Toronto St Lawrence Market North | 25.3m | 5s | City of Toronto | Rogers Stirk Harbour

so...thinking we can expect something built by 2014 considering how slow city run projects are... I can't wait for this addition and will keep my fingers crossed that they do something about the gardner...its such an eye sore.
 
Any idea when the designs will be shown to the public?

In May, once the 5 teams have something more substantial to show.

42
 
PE:

Well, we already have one building by Behnisch Architekten - but no Richard Rogers yet. Bit of a surprise to see his firm on the list actually.

AoD
 
This from Pam McConnell's website:

Project Timeline
April 28, 2010 – Stage II submission deadline

May 2010 – Public exhibition of design submissions and review by jury members

June 2010 – Announcement of competition winner and report to City Council

Autumn 2010 – Completion of temporary market building at 125 The Esplanade and relocation of Farmers Market and Antique Market

Early 2011 – Construction on the new North Market building begins

2014 – Occupancy of the North Market building
 
I gotta say, until a week ago when I extensively toured the SLM I had no idea how nice it is! Several weekends ago, I went to the antique market--not really my thing. Maybe the west end needs a similar market building?

Surprisingly, it apparently has one. Judging from the insightful comments on the Spacing article which I've linked, the City botched the idea of recreating the St. Lawrence Market on Queen Street in 1988 when they got involved.
 
Seems like other than St L, Toronto's more inclined t/w open-air Dufferin Grovey-things than enclosed Atwater-type things. (Other than that, I don't know, maybe the weekend thing in the big bomb shelter at Downsview Airport...)
 
Competing designs for market-courthouse unveiled

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...g-designs-for-market-courthouse-unveiled?bn=1

Six photos in this link
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...gns-for-market-courthouse-unveiled?bn=1#photo

Competing designs for market-courthouse unveiled
A jury, bolstered by public comments, will pick one of five proposals in June


Patty Winsa
Urban Affairs Reporter

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Councillor Pam McConnell and Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone stood shoulder to shoulder in the ballroom of St. Lawrence Hall on Friday, together drawing back a large black curtain to unveil what many in the room had waited years to see.

Behind it — Pantalone admitted he had peeked — were five architects’ submissions chosen as finalists in the competition to replace the bland St. Lawrence north market with a combined market and courtroom complex.

A jury of seven, including architects, heritage consultants, and a novelist and newspaper columnist, will choose the winner to be announced June 7.

Among the five respected firms represented are Adamson Associates, who designed the MaRS building, and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg, who were involved in signature projects such as the revitalized Gardiner Museum, the National Ballet School and George Brown College’s waterfront campus, currently under construction.

But at the moment, the designs are anonymous and identified only by colour. The public is being invited to vote and comment on the submissions, either online or at the hall, which was slated to be open Friday until 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“What strikes me is the diversity. Everything is different,” said Anne Milchberg, the city’s facilities and real estate manager of development and portfolio planning, as she surveyed the displays.

Designs range from a glass-fronted structure that one spectator compared to the new opera house, to an angular plan described in the accompanying notes as a “shed form.”

Another has curved east and west walls sheathed in copper, a modern nod to the cupola on St. Lawrence Hall just to the north and the nearby spire of St. James Cathedral.

A group of students from Havergal College were clustered at the back of the room around a palatial design that appears to be two separate glass buildings joined by a glass courtyard.

The artist’s rendering of a see-through view to the north frames historic St. Lawrence Hall, where Sir John A. MacDonald stumped on his way to becoming Prime Minister and where Lieutenant Alex Dunn received Upper Canada’s first Victoria Cross in 1854.

“I like the view of St. Lawrence Hall,” said student Erica Jewitt, 14, as she considered the building. “Yeah, that’s really cool,” said her cousin Carter Jewitt, 13.

The winning design will be chosen based on factors such as environmental features, how it fits with nearby heritage buildings and its functionality for court and market users, complete with underground parking.

Public comments will be compiled by city staff and read by the jury, although it will not be bound by the votes.

However, said Milchberg, “We’re strongly encouraging people to give their opinions. We’ve always posited this as a community building and hopefully the jury will take their opinion in to account.”
 
What fun.

I like how "Green" team's design matches and extends the existing form of the historical South Market without exactly copying it - a good example of the strengthening effect of repeating a basic form with variations. "Orange" team's effort reminds me of Alsop's faux-Serra Cor-Ten-with-holes-punched-through Filmport - in copper green. The interior of "Red" team's design appeals to me as someone who shops at the market, and the exterior is as distinctive as the "Orange" design. Without having more to go on, the rendering of "Yellow" team's design suggests that it is oriented more towards the buildings that flank it north of Front than to matching the South Market. "Blue" team? Goodness knows what that's all about. The less said the better, I think.

For me, with so little to go on, it's a choice between "Green" and "Red" at the moment - with "Red" slightly ahead.
 
The angular grey building in the photo above has to be KPMB. The angular grey look reminds me of their building for Centennial College in Scarborough.

It's really hard to judge the building from those renderings because in an area like this, every side of the facade has to be taken into account as well as interior and exterior photos. I love Team Red's view to St. Lawrence Hall. It adds a touch of spectacle to the interior and reminds visitors of the history of the area. Like Market Square, it overtly embraces the historic landmarks around it by creating new view corridors. However, their exterior might be bland given the emphasis on the interior.

The Green Team's exterior looks clunky. The exterior I like the most is Team Orange's curved copper clad facade. A grey facade might not look so good in this area colourful because of the prevalence of materials like brick and copper.
 
From the Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/art...g-designs-for-market-courthouse-unveiled?bn=1

Competing designs for market-courthouse unveiled
A jury, bolstered by public comments, will pick one of five proposals in June

Patty Winsa

Councillor Pam McConnell and Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone stood shoulder to shoulder in the ballroom of St. Lawrence Hall on Friday, together drawing back a large black curtain to unveil what many in the room had waited years to see.

Behind it — Pantalone admitted he had peeked — were five architects’ submissions chosen as finalists in the competition to replace the bland St. Lawrence north market with a combined market and courtroom complex. (See photos of all submissions.)

A jury of seven, including architects, heritage consultants, and a novelist and newspaper columnist, will choose the winner to be announced June 7.

Among the five respected firms represented are Adamson Associates, who designed the MaRS building, and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg, who were involved in signature projects such as the revitalized Gardiner Museum, the National Ballet School and George Brown College’s waterfront campus, currently under construction.

But at the moment, the designs are anonymous and identified only by colour. The public is being invited to vote and comment on the submissions, either online or at the hall, which was slated to be open Friday until 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“What strikes me is the diversity. Everything is different,” said Anne Milchberg, the city’s facilities and real estate manager of development and portfolio planning, as she surveyed the displays.

Designs range from a glass-fronted structure that one spectator compared to the new opera house, to an angular plan described in the accompanying notes as a “shed form.”

Another has curved east and west walls sheathed in copper, a modern nod to the cupola on St. Lawrence Hall just to the north and the nearby spire of St. James Cathedral.

A group of students from Havergal College were clustered at the back of the room around a palatial design that appears to be two separate glass buildings joined by a glass courtyard.

The artist’s rendering of a see-through view to the north frames historic St. Lawrence Hall, where Sir John A. MacDonald stumped on his way to becoming Prime Minister and where Lieutenant Alex Dunn received Upper Canada’s first Victoria Cross in 1854.

“I like the view of St. Lawrence Hall,” said student Erica Jewitt, 14, as she considered the building. “Yeah, that’s really cool,” said her cousin Carter Jewitt, 13.

The winning design will be chosen based on factors such as environmental features, how it fits with nearby heritage buildings and its functionality for court and market users, complete with underground parking.

Public comments will be compiled by city staff and read by the jury, although it will not be bound by the votes.

However, said Milchberg, “We’re strongly encouraging people to give their opinions. We’ve always posited this as a community building and hopefully the jury will take their opinion in to account.”



Submissions linked from the article:


Blue team: A shed roof design features copper cladding on the roof and walls, while lower walls are clad in stone.
0511d93340ffb00dbea3f00a21c9.jpeg



Green team: This version has a south-facing atrium and curved glass "skin" covering the third and fourth floors. Inside, concrete arches support the roof of the market hall.
256c063641e78525ed9ba08aa954.jpeg



Orange team: Curved east and west facades are covered in a sheath of copper. Inside, a convex ceiling hovers over the market hall.
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Red team: A glass building with exterior timber louvres and a central glass courtyard that frames a view of St. Lawrence Hall. The glass building, seen from the market lane area, features exterior timber louvres and a central glassed-in courtyard.
324f74dd4eebaac3e5681b8f3e9a.jpeg

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Yellow team: A building clad in copper, wood, glass and slate, with a glass atrium on the south side. Inside, the market hall ceiling is patterned red brick, supported by matching octagonal brick columns.
5dc5435a48699da15ffa5b4de2ee.jpeg




More details and images can be found here: http://www.toronto.ca/stlawrence_market/design/


Can anyone guess which firm is responsible for which submission?
 
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At the media event this morning there were quite a few interesting comments. I'm pretty sure the city was expecting something slightly more historically significant, in form at least. Seeing the models really helps to understand which buildings have achieved a harmony with the site and which ones are completely alien. Two to three weeks before the decision is made as to which of these designs will grace the site. At least all designs put the farmers market component of the program front and centre.
 

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