Now I would put this under the master plan thread, but the master plan process hasn't finished yet, and everything in that thread is just fantasy at the moment. Construction on this building was supposed to start this year, but was held back due to some problems with the city regarding Lake Devo and a new entrance facing it..
http://www.ryerson.ca/news/news/images/20080305_pa_Gallery-.jpg

This is an artist's rendering of Ryerson University's new Photography Gallery and Research Centre, which will be part of the expansion and redesign of the School of Image Arts.

Ryerson University President Sheldon Levy today unveiled the design concept for the new Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre. This bold new venture, designed by internationally-acclaimed, Toronto-based Diamond and Schmitt Architects, places the University amongst the top international centres for photography and related disciplines. It also heralds the transformation of Gould Street with a dramatic glass building open and accessible to the community and the public, right in the heart of the Ryerson campus.

The 1,860 square metre Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre is part of an expansion and redesign of the existing School of Image Arts building at 122 Bond Street. The focal point of the renovated ground floor is the new public gallery, which will house and display the University's world-renowned Black Star Historical Black & White Photography Collection, as well as the many collections in the School's Mira Godard Study Centre. An additional new 1,200 square metres of study, teaching and academic space will be built by maximizing the available footprint of the building, creating light-filled study and communal gathering places for students, and expanded space for faculty and staff.

"This striking new facility will provide an outstanding learning environment for our students, and is a significant step forward in Ryerson's growth as a centre for scholarship, graduate studies, and research and creative activity," said Levy. "The Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre will become a national centre for photography, attracting visitors from the city, the country and all over the world. And we're proud that the open, accessible design is a step forward in transforming Gould Street into a people-centred, pedestrian gathering place. This truly is 'the University as city builder', which we declared as a goal in 2006."

The School of Image Arts building will be re-clad in glass. A new extended colonnade will signal the Gallery entrance overlooking Lake Devo, one of the most popular public spaces on campus. The ground floor will include a cafe to attract students and passersby, and a new transparent entrance to the facility.

"We have designed a Photography Gallery and Research Centre for Ryerson University which will undoubtedly be a shining star in the city's cultural firmament," said Donald Schmitt, principal-in-charge, Diamond and Schmitt Architects.

Ryerson's Black Star Historical Black & White Photography Collection is considered the most significant cultural contribution ever made to a Canadian university. The gift was accompanied by a $7 million financial contribution, which will be put towards construction of the Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre. In addition, Ryerson will launch a fundraising campaign to seek a naming donor for the facility, and to solicit support for other elements of the project such as exhibits and programs.

"The Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre will provide exceptional opportunities for collaboration with academic and artistic communities around the world," said Dr. Daniel Doz, Dean, Faculty of Communication & Design. "The new facility also allows us to expand program development and scholarship in related fields such as photojournalism, documentary imaging, social and political history, and cultural investigation."

"The design for the expanded Image Arts building represents a milestone for our School. We will have new student space, a gallery of international significance, and an enhanced presence on the campus and in the city. The benefits for our teaching programs will be enormous: this is a bold step forward that reinforces Ryerson's place as Canada's leader in education and research for photography and related disciplines, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels," said Don Snyder, Chair, School of Image Arts.

The Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre will be the first University building under construction since the launch of Ryerson's Master Plan, a flexible framework for growth and revitalization of the campus, and a catalyst for renewal of the surrounding downtown neighbourhood. The building design reflects the major themes of the Master Plan: intensification, making efficient use of small and valuable urban properties; 'people first,' with a focus on creating a pedestrian-friendly campus including open green spaces and informal meeting places; and design excellence, a commitment to new and inspirational academic and student spaces.

Ryerson is currently searching for a Director of the Gallery and Research Centre, who will lead the academic, administrative, exhibit and outreach functions for the facility. The Director will be a cultural ambassador for Ryerson University, responsible for creating an international profile for the Gallery and Research Centre, and assuming a visible and active role in the cultural life of Ryerson and the city.

Looking good.

I saw the original, Rem-Koolhas-inspired proposal for this building a couple months ago from an insider at Diamond Schmitt. This design represents a massive cheapening and dumbing-down of that design. Major disappointment.

That nuclear glow-in-the-dark rendering tells us absolutely nothing, either. I find that type of fantasy rendering to be most annoying. If Ryerson wants to establish itself and give itself some real cred as a University, it has to start designing better architecture.

That nuclear glow-in-the-dark rendering tells us absolutely nothing, either..

The large letters that seem prevalent on every new Ryerson building on the other hand ....:)

HAWT!

I saw the original, Rem-Koolhas-inspired proposal for this building a couple months ago from an insider at Diamond Schmitt. This design represents a massive cheapening and dumbing-down of that design. Major disappointment.

Is there a link to that original proposal? My curiosity has been stirred.

It's Ryerson.. What do you expect?

Cheapening is the faculty mantra.

Another pic of the building from Torontoist:
http://images.google.ca/url?q=http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_marcl/ryersonphoto3_5March08.jpg&usg=AFQjCNEu4gkgDi4sJCQk3MIfcjOcJscg3g

Sure beats what we have today:
http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_marcl/ryersonphoto2_5March08.jpg

And FYI... this is a renovation, not new construction. Classes will still be held in this building while it is being fixed up hence why the new design stays true to the current shape of the building. There is no other space on campus that can house Image Arts while a new building is constructed.

As long as that ice surface and boulder features remain as is.

That nuclear glow-in-the-dark rendering tells us absolutely nothing, either. I find that type of fantasy rendering to be most annoying. If Ryerson wants to establish itself and give itself some real cred as a University, it has to start designing better architecture.

That nuclear glow-in-the-dark is real. The frosted glass will have 2 layers and there will be LED lights in between the layers.

Posted by AoD on UT:


From the Architectural Record
Glassy Re-Clads Boost Energy Efficiency But Confound Critics
May 8, 2008
By Alec Appelbaum

As owners and regulators ponder how to handle the aging of towers built during the time of the first oil shocks, in the 1970s, architects and engineers nationwide are proving that a new skin can make a middle-aged building more energy efficient—but only sometimes make it look more elegant.

Along with lava lamps and disco, the 1960s and 1970s produced a host of tall buildings that used crude window glazing and air control technology. “In those days you built on site, put in aluminum mullions, and glazed it. Everything was done in the field,” says Gensler architect David Epstein. “Today we use an aluminum extruded panel made in a shop.” Robert Jernigan, also of Gensler, adds that many office buildings entering their fourth decade leak fresh air or generate so much heat that they require extra air conditioning. So a host of structures with similar weaknesses need new skins—and fast.

Although it’s difficult to say just how many such projects are underway, practices throughout the U.S. and Canada are designing more and more reclads. Gensler, for instance, has completed four and started another 17, and Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) has completed eight with three more in progress. This number only seems set to grow. “Re-cladding is going to be a big focus of attention as cities try to reduce carbon output,” says Rafael Pelli, a principal at Pelli Clarke Pelli. To that end, the consulting firm McKinsey and Company issued a report this year that estimates improvements to new and existing building shells’ efficiency could reduce greenhouse gas emissions growth by 60 megatons by 2030.

Done well, re-skinning a building can boost a building’s efficiency—and add aesthetic appeal. The Ryerson School of Image Arts, in Toronto, Canada, hired Diamond + Schmitt to design a gallery for a new photo collection in 2006. The architects’ proposal for a “glass loggia” inspired the school’s president to ask for a retrofit of the entire building, a brick structure that dates to the early 20th century. “We took the idea of turning upper floors into something insulated for the first time,” says principal Don Schmitt. “For more than 30 years, they heated the heck out of it with pumped-in heat and lost a lot of heat.” The architects designed a new two-layer skin with metal two feet behind “huge sheets of ground glass and sandblasted float glass with a series of LED lights in between them.” The facades, Schmitt says, will glow like a beacon at night—and he estimates that the reclad will boost thermal performance by 18 percent.

But some projects, particularly glassy re-clads of masonry buildings, expose architects critical eyes. Gensler’s conceptual renderings of a new facade on a 1920s’ Shreve & Lamb tower on a triangle facing Central Park, for instance, drew howls on the blog Curbed.com. “Every time a building loses its brick facade, an angel gets its wings clipped,” wrote one reader. Even The New York Times’ CityRoom blog sniffed that such a reclad would obscure the tower’s heritage.

Gensler defends the proposed glass as an efficient and responsible bit of urbanism. “The skin is a simple, elegant grill with an innovative and highly detailed corner design,” says Gensler project director Leslie Jabs. “While Gensler did consider leaving the lower colonnade portion as-is, with new cladding on top, it was too similar an approach as Foster’s building for Hearst almost directly across the street.”

Even so, critics of reskining contend that when it comes to buildings already clad in glass, the practice can still strip distinctive architectural qualities. Many commercial property owners are loathe to empty buildings during construction, so a common reclad method involves erecting a new skin over an existing one. Crews generally collect overtime pay for the work, which takes place on nights and weekends, so developers avoid specifying a high level of architectural detail and design complexity, which would further boost labor costs. “You’ll see a very simple new skin,” Jernigan says. “It is new and it is high-performance glaze, but maybe it’s not great-looking. The finances will not give on that one, which is a shame.”

An investment of extra time can make the difference between glare and grace. Institutional clients are often able to afford that investment. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a 1974-vintage metal-and-glass structure wedged in among formidable brick towers of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, wanted a fresh identity when it commenced a 10-year, $1.2 billion campus expansion. So trustees commissioned KPF to re-clad the building and add 500,000 square feet onto it. The result, finished in 2006, allows sunlight to pour into patients’ rooms and brightens the hospital’s facade with a vibrant and colorful lobby visible from the otherwise quiet street. “The trustees began to see that they could take a building that everybody hated and turn it into something iconic,” says KPF partner Jill Lerner.

AoD

Im really looking forward to this reno now!

wowwww
i had no idea finally they are gonna get rid of that eyesore it looks so bad beside the chang school

By interchange42 on UT.

High time for an update.

Here's what we're aiming for; Diamond Schmitt's design.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonImageArtsNW750.jpg

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonImageArtsW750.jpg


And here's what we're got so far.


Looking west along Gould Street.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170258.jpg


The corner at Bond and Gould.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIABondpano.jpg


Window installation.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170262.jpg

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170278.jpg


Frit on the glass.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170284.jpg


A long reach.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIApano.jpg


Looking west along Gould.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170265.jpg


Across the dry bed of seasonal Lake Devo.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170271.jpg


Close-up of preparations to attach the new facade.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170272.jpg


A view through closed Gould Street's temporary landscaping.

http://urbantoronto.ca/picoftheday/images/RyersonIAP1170264.jpg

Ryerson's in danger of actually having a good looking campus. I am very much looking forward to the Black Star Historical Black & White Photography Collection gallery and I am expecting it will be of the calibre that future editions of the Michelin guidebook of Toronto will throw it a couple stars. Slowly but surely this city is building a great list of cultural attractions. Of course, students will benefit greatly from the remake of the Image Arts building too. I had classes in here way back when, and this remake is making me wish I were 20 years younger again. (Well, there are lots of other reasons that 20 years younger wouldn't be so bad, but we'll stick to just this one for the sake of this thread.)

Meanwhile the exotic topiary trucked in for the Gould and Victoria Street closures is not likely to appear once the closure is made permanent (and it will be of course), but despite that, whatever landscape design is employed to create a pedestrian heart for this campus, this temporary closure hints at how transformative some greened streets here will be.

May 5, 2011.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5266/5691170385_c8007b59b7_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5691170621_2c75ed434e_b.jpg


Irrelevant, but new video screens being installed on this building on Yonge Street.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5264/5691742854_4dec186031_b.jpg

This building looks great at night, they us LED's to have the entire shell change colour. I took picks last month but they all came out looking like crap.

Levi's left that location a while back. I guess they figure having a spot in the Eaton Centre is good enough. Not sure who the new tenant will be.

Filmed at night, during the Canada Day weekend.
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