Month: March 2019

• Holding a shadow

  

  Debating the merits — or shortcomings, depending on which camp you’re in — of all-glass buildings isn’t new. But there seems to be a bit of a resurgence happening right now because of the recent opening of Hudson Yards in New York.

  There’s an important environmental consideration here: Glass is, as a rule, a poor insulator. But often the other concern with all-glass buildings is their sameness. Witold Rybczynski recently wrote about this on his blog in a post called The Transparency Trap:

  Le Corbusier described (modernist) architecture as “the masterly, correct and magnificent play of volumes brought together in light.” Corbusier used glass but he never designed all-glass buildings. Neither did Mies; he added superfluous I-beams to his facades (which also had substantial spandrels). The problem with transparent glass is that it doesn’t hold a shadow, and without a shadow there can be no “play of volumes.” Since minimalist modernist architecture doesn’t offer decoration or ornament, that doesn’t leave much to look at.

  Witold isn’t usually appreciative of that which is new and I often find myself disagreeing with this critiques. But I like his metaphor of “holding a shadow.” Light and shadow are, of course, fundamental to architecture.

  Photo by LinedPhoto on Unsplash

  2019.03.31

• Homes for as low as $1

  I was reading today about some houses in Boca Raton, Florida selling for as low as $1.

  The reason they’re selling for nothing, in some cases, is because you’re required to join the local golf/country club as part of the purchase. Initiation fees could be in the range of $70,000 and that doesn’t include whatever ongoing fees you would also be responsible for paying.

  What this demonstrates is that there isn’t enough demand from the next generation to sustain the pricing for this housing type. Part of this probably has to do with simply cohort size (the number of people retiring), but I suspect that there may have also been some changes in consumer preference.

  Some of it is probably golf related. Participation in the sport is relatively tepid among Millennials. And some of it may be related to the fact that these communities don’t have the kind of (urban?) amenities that the next generation is looking for.

  But if you derived enjoyment from the home during your retirement years, maybe it’s not the end of the world that there isn’t a strong resale market.

  2019.03.30

• Manhattan is getting a congestion pricing zone

  About a year ago I wrote about how NYC is considering a congestion charge on vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th street. Well it looks like that plan could be adopted as early as April 1 (however the fees won’t start until 2021).

  Here’s a map of the proposed congestion pricing zone from the NY Times:

  

  I have written extensively on road pricing over the years and so I won’t repeat myself here today. Suffice to say that I think creating a sustainable funding source for transit and other mobility options is a positive step forward.

  2019.03.29

• The perfect city

  

  “This book is a love story of cities. It is so well observed — the places, the people, the history and what the future holds. Joe tells a very personal and beautifully written story direct from the front line. An absolute must read for everyone who cares about, and wants to understand, what makes cities and their citizens tick.” 

  – Dame Alison Nimmo, Chief Executive of the Crown Estate

  Joe Berridge, of Urban Strategies, has a new book coming out called, Perfect City: An Urban Fixer’s Global Search for Magic in the Modern Metropolis. Perfect may be the enemy of good (as they say), but Joe argues that all great cities have moments of perfection that we can learn from.

  I just preordered a copy. If you’re interested, you can do the same here.

  2019.03.28

• Neon popup gallery at Junction House

  I met Mark Garner, who is the COO and Executive Director of the Downtown Yonge BIA, about five years ago. We met because of our shared passion around Toronto’s laneways. At the time, you weren’t allowed to do what we now call laneway suites. Housing was not to be built on our rear streets. But thanks to champions like the Yonge BIA, Lanescape, the Laneway Project, a number of local Councillors, and many others, a lot has changed over the last five years.

  As luck would have it, Mark and I reconnected at the beginning of this year because of another shared interest: neon. The Downtown Yonge BIA has been working for over five years to establish a permanent home for the neon signs and lights that are slowly (or perhaps quickly) disappearing from Toronto’s streets. The goal is to found Neon Museum Toronto. And I am so impressed by their dedication to this cause. You should see what they have collected so far.

  

  Given the obvious connection to Junction House, we decided we were overdue for another fun project. So today the team is excited to announce that — in collaboration with both the Downtown Yonge BIA and Neon Demon Studio — the Junction House Sales Gallery (at 2720 Dundas Street West) will be hosting a Neon Popup Gallery from April 12 to 14. blogTO has already covered the event, here.

  It is open to the public. And entry is free. But it is coming to you for one weekend only. So get your camera ready and come by between 11AM – 9PM.

  2019.03.27

• The Apple Card fine print

  Apple announced a number of new products and services this week, including Apple TV+ and a new Apple credit card, which will initially only be available in the US.

  It all aligns nicely with their goal of growing their service/subscription businesses and weaning themselves off of an over-dependence on iPhone revenue.

  Below is a video summary of the new Apple Card. In typical Apple fashion, it sounds and looks like an elegant solution and I already want to one.

  I thought this topic would make an interesting follow-up to my recent post about whether cities should be banning cashless businesses so as to not discriminate against the “unbanked.”

  Because embedded in the above credit card is the following cashback reward structure:

  • 3% back on Apple purchases
  • 2% back on purchases made with Apple Pay (iPhone)
  • 1% back on purchases made with the (optional) physical card

  And so what this “card” will do is pay you to always use your phone. The cashback reward system is also instantaneous and you’ll be able to spend that Daily Cash (that’s the name) just like you would actual cash.

  Do you think this would change how you pay for things? I think for most people it will.

  2019.03.26

• London is piloting its first ever 3D zebra crossing

  London is currently running a 12-month pilot on its first ever 3D zebra crossing. The objective is to improve pedestrian safety by making the crossing more visible to drivers. A 3D zebra crossing stands out by appearing to float above the road.

  Here’s a photo (image credit to Gusti Productions):

  

  While this is the first of its kind in the UK, similar crossings have already been installed in Iceland, India, Taiwan, and other countries. According to the trials in India, they do appear to have a meaningful impact on vehicular speeds. They also feel like public art.

  If this first one proves to be successful, the plan is to roll out these 3D crossings across the entire borough of Westminster. Assuming they do actually work, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more noise around them here in Toronto.

  A London-based software company is also working to completely rethink the zebra crossing for today’s smartphone world. Their system imagines LEDs embedded into the street so that a crosswalk can be triggered basically anywhere.

  Perhaps this is something that might work with the street paving that Sidewalk Toronto is piloting.

  2019.03.25

• Golden hour cranes

  I was out this past Saturday evening with my Fujifilm X-T3. I usually always have it on me when I’m traveling, but less so when I’m at home. It can be harder to be a “tourist” in your own city because things don’t stand out in the same way. And oftentimes it is that novelty which sparks the desire to take a photo. But that’s no excuse. So here are two photos that I took right before sunset from CityPlace, Toronto. The cranes you see in the first picture (mostly) belong to The Well.

  

  

  2019.03.24

• Canada admitted 321,065 permanent residents last year

  Bloomberg recently reported that Canada admitted 321,065 permanent residents last year. This is up 12% from 2017, where the country admitted 286,479. Last year was also the largest cohort since 1913 (the year before World War I), where the country admitted just over 400,000 people.

  Here is a chart from Bloomberg (it is interactive if you click through):

  

  Of course, Canada was a much smaller country back in 1913 (about 7.6 million people), and so on a percentage basis we are much lower than where we were at the beginning of the 20th century. We’d have to admit close to 2 million permanent residents a year to get to a similar rate.

  And that is not what is in the books. Here are the projected admissions for 2019 to 2021. All of the below stats are from the 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration.

  

  I couldn’t find a geographic breakdown for last year, but in 2017, about 40% of admitted permanent residents (or 111,925 total) ended up in Ontario and about 72% ended up in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta (the top 3 provinces for this year). If we add in BC, it brings this figure up to 86%.

  Here are also the top 10 countries of origin:

  

  If you’d like to download a PDF of the full report, you can do that here.

  2019.03.23

• Junction House is a finalist in the 39th Annual BILD Awards

  

  I am excited to announce that Junction House is a 2019 finalist in the 39th Annual BILD Awards. The project is up for the following 4 awards:

  1. Best Signage (it was probably the neon that did it)
  2. Best Suite Design (large suite)
  3. Best Innovative Suite Design (it’s a suite from our unique 2-storey House Collection)
  4. Best Mid-Rise Building Design

  This last one is a “Pinnacle” award, but I’ll be honest in that I don’t know what that means. It sounds impressive though.

  BILD received some 850 submissions this year, so kudos to the project team: Superkül, Dialogue 38, Vanderbrand, Unique Urban Homes, DTAH, WND Associates, and others.

  We spend an inordinate amount of time on our floor plans — they are people’s eventual homes. So it’s nice to see a bit of that effort reflected above.

  2019.03.22