Posts Tagged ‘Architecture’

I often dabble on the Toronto Archives website, going through photos of what Toronto used to look like.  It blows me away to see how much we’ve changed.  Majority of the red brick beauties from yesterday have been demolished to make way for the glass towers of today.  Good or bad, this is the reality of the City we live in…yet, every once and a while I’ll stumble upon a part of town that has revives the look that once defined Toronto.

Properties like King James Place, The Gooderham Flatiron Building (pictured above) and North Toronto Station are all examples of important heritage sites that have been restored to their original facade! I’m sure many people have seen these, but very few know about the visionary behind it!  Paul Oberman (and his company) was the man behind all of these, through his hard work with the City and communities, he made these older properties a modern reality!

Paul passed away earlier this year. Sadly, it was only after this that I came to learn about the true impact he had on the City. Brian Persaud shared memories of Pauls legacy during an episode of Inside Toronto Real Estate.  Gary Berman (Co-Founder of the PUG Awards) called in to the show and shared a story that really stuck out in my mind! Paul wanted to have granite curbs and side walks with radiant heating installed at the Summer Hill project. He had to fight with the City for months in order to get permission to have them installed! Not only was he offering to improve the look of the walk ways, he was doing it on his own dime!

Though he’s no longer with us, his vision can still live on!

I’d like to ask my readers to help support an initiative that will honour Paul’s legacy and create an urban experience to last generations.

A petition has been put up on Paul Oberman’s Memorial site that reads:

Paul Oberman believed that neighbourhoods thrive when architectural heritage is preserved and re-purposed as a backdrop for healthy community interaction. This vision is taking hold in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood. Paul’s company, Woodcliffe Landmark Properties, is currently engaged in a redevelopment project on the west side of Market Street, across from the south market, that will become a key feature in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. A mix of redevelopment and new construction, it will exemplify the concept of ‘adaptive re-use’ by repurposing historic structures and incorporating them into the fabric of 21st century Toronto.

To fully realize Paul’s vision and create focus and purpose, the site redevelopment would best flourish part of a larger gathering space. Signing this petition will move us one step closer to creating a truly livable public space by making Market Street a pedestrian-only zone and lining its east side it with a bright and lively flower market. And what better way to honour the man whose vision has provided us with so many wonderful urban experiences than by renaming this wonderful destination ‘Oberman Way’.

You can sign the petition here!

Shooting up from the base of X condos is Shayne Dark’s latest installation, entitled: Double Vision…admittingly, that’s exactly what I did when I first saw it!  Located on the corner of Charles St and Ted Rogers Way, the dark red columns appear to be blasting through the concrete, nearly reaching the 3rd floor.  It wasn’t so much the installation that made me do a double take, it was more the shock of seeing art and architecture finally together in a Toronto condo project! Tableau is taking a similar approach by having Shayne do and installation at their project as well.  There’s will feature neon green columns piercing through the base (tableau) of the condo!

Here’s to hoping more developers follow the trend!

Last week I attended the 6th annual PUGs, the peoples choice awards for architecture in the City! I’m a big fan of the PUG’s since it involves the products I make my lively-hood from…Toronto Condos! The awards allow the public to vote on their favorite residential and commercial buildings from 2009! This year the PUGs were held at the AGO (last years winner in the Commercial/Institutional category) with an hour and half discussion with the  2010 mayoral candidates. Sadly none really impressed me with their vision for architecture and planning of the City, but i’ll have more on that in another post ;)

On a positive note, this years winner was quite different from last.  One St. Thomas – a 29 storey multi million dollar limestone luxury condominium, won the award in 2009.  For 2010 it was the Housing Co-Operative at 60 Richmond East designed by Teeple Architects that took home the PUG!  It’s good to see that architecture in our city sees no division in social class.   It also gives inspiration and proof to other developers and architects that good design isn’t just for the rich, but rather for all to enjoy!

So how did your condo’s design preform at the PUGS?

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Toronto is a City full things to see and do…and like most cities, one would have to pay in order to do them!  This weekend, (May 29th and 30th 2010) 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and/or social significance open their doors to the public.

A few of my ‘must-see’s’  are:

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Historic Walls – The southern section of the present CAMH historical wall was built by unpaid patient labourers at the then Provincial Lunatic Asylum.

City Hall- Podium Green Roof – From concrete to living garden, the Toronto City Hall podium roof, where visiting dignitaries were once welcomed at the “front door” of the Council Chamber, will be reopened as the city’s largest, publicly accessible green roof garden.

Stephan Caras Design Inc. - The building is currently owned and operated as the world headquarters and couture fashion house of Stephan Caras Design. The interior is stylistically modern and designed by Stephan Caras himself.

This is an excellent opportunity to get into some of Torontos hidden gems…and admission is FREEEEEE!

Check out the Cities website for a full list of participants.

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!