Design Wallah
New Member
This obviously isn't Toronto, but then neither is the Hilton Niagara. But it's an interesting project and that campus is a beehive of building activity.
Article:
'This is an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous design'
PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE: Queen's University unveils plans for new complex
Posted By IAN ELLIOT
Queen's University unveiled its plans for its new performing arts centre last night and the early reviews were raves.
"This is an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous design," was one woman's summation of the dramatic stone-and-glass concert hall and arts complex between the Tett Centre and the Stella Buck Building on King Street West.
That comment drew a spontaneous round of applause from a crowd of Queen's and city arts lovers who filled a conference room at Macdonald Hall at Queen's last night where the plans for the building, designed by a Norwegian firm, were publicly revealed for the first time.
Unlike previous meetings about the site, purchased by Queen's as a home for its music and fine arts programs several years ago, the initial fears that the university planned to unveil a Stauffer Library-like monolith on the waterfront or put up a building that excluded the community seemed to have vanished.
Last night's plans for the complex, which will incorporate a 550-seat, purpose-built concert hall, a small studio theatre, rehearsal rooms, art gallery and office space, were greeted warmly.
The new building would be constructed tight against the Stella Buck building and feature walls of glass and stone, with the walkway to the lake maintained and space for bike paths and outdoor cafes incorporated into the design. The building would have a similar height and mass to the old stone buildings on the land, long a hub of the city's arts life.
The interior of the concert hall itself would be created to look like one of the rock cuts or the beaches around Kingston, with stratas of grey stone reaching up to the high ceiling.
Craig Dykers, a senior partner with the Snohetta firm and whose enthusiasm for the project was palpable, compared it to the Tanglewood performance hall in Massachusetts, a small performance venue with perfect acoustics that attracts more than its share of big stars who want to perform in a small venue.
"This building is not only important to the citizens of Kingston, but we see it attracting people from Montreal through Toronto," he told the crowd, which included Queen's alum and actress Wendy Crewson.
One of only two unanswered questions, and one that was brought up several times, was the paucity of parking around the centre.
Dykers and Queen's vice-principal Ann Browne said the school was in discussions with the city, St. Mary's of the Lake and the adjacent Corrections Canada office complex to use nearby parking lots at night or to run shuttle buses to the site, but said there would be adequate parking and access to the site for its proposed uses.
Article:
'This is an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous design'
PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE: Queen's University unveils plans for new complex
Posted By IAN ELLIOT
Queen's University unveiled its plans for its new performing arts centre last night and the early reviews were raves.
"This is an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous design," was one woman's summation of the dramatic stone-and-glass concert hall and arts complex between the Tett Centre and the Stella Buck Building on King Street West.
That comment drew a spontaneous round of applause from a crowd of Queen's and city arts lovers who filled a conference room at Macdonald Hall at Queen's last night where the plans for the building, designed by a Norwegian firm, were publicly revealed for the first time.
Unlike previous meetings about the site, purchased by Queen's as a home for its music and fine arts programs several years ago, the initial fears that the university planned to unveil a Stauffer Library-like monolith on the waterfront or put up a building that excluded the community seemed to have vanished.
Last night's plans for the complex, which will incorporate a 550-seat, purpose-built concert hall, a small studio theatre, rehearsal rooms, art gallery and office space, were greeted warmly.
The new building would be constructed tight against the Stella Buck building and feature walls of glass and stone, with the walkway to the lake maintained and space for bike paths and outdoor cafes incorporated into the design. The building would have a similar height and mass to the old stone buildings on the land, long a hub of the city's arts life.
The interior of the concert hall itself would be created to look like one of the rock cuts or the beaches around Kingston, with stratas of grey stone reaching up to the high ceiling.
Craig Dykers, a senior partner with the Snohetta firm and whose enthusiasm for the project was palpable, compared it to the Tanglewood performance hall in Massachusetts, a small performance venue with perfect acoustics that attracts more than its share of big stars who want to perform in a small venue.
"This building is not only important to the citizens of Kingston, but we see it attracting people from Montreal through Toronto," he told the crowd, which included Queen's alum and actress Wendy Crewson.
One of only two unanswered questions, and one that was brought up several times, was the paucity of parking around the centre.
Dykers and Queen's vice-principal Ann Browne said the school was in discussions with the city, St. Mary's of the Lake and the adjacent Corrections Canada office complex to use nearby parking lots at night or to run shuttle buses to the site, but said there would be adequate parking and access to the site for its proposed uses.