Architects and building designers beware, renowned architecture critic and veteran journalist Christopher Hume is reviving his condo critiques, exclusively for storeys.com.
88 ScottDeveloper: Concert DevelopmentArchitect: Page + Steele/ IBI GroupCompletion: 2017Address: 88 Scott St.
Grade: C+
There’s no such thing as an invisible 53-storey condo tower. But the relatively new residential structure at 88 Scott St. comes as close as any in Toronto to being exactly that.
Sitting atop an elegant 1951 neo-classical office building, the 2017 addition occupies space that can’t be seen from the sidewalk unless you’re looking up, way up. From street level, it is a modest mid-century commercial heap that one can’t help but like.
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In this very dense part of the downtown core, the landscape is divided into what you see at eye level and what’s above. As a development like this reminds us; the two don’t necessarily have any connection. In a vertical city, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it’s to be expected.
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The tower itself is everything you'd expect. With its glass façade, setbacks and horizontal cut-out sections, it feels very much of its time, even trendy. The architects’ attempts to make their creation visually interesting feel self-conscious. This is definitely a case where less would have been more. But then, the hard part is always knowing where to stop. These exteriors are just a bit busier than is good for them. The contrast with the restraint of the building on which they rest couldn’t be more stark – or ironic.
