Buildings go up and down. They make the news trite and rarely shocking. But the new plans of architect Frank Gehry may seem equally outrageous, they mean that he has abandoned his long-standing aversion to straight lines and 90-degree angles.
Toronto Towers
Learn about Gehry’s plans for two towers rising 977 feet above everything else in his native Toronto. Farewell to a dizzying mix of swirls and changing shapes, like his Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. A shell-like structure with steel and glass curtain walls will dominate the skyline as the tallest building in Canada’s capital.
The Daily Mail sees these structures as an instant attraction.
Is it really you, Frank?
At 91, Gehry doesn’t even look the same anymore, according to the Daily Mail: I wanted to create a series of buildings that respected the city. Isn’t that right, Frank? Do skyscrapers that look like nothing else respect the city?
According to Gehry’s drawings, the towers are very beautiful. But their supposed connection to the city is not clear. Don’t take my word for it. According to the Globe, the towers will eventually become the tallest and largest buildings of his career. And if you listen to Worldarchitecture.org, the towers should change the skyline of Toronto. So much for context.
Excuse me?
Gehry told the Globe that his towers in Toronto have a level of humanity that the other buildings around them do not. To explain what he meant by humanity, he told the Daily Mail that it would come from the texture of the stainless steel parts and the blue glass on the outside.
One might rightly wonder how any surface texture could humanize a 977-foot tower that even a very tall man would overlook.
Gehry’s plan for the straight buildings is surprising, but telling the press he wants to give them a human touch almost sounds like a joke – he’s making fun of himself for the colossal skyscraper he wants to build in Toronto.
Split personalities
Wait, there’s more. Gehry believes not only in the humanity of his Goliaths, but also in something else. Dezin, an online magazine about architecture, quotes him as saying I wanted each of the two towers to have its own personality, but I also wanted them to talk to each other. It’s a tough job, Frank. According to Worldarchitecture, more than 2,000 apartments in the Gehry Towers will go on sale next year.
There’s a lot of talking to do between turns, Frank.
Uh, oh.
According to a New York Times report on the 5th… The flip side of living in a supertower in February is 432 Park Avenue, an 85-story building with an exclusive address designed by famed architect Rafael Vinoly, in the River. And according to Dezeen, other luxury tricks may share his fate. This is a cautionary tale for potential buyers of those 2,000 apartments in Toronto’s towers. I’m just saying.
Don’t miss our Facebook page!
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Related Tags:
the grand dtla,walt disney concert hall,Privacy settings,How Search works,antoine predock,ottawa canada
