Toronto: Boring Architecture? Never.

In a recent Downtown Toronto condominium-naming contest, “That Big Steel Thing Downtown” was a contender, chosen by the community to be voted on as the next possible name of a new downtown Toronto condominium development.

Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame. Just one example of stand-out, beautiful architecture in the city.

The suggested name seemingly lends a bit of credibility to one of Toronto’s mayoral candidates vision for a “prettier” downtown, without as much “boring, glass, concrete blocks,” according to Sarah Thomson.

She said she would create a new service that would let developers fast-track building concepts in which they’ve put effort into designing, as opposed to going through the regular process of having developers get approved, which can take years.

This is a very interesting idea for sure, although the buildings in and around the Greater Toronto Area are far from boring, stale and unimaginative. The city is filled with beautiful heritage buildings, innovative sky scraper designs and a wide variety of home styles.

The Hockey Hall of Fame, ChumCity/CTV building on Queen Street, Ontario Place, the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre, Nathan Philips Square, the Royal Ontario Museum, Old City Hall, Union Station and Casa Loma are just a tiny sampling of the intriguing, diverse and unique architecture found within the city limits.

Without the addition of a new program to benefit developers, condominium and other building designers are already competing to bring Torontonians something better with each building constructed. Just look at the Five Condos at 5 St. Joseph, which uses a heritage building as its own facade. One also only has to peek around a corner to find Chinatown, Greek Town or Little Italy, where building and community styles from around the world are making homes within the city.

Our skyline is booming, but it’s certainly not boring in Toronto.

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