I was riding my bike on Bloor Street along the north edge of High Park over the weekend. And in between cyclists in spandex yelling at me for seemingly riding the wrong way in the bike lanes, I managed to safely snap this picture:

It was a reminder of that thing we like to do in Toronto where we want lower-rise along our main streets and then we tuck the taller parts somewhere in the back so that we can pretend they are maybe not there. Here's an aerial shot of the situation from Google Maps:

It's a very different condition from what you will find in New York along virtually all edges of Central Park:

Now, New York and Toronto are not the same city. This much is obvious.

But there is a grandeur and degree of urbanity that is present along Central Park that is not present along High Park. And I would argue that this feature isn't exclusive to New York. It can be found in many other cities, including places like Montreal.

I am sure that part of the rationale here on Bloor Street had to do with matching the lower-rise existing context. But we shouldn't forget that the edges of public spaces are oftentimes just as important as the spaces themselves. Sometimes they can be even more important.

So I thought I would put it out to all of you. To stepback or not to stepback. What do you think would be the most appropriate built form along this north edge of High Park? Leave a comment below.

100 Franklin is my kind of project. Developed by DDG Partners, 100 Franklin is a small boutique condominium project that was completed last year in New York's Tribeca. From what I can tell, there are only 10 residences in the project, ranging from 1,427 to 3,673 square feet.

A number of things are interesting about this project, particularly when you compare it to how and what we typically build in Toronto.

One, it's kind of an awkward site. It is made up of two triangular lots that one could have easily dismissed as being not all that developable. (Granted space is a precious commodity in Manhattan.) But DDG made it work (they have an in-house design team). They also managed to stitch the two buildings together so that they read as one big awesome street wall.

Two, it's only about 30,000 square feet. I mention this because, you don't see a lot of development at this scale here in Toronto. With entitlements taking as long as they do (among other reasons), it can be a real challenge. So if you're not capital constrained, you may as well take advantage of the economies of scale associated with going bigger.

Three, I think it speaks to differing cultural attitudes around housing. By Toronto standards, these are very large suites. The average size of a new condominium in downtown Toronto is probably somewhere in the low 600s (square feet). I think that tells you a lot about who is buying and how they think about living in a multi-family building.

Four, it's downright just a beautiful building with some really terrific brickwork. For photos, check out here and here.

Image: Robert Granoff via DDG Partners

Google just opened up its first ever retail store. It's in Chelsea in New York City at the base of its offices in a building that the company owns. The space is about 5,000 square feet and it occupies a full city block.

A collaboration with New York-architect, Suchi Reddy, the retail space is deliberately different from what you'll find at an Apple store (though the broad intentions are arguably similar). Instead of sleek, metallic and futuristic, the focus here was on creating a warm and inviting space that feels more like a home. (Note the pale woods.)

The approach is intended to make a statement about the role that technology, or at least Google's technology, should play in our lives. It is about tech servicing humanity and not the other way around.

FastCompany has a good article, here, that explains all of this.

It is interesting to watch these spaces evolve into what we are now calling experiential retail or commerce. If you read the FastCompany article you'll read about the work that Johns Hopkins University is doing on neuroaesthetics, which is the study of how spaces and aesthetics affect our bodies. That is how finely tuned these spaces have become.

And it's kind of what you need to do today. Consider the example of Microsoft's retail stores, which launched in a clear attempt to mimic the successes that Apple has seen with its stores. They even looked somewhat similar. But then last year Microsoft announced that the company would be closing all of its stores.

Why? Part of the problem is that they were too focused on just selling Microsoft products. And that, it would seem, can't really be the main objective anymore. You also need to consider the experience. What story are we telling about our brand with our space, and is it compelling enough to standout?

P.S. The first image at the top of this post is of their Google Translate booth. You walk in. Say something. And Google translates the hell out of it for you.

Photos: Google