Royal Conservatory Of Music - Telus Centre for Performance & Learning (KPMB)

[Filip]

That would be basalt.

 

[adma]

...and attery?



"WHEN I REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS..."

 

[MetroMan]

Now imagine if the ROM had used stone as cladding...

That would have been amazing...

 

[ganjavih]

So nice to see real stone used once in a while. Looks like they ain't cheaping out with this addition.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Why is the absence of stone on any given building a sign of "cheaping out"? And what is "cheaping out"?

 

[unimaginative2]

Cheaping out in this context is using a material that is less expensive in lieu of a preferred material for purely financial reasons. For example, the use of precast concrete made to resemble stone instead of actual natural stone. I hope this helps clear things up.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Though the contrast between this stone veneer section and the west side of the building, higher up, where another material of a similar colour has been used, might suggest that they had done precisely that.

 

[ganjavih]

Why is the absence of stone on any given building a sign of "cheaping out"?

It isn't... and I never made that claim. There are plenty of buildings without stone that haven't suffered from cheaping out. Stone is not an absolute prerequisite for a quality building.

And what is "cheaping out"?

Compromising quality to save money.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

RCM is rather vile from the west but I have a hunch that a future Varsity phase will cover some of it up.

 

[Urban Shocker]

The RCM wall - above the Varsity bleachers - doesn't use stone veneer and won't be blocked from view. The beloved "quality finishes" approach is thus revealed as a double edged sword when not applied consistently, since it invites comparison between the de luxe sections and the rest.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

It's not vile because of a lack of stone.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Though it looks as if they cheaped out of using more of the stone veneer they used on the rest of that side of the new building. Certainly I think it was unfortunate that the west side of McMaster Hall was blocked from view by the new addition. Surely some way could have been found to stack more of the addition to the south? I'm not a big fan of High Victorian - it was a dead end style - but if they're saving the old building anyway they might have showcased more of it.

 

[Mike in TO]

Cheaping out in this context is using a material that is less expensive in lieu of a preferred material for purely financial reasons. For example, the use of precast concrete made to resemble stone instead of actual natural stone. I hope this helps clear things up.

I hate this "cheaping out" term. It implies that one so called preferred material was in the initial plans of any development and then due to cost cutting the developer altered plans for something cheaper - thus "cheaping out".

However the reality is that for some reason people expect mid-range or even affordable condos (every condo labels itself luxury, but most aren't once one looks at the $psf) to use so called preferred materials and then blasts the developer for "cheaping out" when those materials aren't used....

The reality of the situation is that stone and other expensive so called preferred materials are never a component of the development plan/concept. Materials are usually decided upon well in advance. Thus there is often no actual "cheaping out" - just the construction executed exactly as planned.

Money doesn't grow on trees and home buyers of mid-range affordable condos can't afford limestone over pre-cast (apparently high-end buyers at One St. Thomas don't get limestone either). Every material decision comes with a cost and that cost is planned in advance of construction - not a sudden decision to "cheap out" and use a lesser material at the last minute.

 

[unimaginative2]

Mike in TO, you're definitely right about most condos. It is a fact, however, that the architects of OCAD and the ROM, for example, used different materials for cost reasons than what the architects had originally recommended.

 

[Urban Shocker]

I agree completely, Mike, which is why I'm not one of the "quality finishes" crowd that believes in a hierarchy of materials. I use the term "cheapen out" to show how people set themselves up for disappointment - the patchwork of finishes on the west side of the RCM is a good example ( several of us here discussed it when we went to C5 at the ROM recently ) of a contrast between fancy stone veneer ( though there are even tonal variations within it ) and more basic finishes that I don't think works very well.