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If you were asked to name Toronto's institutions of higher learning, no doubt the big three universities would roll off your tongue quickly, and you would likely remember that OCAD recently became OCAD U, and you might even know all four schools in the community college system here. There are other places for advanced training though that not everyone knows about, and a small but prestigious one of these is found on the leafy grounds of the Windfields Estate, the former Bayview Avenue home of Canadian business magnate and philanthropist Edward P. Taylor.
In 1988 the acclaimed film director and Torontonian Norman Jewison founded the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) on the site in Taylor's mansion, with the first program attended by 12 aspiring filmmakers. Twenty six years later, 100 people now study at the centre annually in 16 different programs, and just last week the CFC unveiled the handsome Northern Dancer Pavilion, the school's answer to its growing needs, at its annual Garden party. The pavilion will serve as a home to the school's multidisciplinary programs. The CFC hopes that this new building will help it to modernize and increase its campus' functionality.
The building, designed by Ken Fukushima, is named after equine superstar, racehorse Northern Dancer, who passed away 24 years ago, was bred on E.P. Taylor's Windfields Farm. 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of his 1964 wins at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Queen's Plate. His racing career even warranted him entry into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1965 as the first non-human athlete.
E.P. Taylor and his wife bought the property in 1932 and commissioned the building of the farm, Windfields, in 1936. Following World War II the couple commissioned the building of the north wing of the main house, the Pool, the Stables and Cottages, and the Gatehouse, which served as office space for Mr. Taylor. In 1968 the Taylors gifted the property to the city of North York in support of their intent to lease the estate as a campus for the Canadian Film Centre. The CFC, the brainchild of Norman Jewison, was created to be a centre for advanced film studies.
Since its establishment, the CFC has had a significant influence on Canadian identity and storytelling as well as birthing some of the most famous Canadian film stars. The centre also provides its students with high-level training that involves learning from film greats like Spike Lee and David Cronenberg.
The Northern Dancer Pavilion is meant to bring together different aesthetic aspects of the Windfields estate in a way that captures the history and spirit its namesake and the Windfield farm, articulated in a sleek and modern form. The pavilion is constructed of glass and steel, the same materials used to build Windfield's greenhouse. The pavilion shares the same Western red cedar used on the roofs of the cottages, for its north and south exteriors. The pavilion's geometry was designed in accordance with the original site plan and strengthens the formal axis of the Main House and garden. The pavilion also pays its dues to the original property with its eastward and westward looking glass walls which preserve the view of the pastures where the Taylor's horses would have grazed.
The opening of the Northern Dancer Pavilion marks the completion of the CFC's Windfields Campus Improvement Project which was launched in 2009. The aim of the initiative was the update and upgrade the campus while preserving its heritage aesthetic both through preservation and incorporation of complimentary styles. The $12 million Windfields Campus Improvement Project was generously funded by the Government of Canada ($3.25 million), the Government of Ontario ($3.25 million), the City of Toronto ($1.5 million),the Ontario Trillium Foundation ($500,000), and private sector companies and individuals ($3.5 million), with Donald Ross as lead individual donor.
As the final project in the Canadaian Film Centre's revitalization, the Northern Dancer Pavilion bridges old with new and in a manner that highlights the history of the CFC's Windfields Estate grounds while embodying its innovative future.
