One of the most arresting images of the early Modern period has to be the Mies van der Rohe photomontage of curvilinear towers of stacked concrete floors completely enclosed in glass. The purity of this image tantalized generations of architects, and indeed the problem of realizing the idea of this kind of transparency was central to Mies’s entire career in building. The problem was that one could never achieve that kind of actual transparency. The architect had to use other means to achieve the ideal. (There have been architectural problems like this since the Egyptians tried to build reed houses out of stone.)

But with transparency, the lure of literalness is always present, that is, confusing the use of glass as equaling the effect of transparency. Also, the inevitable encumbrances of window frames, the need for privacy, the backs of refrigerators, etc., always get in the way. It has only ever been achieved at great cost and under high-art conditions by someone like Mies who really knew what he was doing. Only achieved by Mies that is, until the great, late-Modern trick of the continuous balcony was discovered. (And I admit here that I don’t know who came up with the trick first …)

By pushing the floor slab edge and the outer column line beyond the tower’s facade, the eye is refocused on the structural patterns and away from the enclosing walls, which are then free to accommodate the contingencies and impurities of human occupation. The squinting eye can almost recapture the giddy energy of the early 1920s when people were declaring that “new living demanded new forms.”

190 St George is an elegant solution to the continuous-balcony apartment type. The bold, white slab edges and exposed structure stand out crisply against the simple steel handrails and mostly glass enclosure wall – but I understand the apartments are difficult to furnish or hang pictures in because they’re mostly glass-walled. The prow of the east and west balconies add a suitably minimalist-expressionist touch.

The building is one of the earliest condominium developments in the city, which may account for its better level of finish and well-kept appearance (condominium corporations having to take care of their investment by law).

It is also a reminder of a time when a new development strategy could link itself with the notion of progressive architecture – and still be considered marketable. 190 St George shows up the more recent Georgian-style condo-hulks being erected in the name of “preserving resale value.”

[Also notable is the pair of continuous-balcony gems at 10 Avoca Avenue, southeast of Yonge and St Clair (1971, Seligman and Dick Architects).]

Ian Panabaker