fourONEsixSTYLE

gardiner museum
Originally uploaded by wvs

Turns out my favourite Toronto building of 2006 was the same one everyone else voted for in the latest annual round up of the best and worst of Toronto architecture. I’ve always been a fan of modern design and architecture, so I’m very pleased the Gardiner Museum got top scores from the Pug Award panel and public. I’m also thrilled that I’m not the only one out there with a vision and desire for a city focusing its attention on modernity with some complexity, while also building up around playful public spaces.

One big loser in the competition was the Pug Award site itself, as is evident from the feedback on the blogTO entry I’d written called Who Cares About Architecture? It’s functionality and design scored super-low among site visitors who were expecting something more from a competition that favours design and interactivity in the real world but couldn’t live up to those virtues in a virtual one.

Since the Pug Award site was designed in a way which didn’t allow me to link to the results page, and also doesn’t keep results archives, I’ve decided to share some of the info here with you on fourONEsixSTYLE.

Here are the 22 buildings in the competition and their rank from Best to Worst as reported on the Pug Awards results site 2007:

The Gardiner Museum
One King West Condominiums
The Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building
Tip Top Lofts
The Federal Court Building
Home Condominiums
The Four Seasons Centre
Downtown’s Next Address (DNA)
The Hudson Condominiums
One Six Nine Condominiums
Quad Lofts
Aquarius and Atlantis Condominiums
66 Portland Condominiums
The Carlyle Condominiums
The Ryerson School of Business
Jazz 1 Condominiums
North Beach Condominiums
Harbour View Estates Condominiums (C & D)
18 Yonge Condominiums
Zed Condominiums
Pinnacle Centre Tower One Condominiums
Be Bloor Condominiums

In Toronto, as in all cities, there are those who care about architecture and those who don’t notice a thing. Fortunately those who do care are a vocal bunch, whether blogging or putting the word out publicly. If you’re the caring kind too there’s a new place for you to make your opinion count. The Pug Awards (formerly the Pugly Awards but now with a cute little pug-faced icon) offers a slick new website where all of Toronto can get involved in the state of architecture by way of a vote. They post the latest building projects and you pick whether you think the design deserves FAME or SHAME. By June 6th votes are tallied for a celebrated best and worst of Toronto architecture list.

Not sure how to judge? The Pug Awards, now in its fifth year, offers up some advice to voting novices. In this competition originality is king - no more brick boxes - it’s gotta have the fresh factor and add something to it’s surroundings. Interaction at street level is also integral - who needs another condo with built-in strip mall?

Last year the site registered 5000 votes and hopefully registered on the minds of developers working to build up a beautiful city. Hall of shamers include a growing list of condo developments while some of the favs are the National Ballet School and Calatrava’s BCE Place Atrium. However, I can’t help but think that our opinions often change over the years, even if we offer resistance initially. Many of us were astonished by OCAD’s new addition when it first sprouted up. I’ll admit now it’s grown on me.

Want to know what people are saying about the Pug Awards? Check out the comments on blogTO.

balletschool
Originally uploaded by bigdaddyhame.

The Pugly award results are in and it seems my west end neighbourhood is doing its unfair share of ugly architecture. The Glenlake condo project at Dundas West brought up the tail, receiving the largest amount of disapproving public votes and therefore a spot in the Hall of Shame. Not so long ago, protesters banded together to show their dissent at the condo project going up in place of an old neighbourhood church; would’ve been good to harness some of that passion when designing the building too. Also low on the list is the High Park condo building that sprouted up from the facade of a church of Scientology. While it means well, huge columns support the front of the structure and the building as a whole lacks an overall and cohesive design theme.

Arts and science architecture share the top spots. Proud Torontonians gave the most approval to the National Ballet School, with the MaRS project and the Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research following closely behind. All buildings on the list were completed or registered in 2005. With the continued growth Toronto is experiencing, they’ll be a steady stream of industrial, commercial and residential candidates for years to come. I just hope developers are paying attention to the Pugly awards and what the public has to say about design and architecture in our city.

Blogger TShirt
Originally uploaded by kengo.

Eleven months into my blogging hobby I now have 5 blogs, I’ve created 114 posts and -here’s the BIG NEWS- today I reached 10,000 hits. Thank you all for stopping by, leaving comments (that’s what blogging’s all about) and showing your support for my writing habit.

Feel like going for a spin? FourONEsixSTYLE will take you for a ride around Toronto. Need to know what’s hot in technology and media? Freshtracks will give you the latest news, reviews and breakthroughs. Don’t want to travel the bumpy road anymore? Travel in style when you visit bumpmedia’s travel blog.

Burgeoning blogs include one for my Theta friends from University to stay in touch, and another blog building up to the 2010 Whistler Olympics (I can’t wait).

Highlights of my blog career include getting posted on CBC’s The Hour homepage (thanks for noticing) and getting one of my flickr photos published on a book cover.

Now that I’m feeling like an old time blog pro I’ve also started contributing to an addictive urban blog called blogTO. You’ll catch me posting there at least 3 times a week.

“Where do you find the time?” my friends ask. I know though that if I wasn’t writing I’d go mad. So please, drop by and read my blogs now and then and help contribute to my sanity.

When George Stroumboulopoulos began his broadcast of The Hour at CBC I watched with great interest. Finally someone would speak meaningfully to people my age (a few years younger than George) about things that could hold our attention for longer than 5 seconds. At least that’s what I think the CBC was hoping for. I watched the first few episodes and then gave it a miss. It seemed amateurish. The set was kinda boring. George seemed still set in his rocker ways from his days at Much. I get the angst bit but I wanted good commentary, thoughtful commentary, not just “Awww c’mon”.

Now, a couple years in, George is strutting around Queen West in his slick new Beemer and I think he deserves it. I was watching the show tonight and was impressed that it finally nails what I hoped it would be in its first season. The CBC has pulled it off. The news was fresh and I got a kick out their segment on 4:20 (though I wished the camera person had thought of white balancing the outdoor interviews). I also think they’ve done much better with the set, street scenes of Toronto is more fitting than bookcases filled with nick-nacks.

I followed this by a visit to CBC’s site for The Hour and was happy to see fellow bloggers listed on the home page. Great way to get people involved, continue a discourse. (Apparently The Hour had to remove it’s own blog because of a nasty situation). Can my blog make it to his front page? Something to aspire to maybe. (I think I might have to offer a sweeter review).

Well, here it is… The Hour’s website does offer some juicy bits. Perfect for us after-work and weekend browsers. The video segments online were fantastic; could’ve loaded somewhat faster but were worth the wait. I watched George’s interview with Rick Mercer, a piece on June Callwood, and then for kicks his interview with ex-Crossfire front man Tucker Carlson.

While not too many Canadians paid attention to Tucker before (unless you caught video of John Stewart bitch slapping the poor guy on Tucker’s own show) they certainly are now…and if you don’t know why, check out the video for yourself. The man calls Canadians “the retarded cousin” of the States. I was impressed George took him on. Watching the interview like I might a boxing match, I hoped to God that George didn’t make it a fluff piece, that he nailed him on some of the bullshit, and he did. Thank you George.

So much to say about this piece, Tucker Carlson is a pretentious jerk and George slyly made comparisons to people like him needing slick sports cars to make up for …ehm…other stuff. George even got him to revoke the “retarded” bit.

However (you really gotta see this thing) Tucker has some points. He admits that only about 5% of Americans would know who our Prime Minister is (yep, he’d be right - doesn’t that say more about them) and that we think we’re morally superior (well, our policies often are).

I was drunk on a rooftop in Brooklyn for NYE where some of the party had moved to and I was yelling “Move to Canada” and some sweet American guy came to me to say how much he liked Canada and then asked “Who is your Prime Minister?” But Mr. Carlson was wrong about one thing and that’s that everyone wants to live in the States. Check out The Hour’s About The Show page, in all the sweet comments made about it, one guy from Chicago so loves Canada and The Hour that he thinks he might retire here. So much for Tucker’s point. While some of us might see better opportunities down south, when it comes to where to live the Golden Years some of us would still say Canada.