The seemingly never-ending procession of quirky towers rising across Toronto's skyline comes with polarizing debates about the city's perceived lack of architectural ambition and the constant tug-of-war between the city's historic features and the push for greater density and modernity.
A recently completed 39-story rental tower at 484 Yonge Street was criticized online last month and subsequently praised for incorporating a nod to the site's heritage into the development's base.
QuadReal Property Group's project, known as IMMIX, includes an etched glass stencil of a long-demolished portion of the former Fire Hall No. 3, built in 1872 and previously located on the site at Yonge and Grenville, as well as the restored fire hall clock tower that survives the demolition of the main building decades earlier.
In a now-deleted Reddit post, a user incorrectly described the new ghost building as an example of “the pinnacle of Toronto façade design.”
While a significant portion of the nearly 200 responses focused on the definition of the term “Facadism” itself, many more debated the design merits of the installation, with views ranging from a creative reinterpretation of the past to accusations that it was too little, arrived too late, service to the lost inheritance.
Many defended the project designed by the Architects Alliance, with one user commenting: “I've always liked this project, very creative. Almost like a glass ghost of the building.”
Another user noted that the ghost facade was preferable to development that ignored what was lost years ago, writing: “They didn't have much to work with, so I agree it's a pretty nice solution is. The tower alone would look pretty strange without a building attached.”
The ghost facade at IMMIX is actually not the only installation of its kind that references past buildings constructed in recent years.
The new multi-billion dollar Ontario Court of Justice, located northwest of City Hall, features a large-scale graphic display window commemorating the facade of the long-demolished British Methodist Episcopal Church in its original location, now the site of the new 17-story institutional Building is located.