Environment
The Berkeley Playing Fields
City planners have nixed the Berkeley Playing Fields, a sustainable design meets Toronto condo development project. The striking and imaginative design would have offered a modern counterpoint to the historic Berkeley Church, which was to remain standing (and protected!) under the new building.
"Make no little plans," celebrated Chicago architect and planner Daniel Burnham once remarked, "they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized."
Apparently the opposite is true in Toronto, where un-magical condo after condo goes up - I can hardly tell one from another - and a stunning project like this only stirs the ire of city planners.
The project, which would have greatly improved Toronto's LEED building status, will now have to go back to the drawing board. The city deems it too tall for the neighbourhood, disrespectful to the historic Wesleyan Methodist Church, and otherwise a blight on the quaint section of Queen East.
For me, the combination of stunning street appeal and ultra green architecture made this a project that both intrigued and excited me. It would have instantly made its stretch of Queen East a destination for Torontonians and tourists alike. Done right, the project would probably have been a model for North American, maybe even world, eco-minded housing developments.
And while that might be overstating the potential impact of a condo building that never got past development and planning, I find myself hugely disappointed that we won't see the sustainable residences, jazz club, putting green, pool, aviary, store or boutique hotel anytime soon.
The developer, Doug Wheler, said he was willing to work with the city to tweak his design, but not compromise the blending of the old (the church) and the new (sustainable condo). Now Wheler will focus on his events business at the church. "The Playing Fields is not a project I want to rush" the 70 year old Wheler said, "It'll be complete before I die."
I certainly hope so; this project stirs my blood.
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Thanks for sharing the project and the perspectives!
This project was rejected for many reasons, including the fact that the area is a protected heritage district of which this project takes no account of.
That being said, the design is not that innovative or creative to begin with. All it has going for it is that it wouldve been built over and around a heritage structure (thereby destroying any contextual value said structure would have). Otherwise it looks like every other green-glass and steel condo going up in this city.
Glad it's gone
me too! i find i can't walk past ocad without reflexively hunching down away from it. this proposal looks like some sort of blight attacking and taking over.
Jumbled stacks of sterile glass surfaces is not good design, it's directionless and trendy.
Build new interesting, modern buildings! But leave the old grand daddy and stunning architecture of the past to shine as it was meant to even in a modern city!
City Hall's fear of tall buildings on streets that aren't named Yonge or Bay continues...
The building looks like a stunt by the developer to get the most money out of their square footage, without much thought about context or architecture. Just because the rendering is flashy and colourful doesn't make it a good building - just look at the scale of the streetcar in comparison to the building - it's huge! There's nothing that comes close to that size on queen east.
"I agree with this post. Some of these comments sound like they're from people who don't like actually living in a city."
WOW.
Let me see if I have this right, if people dont like the same building (see: ugly architecture) being built over and over again in a city they must not like living there?
I think that pretty much speaks for itself there...
Thats all I have to say about that
Now compare to the Berkeley Fields. I love the condo's unique design, and the church, but surely you don't think that overhang structure actually looks good?
I mean, after Spire, where the dev's "bought" the 20 floors above the Church across the street, but then moved them on top of their own 20 floors, this design literally proposes to use the space above the church??
What about light access to the church? I suppose stained glass windows are out of fashion now anyway.
So, would this change who the people in the church pray to?