Elkhanan1
December 30th, 2007, 04:36 PM
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/289358
Toronto's year of living large – and tall
Love it or hate it, the ROM Crystal signalled the return of ambition to our architectural stage
Dec 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume
Urban Affairs Columnist
If nothing else, 2007 was the year Toronto's Cultural Renaissance hit its stride. The main event was the opening of the Royal Ontario Museum's Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Designed by New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind, the $400-million addition offended many, pleased a few, but in either case, it raised the stakes hugely. This isn't a city given to risk-taking, but what's often overlooked is that Libeskind's radical remake of the ROM addresses the urban condition as much as institutional revitalization. The result is a building that has reconnected with the city, and that's fully a part of the urban scene.
"It's a building that invites experimentation," says ROM CEO and president William Thorsell. "But it's also one that fully engages the city."
Just across the road from the ROM, the compact Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art found new life as the jewel in Toronto's cultural crown. Redesigned by KPMB, this is the urban project par excellence, filled with exhilarating spaces and exquisitely integrated, it could serve as a model for everything that follows.
On the other hand, the much-delayed Metropolis at the northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas turned out to be a dud.
Though it forms one edge of the square, and occupies land on a major downtown intersection, it seems oblivious to anything beyond its own banality.
Further north, the city's love affair with the condo tower reached new heights; a tower at Yonge and Bloor will stand 80 storeys tall and a second, at Yonge and Gerrard, 75 storeys.
Though neither tower could be described as architecturally exciting, both are presentable. At the same time, however, most development happened in the vacuum that passes for planning in Toronto.
Think of West Queen West, which was "salvaged" at the last minute after the city had lost at the Ontario Municipal Board, the de facto city planner.
The final irony was Pier 27, the condo launched at the foot of Yonge St. on the water's edge. Designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, it will be one of the most interesting residential projects ever built in Toronto.
The problem is that it should have been anywhere but here, prime waterfront land that calls out to be part of the public realm.
Toronto's year of living large – and tall
Love it or hate it, the ROM Crystal signalled the return of ambition to our architectural stage
Dec 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume
Urban Affairs Columnist
If nothing else, 2007 was the year Toronto's Cultural Renaissance hit its stride. The main event was the opening of the Royal Ontario Museum's Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Designed by New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind, the $400-million addition offended many, pleased a few, but in either case, it raised the stakes hugely. This isn't a city given to risk-taking, but what's often overlooked is that Libeskind's radical remake of the ROM addresses the urban condition as much as institutional revitalization. The result is a building that has reconnected with the city, and that's fully a part of the urban scene.
"It's a building that invites experimentation," says ROM CEO and president William Thorsell. "But it's also one that fully engages the city."
Just across the road from the ROM, the compact Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art found new life as the jewel in Toronto's cultural crown. Redesigned by KPMB, this is the urban project par excellence, filled with exhilarating spaces and exquisitely integrated, it could serve as a model for everything that follows.
On the other hand, the much-delayed Metropolis at the northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas turned out to be a dud.
Though it forms one edge of the square, and occupies land on a major downtown intersection, it seems oblivious to anything beyond its own banality.
Further north, the city's love affair with the condo tower reached new heights; a tower at Yonge and Bloor will stand 80 storeys tall and a second, at Yonge and Gerrard, 75 storeys.
Though neither tower could be described as architecturally exciting, both are presentable. At the same time, however, most development happened in the vacuum that passes for planning in Toronto.
Think of West Queen West, which was "salvaged" at the last minute after the city had lost at the Ontario Municipal Board, the de facto city planner.
The final irony was Pier 27, the condo launched at the foot of Yonge St. on the water's edge. Designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, it will be one of the most interesting residential projects ever built in Toronto.
The problem is that it should have been anywhere but here, prime waterfront land that calls out to be part of the public realm.