Building Toronto: A Look at Some of Toronto's Most Iconic Skyscrapers

We talk to Will Cuthbert about his plans to create a series of short videos on Toronto's most famous skyscrapers

Skyscrapers may be ubiquitous in Toronto, but how often do we take the time to appreciate them? And how many of us actually know how they came to be in the first place?

According to Will Cuthbert, a business student at Trent University and ocassional filmmaker, we can sometimes take these monolithic structures for granted. It is for this reason that he has decided to create Building Toronto – a series of short videos highlighting the design and history of some of Toronto’s most iconic skyscrapers. 

Cuthbert is set to begin shooting the videos later this month thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign on Rockethub which earned him over $500. We talk to him about Toronto’s impressive skyline and discuss his aspirations for the ‘Building Toronto‘ project.

What is it about Toronto’s skyscrapers that fascinate you? 

Toronto’s skyline is undeniably unique and easily recognizable on sight. Of course its charm and good looks are directly attributable to the buildings that define it. The city’s skyscrapers are iconic in that way, they give Toronto a sense of personality. Unfortunately, I think most of us — myself included — tend to take them for granted. This notion is what inspired me to take on my project, Building Toronto. I had a chance to see the inside of the Toronto Dominion Tower last year at Doors Open. It was an eye opening experience in the sense that I had never considered what it was like to be on the other side of that steel and glass. The view, the design, and the history of the building were fascinating and I realized how much more there is to these monolithic structures that make up our city.

You plan on shooting nine skyscrapers in the city as part of your video project. How did you come to decide on these buildings ?   

I had pretty basic criteria for choosing which skyscrapers to shoot; location and character. I’m working full time in the financial district this summer so being able to easily film any day of the week was important. As such, I decided to keep my selection within the downtown core. Aside from that, I wanted buildings that were unique in their own right. A lot of the newer towers in Toronto seem to imitate each other, so I chose to focus on those with a bit more history and differentiation in terms of design. This left me with a more manageable list of options and made it much easier to make the final selection.

(The nine buildings provisionally chosen for the project are: Toronto Dominion Tower, First Canadian Place, City Hall/Nathan Phillips Square, CN Tower, RBC Centre, TD Canada Trust Tower/Brookfield Place, Royal York, Commerce Court North and Gooderham Building)

Have you had much experience shooting videos before this project? How do you hope the final product will look? 

Filmmaking is a hobby for me, it’s something I’ve been doing for the past few years as a result of my interest in media arts and advertising. Recently I’ve worked on a few commissioned projects for non-profits and student organizations, but most of my work is just for fun. I was actually considering a film degree at Ryerson before deciding to pursue business at Trent, but it’s something I hope to come back to more seriously once I finish my undergrad.

‘Building Toronto‘ is going to be a bit different from anything else I’ve done before; it will rely solely on visuals to tell a story about each building. I want to capture the beauty and history of each building without too much explanation; no narration, no interviews, very little text. I’m building a website to display all the videos when they are done, which will include more of the historical information if people are interested, but ideally the films will be able to stand on their own. 

Kickstarter tends to be the crowdfunding platform of choice for most start-up projects these days. Why did you decide to choose Rockethub? How did you find the whole crowdfunding experience?

I initially went with RocketHub out of necessity; Kickstarter was my first choice, but it required a U.S. Bank Account which I didn’t have. I am actually pleased that it worked out this way because my experience with RocketHub has been nothing but spectacular. As an example, I sent a support request shortly after creating the project and received a reply within the hour from one of the co-founders with exactly the answer I needed. I would recommend RocketHub to any Canadians looking to fund their own creative projects. It allowed many of my amazing friends and family, and even people I don’t know personally to fuel the project and make ‘Building Toronto‘ possible. 

When will you begin shooting? How long do you anticipate the project will take? 

I am hoping to start shooting on the upcoming May long weekend. It will be nice to have the extra day to get started. Filming will take me through the end of August while the video editing and the companion website should be finished toward the end of 2012. 

Finally, tell us what is your favourite Skyscraper in Toronto and why? 

My favourite skyscraper in Toronto is the Toronto Dominion Bank Tower designed by Mies van der Rohe. The second to top floor looks like a time capsule from the 60’s. Gorgeous wood-paneling, mid-century modern furniture including the oft-imitated Barcelona chair, not to mention a stunning view of the city. 

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