#urbantoronto

[streetcarstories]

Archetypal of Urban Design Changes

It's nothing special of a design, but the transformation of this proposal over the years feels so very representative of the change in urban design across the Toronto region.

This is 503 Eglinton East, a relatively new proposal by RAW design along the Eglinton Crosstown route.

It begins, as many buildings are in Toronto, as grey. The setbacks are large and, although in a suburban location, it is set to be 'urbanised' with the soon-opening Eglinton Crosstown and the variety of development that brings with it. Tall buildings with suburban character will still feel very suburban (e.g., tower-in-the-parks or a lot of what has already sprung up in Mississauga City Centre).

Yet, across later proposals, this has changed (at least as far as we know)! The latest render releaed via the developer's website added new brick and colour.

Although plenty of older proposals in Toronto had a brick-and-switch maneuver, i.e., starting with brick or brick-esque concrete, this seems at an end. Newer developments seem to be more and more going through with brick (or brick-esque designs) along with more brown and red colours, especially on the lower levels. Many older designs, such as this one, even getting this brick treatment as the proposal ages.

Better yet, the balcony design has been re-organised in a way I find again becoming increasingly common across the GTA. Instead of the balconies jettisonning outwards, they are inlet. Perhaps there is some architectural literature about this (if so I am completely unaware of it) but, simply, I like this design! It is reminiscient of the indoor-outdoor walkways common in Japanese appartments which I've always found to be a great looking design. The previous balcony desing (especially at the tower portion) which has been extraordinarily common in Toronto-area developments seems to be getting phased away in favour of the inlet balcony. Although they still appear in the upper tower portions (as they do here) the podium sections of each development seem to rarely have them. Overall, I find this to be a very positive direction.

Although there is certainly criticism to be made towards the quality of these designs, it nevertheless feels like a significant positive change in the general design direction Toronto is heading in. What is still lacking is the design on the ground floor. Much like the new developments of the early 2010s, the ground floor here (and it is likewise archetypal of Toronto-area developments through that) is largely glass. It does not attempt to do much distinguishment between the storefronts or create any interesting designs. Oddly, most of the design changes I discussed earlier are primarily in the podium design, rather than the tower or ground floor sections. You would think these to also be important! Going forward, I certainly hope we see better design at the ground floor. We haven't seen much dramatic change... but who knows! It looked like we were going to get spandral glass forever until recently.

Finally, some of the more Statistical Details of the development I felt were also representative of Toronto area development trends. That said, most of these are much less dramatic in this 503 Eglinton than I find most Toronto developments tend to be.

According to the latest resubmission (found thanks to NorthernLight on UrbanToronto!) we see a variety of changes most places would beg to have. The height and unit count have been increased, along with additional retail space, all while parking counts barely went up. Additionally, setbacks were dramatically more reduced. Although there is a good case to be made for larger setbacks in the Toronto context (narrow sidewalks and lack of trees are the present conditions of many sidewalks, with larger setbacks allowing this to be remedied) it does help it fit more into an 'urban' fabric. Again, these changes are far less dramatic than we see in many other developments (some cut parking entirely while going up a dozen stories!) but I feel it was overall such a representative sample of the trajectory of Toronto development. Overall, it feels very positive, for all the many faults this city has.

[jawad-blog1]

News Roundup for November 10, 2023 | UrbanToronto

http://dlvr.it/SygdlG

[metamarketing-es]

Career Opportunity: Director, Real Estate (Marketing, Sales, Transactions), Canada Lands Company | UrbanToronto

https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2023/05/career-opportunity-director-real-estate-marketing-sales-transactions-canada-lands.52519?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[jasonparis]

1985’s Scotia Plaza reflected in the now almost complete three-phases of the Bay-Adelaide Centre. • • • #igerstoronto #toronto #ontario #canada #torontophotography #urbantoronto #scotiaplaza #financialdistricttoronto #lookup #architecture #reflection #bayadelaidecentre #wzmh #kpmb (at Bay Adelaide Centre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbqlnOpA1sQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[idealight]

Hanging out with a head in the clouds ☁️ - - - - - - - - #torontophotography #torontoigers #curiocitytoronto #torontolife #6ixwalks #urbantoronto #streetsoftoronto #6ixgrams #blogto #discoverytoronto #tdot_shots #torontoclx #ownthe6 #dailyhiveto #todotoronto #torontogrvm #torontoculture #inside_to #thetorontolove #toronto #mavicair #air2s #tlpicks #bestcitybreaks #urbanromantix #cityunit #StreetHunters (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cisg6cErHm6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ssclifestyle]

⁣🌐 @amanalaine “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” Save, share, comment & like! ⠀⠀ @sscproductions S S C L I F E S T Y L E Shot By Sean Diamond. www.seansignaturecollection.com _______________________________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ ⁣ #newfacesmodels #modelgoals #modelmode #usmodel #mø #womanmodel #photoproduction #stylemodel #modelagencies #modelingportfolio #amauterphotographer #yorkregionphotographer #urbantoronto #mississaugaphotographer #narcitycanada #torontoentrepreneur #torontofashionbloggers #torontoportraits #createportraits #torontoportraitphotographer #ottawabeauty #portraitmeet #thekccreatives #agameofportrait #newenglandmodelsnetwork (at Aurora, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLnPtndFSKY/?igshid=1w9naxo205nr8

[urbantorontoca]

Views over Varsity - Image by torontoboy via our forum. Use the tag #Urban_Toronto to be featured! #urbantoronto #PhotoOfTheDay #picoftheday #urban #Toronto #downtown #architecture #Ontario #Industrial #igerstoronto #architexture #architectureporn #the6ix #archilovers #torontocanada #canada #toptorontophoto #torontophotography #igerscanada #igers #cleanlines #Ontario #torontoist (at Toronto, Ontario)

[kyapublishing]

ABOUT US 📚 #UrbanFiction #UrbanToronto #CaribbeanCanadian #TorontoWriter #CanadianPublisher #SelfEducation #ReaderIdentity #CanadianFiction #IndependentPublisher #AfroCaribbean #TorontoCulture #BlackAuthor #BlackWriter #AfricanCanadian #BlackCanadian (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3GgqPgnJ7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=5c74kypxsgfh

[projectolara-blog]

Rainbow stair 🌈🌈🌈🌈 #urbanprojectggl #projectolara #minimal #colorsplash #tv_minimal #tv_colorsplash #tv_colors #lifeisbetterincolor #rainbow #torontostreets #urbantoronto

[thecondoking-blog]

Posted by Akbar Zareh "Condo King" Real Estate Broker Kingsway Real Estate Brokerage

#Mississauga #Condo #Realestate #buy #Sell #Homes #Condos #squareone

[jawad-blog1]

News Roundup for July 10, 2023 | UrbanToronto

http://dlvr.it/SrzG9h

[jamesinthecity-blog]

Surprisingly accurate don’t you think? . . . . . #toronto #torontorealestate #urban #urbantoronto #map #torontolife #humor #torontohumor #jamesinthecity

[jasonparis]

In their own words… “Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre is an autonomous, vibrant cultural agency that involves and serves the Indigenous community with confidence for and commitment to their well-being.” • • • #toronto #ontario #canada #urbantoronto #igerstoronto #torontophotography #native #indigenous #firstnations #tkaronto #mural #art #indigenousart #regentpark #philcote (at Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgKsWXyvvB0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[idealight]

Hanging out with a head in the clouds ☁️ - - - - - - - - #torontophotography #torontoigers #curiocitytoronto #torontolife #6ixwalks #urbantoronto #streetsoftoronto #6ixgrams #blogto #discoverytoronto #tdot_shots #torontoclx #ownthe6 #dailyhiveto #todotoronto #torontogrvm #torontoculture #inside_to #thetorontolove #toronto #mavicair #air2s #tlpicks #bestcitybreaks #urbanromantix #cityunit #StreetHunters (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CisgpstrJAN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[drsmithfoto]

CN Tower Sunset - Daily photo by David R. Smith www.drsmithfoto.ca @drsmithfoto⠀#drsmithfoto

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[urburbiato]

Early morning light between buildings 📸 by Toronto photographer @dumsumdumfai #toronto #urban #downtown #urbantoronto #torontophotography #sunrise #instamood #urbanphotography #urburbia (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBx6IpojbOj/?igshid=1lsijkzbuep3j