Enzo | 27m | 6s | Arlington Street | DAAS

I’m happy they planted trees up on the setback patio! That will look nice come spring and be great for residents
 

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Pretty happy with this one overall.

I see both sides re the setbacks. On the one hand, we are a large city and people need to get over this belief that they should never be in shade, and if some people had their way you would be hard pressed to ever be able to build above 2 storeys. On the other hand, being a northern city shade can be a challenge especially in the winter months, so it does need to be a consideration especially where it can have significant impact on parks and plazas. Overall I feel like what has been done here is a reasonable compromise.
 
I have to say this project is an excellent addition to 17th Ave SW, if not, the best modern building built on 17th Ave. Really impressed with what Arlington and DAAS have done.

From an Urban point of view:
I think you rarely see a building "giving back" to the city. These guys set the building back by a meter or two, providing ample sidewalk street front and patio space. Simple, but great Urban design! The podium is at a great human scale height, breaking the mass of the building. The brick also adds a warm texture to the passersby. Also, that massive sign create a good landmark!

From an Architectural/Design point of view:
The Architecture is very simple but with nice details. I admire the restrain of the architects. few moves and nicely executed:
Stepped back massing with a central facade, which actually looks like Western Highs school. The entrance with the curved brick wall is very sexy! also, the brick layout is nicely done (I don't think I have seen a contemporary building go to the effort of designing their brick work.)
Also, they made the effort to add some design on the side firewalls and on the lane facade, very subtle but thoughtful.
And I am waiting for those trees on the second floor to grow some leaves, that would look really good from Tompkins Park!

The only disappointment for me is that horizontal cladding in the back, if something, it should have been vertical and arranged in vertical groups, to break the horizontal massing. And the ugly sprinkler heads on the facade in the second level, they are not aligned with anything.

All things considered, a really fabulous addition to 17th Ave
 
Walked by today. It's a lovely building, though I'm mildly annoyed they set the footprint back like 3 feet from the building to the left so there's just a random strip of black cladding covered in grafitti. Should have just moved the building forward a couple feet. The sidewalk is plenty wide enough
 
CallmeCatbread said:
Walked by today. It's a lovely building, though I'm mildly annoyed they set the footprint back like 3 feet from the building to the left so there's just a random strip of black cladding covered in grafitti. Should have just moved the building forward a couple feet. The sidewalk is plenty wide enough
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Positioning is to accommodate patio usage, however none of the tenants they've signed on are of that type of use. A franchise like Chipotle may at most throw a couple of cheap small portable tables outside against the window (for a while).
 
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