The seemingly never-ending procession of cookie-cutter towers ascending into the Toronto skyline has come paired with polarizing debates about the perceived lack of architectural ambitions in this town and the constant tug-of-war between the city’s heritage attributes and a push for more density and modernity.
A recently completed 39-storey rental tower at 484 Yonge Street was the target of online criticism and subsequent praise last month regarding a nod to the site’s heritage built into the base of the development.
The project from QuadReal Property Group, known as IMMIX, features an etched glass stencil of a long-demolished portion of the former 1872-built Fire Hall Number 3 that previously occupied the site at Yonge and Grenville, along with the fire hall’s restored clocktower that survived the main structure’s teardown decades earlier.
In a since-deleted Reddit post, a user incorrectly described the new ghost building as an example of “peak Toronto facadism.”
While a fair share of the almost 200 replies focused on the definition of the term facadism itself, many more debated the design merits of the installation, with takes ranging from a creative reinterpretation of the past to accusations of too-little-too-late lip service to lost heritage.
Many rushed to the defence of the architects—Alliance-designed development, with one user commenting, “I always liked this one, very creative. Almost like a glass ghost of the building.”
Another user noted that the ghost facade was preferable to the development ignoring what was lost years before, writing, “They didn’t have much to work with, so I agree it’s a pretty neat solution. The tower alone would look pretty weird without a building attached.”
The ghost facade at IMMIX is actually not the only such installation referencing past buildings constructed in the last couple of years.
The new billion-dollar Ontario Court of Justice, located just northwest of City Hall, includes a full-scale graphic window display commemorating the facade of the long-demolished British Methodist Episcopal Church at its original location where the new 17-storey institutional building now stands.
