There was a good discussion on Twitter this morning about small-scale commercial uses in residential neighborhoods, like the coffee shop shown above on Shaw Street. In most residential neighborhoods in Toronto, this kind of commercial activity is not permitted if you were to try and… Read More
This is an excellent article by Alex Bozikovic, Joe Castaldo and Danielle Webb about the 15-minute city. In it, they do a block-by-block analysis of how many Canadians actually live in what they are calling an “amenity dense” neighborhood. Their definition of amenity dense: Grocery… Read More
The big news this week in Toronto planning & development is the province’s decision to approve three downtown development projects using a tool known as a “ministerial zoning order.” The impetus for doing this was to speed up the approval and delivery of about 1,000… Read More
This week, Alex Bozikovic (of the Globe and Mail) dropped the news that a new supertall by Herzog & de Meuron is being planned for the northwest corner of Bay and Bloor here in Toronto. The developers are Kroonenberg Group and ProWinko, both of which… Read More
Alex Bozikovic’s review of the book Canadian Modern Architecture: 1967 to the Present raises something potentially troubling. Here’s what I’m talking about: It is by turns an exhilarating and depressing narrative: Canada, in this book, appears as a country that announced itself on the world… Read More
As I was going through this Twitter thread by Alex Bozikovic on the “Château Laurier battle,” I came across a great line by Robert Wright: “We cannot recreate the past only parody it.” I told him I was going to steal it, but here I… Read More
Alex Bozikovic (architecture critic for the Globe and Mail) is one of the most vocal proponents of more housing and more density within Toronto’s low-rise neighborhoods. Last year, he organized an international design competition where he asked firms to come up with innovative, yet sensible,… Read More
Things are busy right now as we get ready to unveil Junction House this fall and so I’m a bit behind on my news and reading. I just finished reading Alex Bozikovic’s Globe article on BIG’s new KING Toronto project (official name). It is an… Read More
This evening Slate Asset Management hosted the community meeting that I’ve been writing about on the blog over the last little while. And at this open house Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang introduced a new block plan and mixed-use building at the southwest corner of… Read More
It’s late. I just got home from the office. And I’m exhausted. But I did just receive my copy of Toronto Architecture: A City Guide. The “handbook” was originally written by Patricia McHugh (1934-2008), but it was recently updated by Globe and Mail architecture critic… Read More
