Architects and building designers beware, renowned architecture critic and veteran journalist Christopher Hume is reviving his condo critiques, exclusively for storeys.com.
The BartholomewDeveloper: The Daniels CorporationArchitect: QuadrangleCompletion: 2017Address: 200 Sackville St.
Grade: B+
If the revitalization of Regent Park succeeds it will be more because of planning than architecture. The corner of Sackville St. and St. David St., just south of Dundas St. E. is an example of why there’s a reason for optimism about the fast-evolving neighbourhood. Incorporating a mix of row housing, mid-rise towers and green space, the intersection provides residents with more than basic housing. It is a genuine, fully functional community, a place where families can live comfortably and kids play across the road in a local park. There’s a school just south of the park and a streetcar rumbles by north on Dundas.
READ: Toronto Needs Missing Middle Housing Now More Than Ever
The Bartholomew Downtown East, a relatively new 13-storey condo at 200 Sackville, adds to the undeniably domestic sensibility of the neighbourhood. It hugs the street without looming over it. Its midrise height feels right for the context, as do the glass facades. Though no one would call the Bartholomew exciting, it doesn’t need to be. It’s clearly designed to be part of a larger entity, the neighbourhood. Without being exactly the same as everything around it, it fits in effortlessly and brings a degree of elegant competence to things. In these ways, this is one of those rare instances where architecture serves more than itself.
