In Toronto, the builder alone decides how a building will look. The city planning department can say where a building can or cannot be, and how it should interact with its surroundings, but its appearance is up to the builder. Neighbours can make suggestions, but that’s all. Even the all-powerful Ontario Municipal Board does not interest itself in a building’s aesthetics.
Some cities have Design Review Panels that have more or less power over the appearance of major developments. In certain parts of Toronto, a professional Design Review Panel can offer suggestions about how a major building might be designed, but other than moral persuasion, it has no effective power.
With the hope that public opinion might encourage (or shame) developers to make better buildings, a private organization offers Torontonians a chance to express their views online about good and bad buildings. The annual PUG Awards, as they’re called, reflect popular opinions about the year’s major commercial and residential developments.
Popular 60 Richmond East Housing Co-operative by Teeple Architects, for the Toronto Community Housing CorporationPopular Telus Centre for Performance and Learning by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg architects, for the Royal Conservatory of MusicPopular RBC Centre by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates with Sweeny Sterling Finlayson &Co and B+H Architects, for The Cadillac Fairview CorporationPopular Pure Spirit at the Distillery by architectsAlliance, for Cityscape Development CorporationUnpopular Grand Triomphe Condominiums Phase II by Burka Architects, for TridelUnpopular Plaza Royale Condominiums by Kregg Fordyce architects, for Tor-Bel DevelopmentsUnpopular Harbour Light by Diamond and Schmitt architects, for The Salvation ArmyPopular One St. Thomas Residences by Robert A. M. Stern (dean of the Yale School of Architecture), for the Lee Development GroupUnpopular Toronto Centre for Phenogenomics by Dipesh Patel of G+G Partnership architects, for Mount Sinai Hospital and othersUnpopular Hampton Plaza Condominiums developed by the Torbel GroupPopular Hazelton Hotel by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele architects, for developers Peter Cohen of The Dawsco Group and Bruce Greenberg of The Starwood GroupUnpopular Marriott Residence Inn by Page + Steele architects, for the Limen Group LtdUnpopular 76 Shuter Street Condominiums by Young & Wright architects, for Cresford DevelopmentsPopular National Ballet School by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg architects with Goldsmith Borgal architects, for the National Ballet SchoolPopular 18 Yorkville Condominiums by architectsAlliance, for Great Gulf HomesUnpopular Glen Lake Condominiums developed by Georgian Homes corporationPopular Art Gallery of Ontario Transformation by Frank Gehry of Gehry International Architects, for the Art Gallery of OntarioPopular Art Gallery of Ontario Transformation by Frank Gehry of Gehry International Architects, for the Art Gallery of Ontario
