Toronto U of T: Robarts Library Renovations & Robarts Common | ?m | ?s | U of T | Diamond Schmitt

I hope that these won't get rid of those distinctly 1970s landscape lighting fixtures around Robarts. Presently, they need some refurbishment. But quality design in this regard is too often destroyed simply because of age and replaced with something banal, even if refurbishment of the quality originals is a valid possibility.
 
from the render it looks like 1. they will get rid of bicycle parking, 2. they will dye the concrete brown (I like the golden brown color; looks a bit like Stanford). But seriously, if done well, the new stairs could be a nice place to sit in the summer (but they do seem like a huge waste of concrete). Greater accessibility to the building from the ground level would be better, but I understand the desire to limit access points. I wish they had used some of the space to construct street oriented food options. As it is now, the "woking on wheels" and other food from a van are the best food options. The interior food court is tucked away inside the library, and that space could be used for better purposes. The food options should not be hidden inside the library, but should be street accessible.
 
More details here: http://donate.library.utoronto.ca/priorities/robarts-revitalization

As to what's there before - just imagine the space that's enclosed by the glazing as a windswept podium. A throughly unpleasant space that is bit of a wasted opportunity.

It looks like they're using spider clamps for the portico glazing (think Jackman Lounge at the Opera House) - it doesn't look very clear from the photo whether that's going to be the case.

AoD
 
If they carry this off as well as the Gerstein addition, I will be very happy. Well designed seating in libraries enhances life and the studying experience for students: while at Queens and later UT, the updated libraries were so much better than my ghetto homes and fluorescently illuminated former library spaces.
 
The word that comes to mind is wretched. And inappropriate. Totally dropped the ball on this one, as the initial rumours I heard from those in the know was that the addition was actually going to be a third pod in the style of Fisher and the Faculty of Information. The foundation for this third tower was apparently always there, and I and a lot of U of T librarians were told that the new addition was going to be essentially a picking-up-where-they-left-off initiative. This thing just blights the campus, and I say that as someone who actually *likes* Robarts and remembers when it was a well-run library. Why it isn't now is a whole other story....
 
Based on limited information to date, I'm pleased. I never liked Robarts, and a small amount of more recent appreciation for the (few) merits of brutalism hasn't changed my opinion! It looks like D&S have done what can be done to open up this Fort and blend some new features into it, to the extent possible.

Fiendish, the rest of us will likely not be able to comment on how well run the place is, or isn't, but I think this is a real step in making the building user-friendly. It gives at least a token nod to the surroundings, as opposed to the impression I have always had of a building where people hunker down behind high and unwelcoming facades.
 
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This reno is a step in the right direction, but i don't think there is the money (or vision) do really open Robarts up to the street.

There will be so much light in those new glass enclosed spaces that it will be difficult to read those computer displays. I wonder if they will incorporate some kind of window coverings. it will also be very expensive to AC in the summer.
 
I passed by Robarts on Huron today and saw that the extension may align perfectly with the old building. It looks like it was designed to be extended in that direction. However, it is quite unfortunate that the addition will have nothing to do with the original architecture because it'll probably look unnatural and tacked on.
 
It's not necessarily bad to have an addition to a building break with the tone or style of the original. Particularly when the original's style is clearlybad, even by the standards of brutalism. The building needs to make at least a token gesture to the street and its immediate neighbours. That has been absent so far, and the new addition appears to make at least some effort in this direction. There are several examples which come to mind of a building originally constructed in an "old" style, with a more recent addition in a more or less contrasting style, which does not seem to be out of place.
 
observer walt said:
it's not necessarily bad to have an addition to a building break with the tone or style of the original. Particularly when the original's style is clearlybad, even by the standards of brutalism. The building needs to make at least a token gesture to the street and its immediate neighbours. That has been absent so far, and the new addition appears to make at least some effort in this direction. There are several examples which come to mind of a building originally constructed in an "old" style, with a more recent addition in a more or less contrasting style, which does not seem to be out of place.
Click to expand...

rom?
 
There are those who would disagree that Robarts' style is "clearlybad". I would be one of those. You may not like Brutalism, but you would need to provide an argument as to why this building is not a good exemplar of the style.
 
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