wait wait wait!! Let me first explain who this Banksy character is. 

That in its self is no easy task since no one realllly knows his identity, so I’ll start with his story to better explain my story.  Banksy is a British graffiti artist known for his political, playful and thought provoking stencils that have mysteriously popped up in many major Cities throughout the world! He’s successfully done these murals without being caught or identified, adding to the legend known simply as “Banksy” (stop by http://www.banksy.co.uk/ for more of his works).

Now back to how he applies to Toronto.  So I made plans to watch his new film on its Friday release and came out loving every second of it. The film showed the hard and sometimes dangerous work street artists go through to put up their art. I was left with a ton of questions all relating to ones perspective of the topic, some which include “what defines art” or more importantly “what defines GOOD art”… “Is it the message” “Could it be the person making work” “The story of that person” “Does its venue give it more or less credibility?” “Does any of it even matter?” These questions could be debated for hours and probably by more authoritative sources so I’ll save that convo for another day…   

Officially Banksy has never been to Toronto or even Canada for that matter, but after watching the film I couldn’t wait for the day he would!  Thankfully for me, that day came a lot faster than I could ever have imagined.  By Sunday I was hearing stories (primarily on the Torontoist and Show & Tell Gallery) of Banksy’s work appearing in different parts of the City. With the release of the film happening the same weekend, I had my doubts about these and figured this was just a publicity stunt to create a buzz.  Unfortunately for me, I tend to get suckered into “buzz-worthy events” pretty easily.

Fake or not I had to see it…street art doesn’t last long especially Banksy’s, who’s past pieces have been known to fetch large sums of money, I’m talking 1-bedroom-plus-den-with-parking-in-downtown-Toronto kind of money!!!  For that reason, the location of the stencils was left unknown.  All “Banksy hunters” had to work with were local landmarks in photos taken by others….

All those times being stuck in downtown traffic jams were about to pay off! I jumped into the Cooper and took to the streets and back alleys hoping to find me some Banksyyy!  My first stop was by The Docks, where the back of the drive through sign was used as the canvas for one of his famous “rat” stencils!  I started snapping photos around 11:30 Sunday night as an event cleared out.  A lot of people were wondering why I was so furiously snapping photos of a spray painted rat.  Looking back, I must have looked strange with my Blackberry in one hand and camera in the other….though it was totally worth it.  By mid Monday the “rat” was removed by a team of construction workers! 

I can only wonder if those construction workers had any idea as to what the value of the billboard was worth. Here are some pictures for those who didn’t get to see it:

I took to the back alleys of Dundas and Queen St. for hours searching for others….sadly nothing, so at 3am I called off the search.  Monday morning more pieces popped up including a “Spadina Rat” and an “intimidating balloon guard dog”.  Sadly, for one of the pieces, it was too late.  The stencil on an Adelaide wall (described as “0% Interest in People”) had been painted over.  Now there was 7 confirmed Banksy’s in Toronto with 2 either stolen or painted over.  I went back on my search Monday night exploring the City to find the others before it was too late. 

Finally…SUCCESS!! Here’s what we found:

To some the pictures may be of nothing more than “vandalism” or “garbage”…yet to others (myself included) it’s the chance of a life time!  By searching down the various locations of his art, I got to rediscover the City and even visit parts I’ve never been too.  A few weeks back I visited the AGO for my first time and saw a lot of beautiful works, but I found the staff to be very protective and at times even confrontational making it was hard to truly enjoy the art.  With street art, there are no boundaries…takes as many pictures as you like, touch it, discuss it, and view it any time of the day.

This whole Banksy experience brought a lot of attention to the Toronto street art scene and even showcases our own local talent… Fauxreel (pretty sure this is one of his pieces pictured below)

 

So get off the blog and out on those streets…create your own experince and enjoy Banksy in Toronto until it’s gone for good!

River City announced the start of Underpass Park earlier in the week.  The public space will be located under and around the Eastern Ave overpass.  It will be the biggest park ever to be built under a bridge in Canada.  The Underpass Park is scheduled to open in spring 2011 and will we a welcomed addition to the future residents of River City!

Yesterday I took to the streets of Trinity and Eastern to show exactly what the area has to offer…incase you missed it, check it out here! Today I’m taking it a step closer to home and looking at the features Trinity Lofts will offer. The 8 story building (shown above) will have a total of 81 lofts plus 2 town homes. Similar to SYNC and 2 Gladstone, units will be 9ft high with exposed concrete ceilings (except areas with bulkheads, as required to accommodate architectural, structural, mechanical or OBC conditions). Floors will be pre-finished engineered hardwood throughout, except for tiled area as per plan.

Expect contemporary kitchens with granite or quartz countertops, under cabinet lighting, porcelain subway tile backsplash with an under mount sink! They’ve stayed away from the frivolous amenities and kept it simple with an equipped exercise room, furnished terrace with shared BBQ, dog wash room, a bike share system and an auto share parking space. Parking is available but is only available on units over $310,900 BUT with the TTC up the street and the various transportation sharing programs in the building, it’s not such a bad thing. Also without a car (or parking) you may actually be able to qualify for more of a mortgage as you’ll have less financial commitments hindering approval!

From Thursday April 30th to Wednesday May 5th, they’ll be accepting work sheets from Realtors who’ve been invited to sell at the project. For this early launch, roughly 55 units are being released so buyers are encouraged to pick 3 units of choice. On Thursday May 6th, they’ll be confirming successful worksheet and scheduling times to sign the agreement of purchase and sale for Saturday May 8th (purchasers must be present for signing!!!) The deposit structure is $5,000 on signing with the balance of 5% in 30 days, 5% in 90 days, 5% in 180 days and 5% on occupancy. Parking is $30,000 for units $310,900 and higher, with locker/bike lockers at $5,000 and $2,000 respectively.

I do have floor plans and price lists but am not emailing them out, I’d much rather meet in person to better explain the process and go over the details (plus usually it’s just other Realtors trying to get info for their blogs/site… as much as I love them, they tend to not hire me to represent them). There’s tons of amaaaaaaazing cafes in the Distillery where we can meet to discuss buying a unit at Trinity…feel free to call or email to set up an appointment, I’d love to help!

Floor plans and prices for Trinity Lofts have now been released…instead of yapping about prices and layouts, I decided to shoot a short video showing the lofts advantageous location to 51 Division, Distillery District,   King East  and Corktown to name a view.  From today until Thursday they’ll be accepting worksheets, if you’d like to call Trinity Lofts home…call me.  I’d love to help!

I was cleaning up some old footage from my Flipcam the other day when I came across a few clips I caught of the City.  With the Hot Docs film fest coming to town, I felt a bit “Spike-Leeish”  and decided to put together a short vid of my own…enjoy!

When you’re ready to call Toronto home…call me!