BeBloor on a winter morning

BeBloor on a winter morning

Facing west on Bloor St. towards the railway tracks and BeBloor condo tower at 1369 Bloor St. W.

Photo was taken by Vic Gedris on the morning of March 9 2008 after a big snow storm.

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Ugliest Buildings in Toronto this Century

Christopher Hume in the Toronto Star has been doing a series of video stories about the best and worst buildings built in Toronto this century. Today he takes aim at BeBloor and calls it the second worst building this century in Toronto. You can see the video at http://www.thestar.com/videozone/991051--hume-the-second-worst-building-...
I wonder if the Standard Lofts were built before 2000? They would certainly make it onto the worst list. And it is no coincidence they are built by the same developer who has blighted the neighbourhood with phoney Brownstones.

Residents Deserve Better Design

There is no coincidence that both buildings were built by the same developer. People need places to live and we should be careful not to stigmatize people just because that was the only place they could afford, or find, or was close to their work.

That said, in this day and age when there are so many materials and building techniques available it is a crime that even the most average of buildings cannot in some way add to their community and enrich the lives of the residents. The Standard "Lofts" looks like prisons I saw when I was shooting in Russia in 1992. All these years later the folks on Ward Ave. still look out at one of the ugliest bleakest unfinished streetscapes I have ever seen. Who let this happen? He is not in ofice any more. This developer is still planning even more blight on this site despite the fact that with some imagination the site could be improved and made far better for the residents and the community. The residents should band together and demand a more human environment and a say in what the rest of the development looks like. Is a safe well lit people friendly space too much to ask? With this developer the answer always seems to be yes.Thats why we get "cram as many people in as possible" school of design such as BeBloor where touches of humanity are a luxury.