Vogue Residences (née District Condos) | 21 + 14 fl | U/C

[white_brian]

Huge Mammoet crane sitting on King St at the moment

[jwilliamson]

Looks like the tower crane is going up tomorrow.

   

[Spokes]

Anyone go past here today? Is it going up?

[jwilliamson]

Anyone go past here today?  Is it going up?

I went by around 1 and it didn't look like the crane had moved at all since yesterday.

[jwilliamson]

The mobile crane is up and working right now.

   

[Coke6pk]

   

   

   

Coke

[jwilliamson]

   

[Spokes]

Thanks for all the pictures!

[jwilliamson]

   

[jwilliamson]

   

[jwilliamson]

   

[taylortbb]

The SRM website has five renders of the new design that I don't think have been posted before, http://www.srmarchitects.ca/Portfolio-Re...5-King.htm . We might have a building uglier than DTK, that podium cladding is something else.

   

[westwardloo]

The SRM website has five renders of the new design that I don't think have been posted before, http://www.srmarchitects.ca/Portfolio-Re...5-King.htm . We might have a building uglier than DTK, that podium cladding is something else.

SRM really needs to work on their podium design. How does this get past the design development phase? Do the principles at the firm not care what their name is attached to? I guess they are making so much money being the cheapest firm in the region that they could care less how people perceive them. Still not as bad as DTK, but it is close. I don't hate hate the towers, not sure why they need to randomly change the size of the balconies. Those grey spandrel panels will also look bad new.

[ac3r]

SRM really needs to work on their podium design. How does this get past the design development phase? Do the principles at the firm not care what their name is attached to? I guess they are making so much money being the cheapest firm in the region that they could care less how people perceive them. Still not as bad as DTK, but it is close. I don't hate hate the towers, not sure why they need to randomly change the size of the balconies. Those grey spandrel panels will also look bad new.

It's the trend right now and I can't wait until that dies out. It's everywhere. For the love of god, fellow architects, dust off your text books and reread Dieter Rams' principles on good design! Haha.

Good design is: 

• is innovative – The possibilities for progression are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.
  
• makes a product useful – A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic criteria. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.
  
• is aesthetic – The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
  
• makes a product understandable – It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user's intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.
  
• is unobtrusive – Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user's self-expression.
  
• is honest – It does not make a product appear more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
  
• is long-lasting – It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today's throwaway society.
  
• is thorough down to the last detail – Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
  
• is environmentally friendly – Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
  
• is minimal – Less is more. Simple as possible but not simpler. Good design elevates the essential functions of a product.
  

[dtkvictim]

Good design is: 

• is innovative – The possibilities for progression are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.
  
• makes a product useful – A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic criteria. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.
  
• is aesthetic – The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
  
• makes a product understandable – It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user's intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.
  
• is unobtrusive – Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user's self-expression.
  
• is honest – It does not make a product appear more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
  
• is long-lasting – It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today's throwaway society.
  
• is thorough down to the last detail – Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
  
• is environmentally friendly – Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
  
• is minimal – Less is more. Simple as possible but not simpler. Good design elevates the essential functions of a product.
  

It seems odd to apply this list to architecture, when this list also claims that said products are not decorative objects nor works of art. Confusingly, this list also seems to directly contradict that statement by highlighting the importance of aesthetics, beauty, and psychological effects. Maybe I'm reading into this wrong.