"The novelty of extremely slender structures is wearing off" say commenters

Readers are debating Herzog & de Meuron and Quadrangle's plans for a super-skinny skyscraper in Toronto and sharing their thoughts on other top stories in this week's comments update.

Canadian studio Quadrangle and Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron have revealed plans for a 324-metre tower in Toronto, called 1200 Bay Street.

If completed the 87-storey skyscraper would steal the title of Canada's tallest skyscraper from Foster + Partners's One building.

"I have a bad feeling about this building"

But readers aren't impressed by the proposal. "I have a bad feeling about this building," said Le Canal Hertzien. "It already looks like it's about to collapse."

Jack Woodburn was also unconvinced: "I will never understand why people pay so much money to live in a glass cage with no access to the outside world without getting in an elevator."

"Nothing about this skyscraper makes me think about H&dM," continued Jacopo. "It's as plain as any other."

"The novelty of extremely slender structures is wearing off," added Zea Newland. "But damn the views must be nice."

Are readers being harsh? Join the discussion ›

"They should have removed the roof" from the Berliner Ensemble, say readers

In preparation for reopening in alignment with Germany's social-distancing policies, the Berliner Ensemble theatre group has removed 500 of its 700 seats. Readers aren't sure this was the best move though.

"Won't this raise the price of the ticket?" asked Rodrigo Galvan-Duque. "I think open air theatres would be more viable and more healthy. They should have removed the roof instead of the seats."

"I always thought that the seats provided important acoustic attenuation," continued Bethwyn Mell. "Particularly in less populated theatres."

Le Ego also gave the thumbs down: "Anyone with even a passing understanding of air circulation knows that this is absurd and pointless. Do we seriously want to live in a world where we willingly destroy the entire public sphere and all that goes along with it, on a fundamental misunderstanding of how this virus behaves and spreads in the air?"

What do you think of the theatre's attempt at social-distancing? Join the discussion ›

Commenters are divided over claims that "architects have not done enough to tackle racial inequality"

In light of the murder of George Floyd, Karen Lu and Mary-Margaret Zindren of the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects have said that architects must accept they have not done enough to tackle racial inequality. Readers are torn.

"The architecture industry has been more than a passive participant in oppression," said Ini Archibong, on one hand. "It has been a major player in the maintenance of social and racial hierarchies."

Fair Play agreed: "I work in London and if you look at fresh graduates that join the offices there's a decent level of diversity – I would say at least 10 to 20 per cent. However, if you look at the partner level, 9.9 out of 10 offices are made up of purely white people. If that's not systematic racism, what is?"

"Don't paint the whole profession as systemically racist," responded Alfred Hitchcock, on the other hand.

Do you think architects have done enough to tackle racial inequality? Join the discussion ›

Rebel Architette sparks reader debate by saying there is "no more excuses for male-only panels"

In an attempt to "detox" architecture from its dependence on "boys' clubs", feminist collective Rebel Architette has created an interactive map of women-led architecture practices around the world. Not everyone is sure it's necessary though.

"If a panel organically happens to be male or female only, let it be," said Stefanos. "Proportionate gender representation on everything is very silly. Should people count their friends and only keep a 50/50 number?"

Greenish disagreed: "If it was always just about finding the best people, why are there still so few women on boards, so few people of colour? Please think in complex ways about this complex problem, and don't come here with facile arguments trying to oversimplify it."

"Coming next, no excuse for male-only construction sites," joked Rebel.

What do you think of the map? Join the discussion ›

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