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The 2016 Luminato Festival has injected a shot of life into the rusting hulk of the Hearn Generating Station, as thousands of people flocked to the Port Lands over the past two weeks to take in the spectacle that not only included stunning artwork and performances, but also a rare look inside the decaying power plant. Luminato has sadly come to an end for another year, and as crews begin clearing out the cavernous space, the giant is now rolling over and falling back into its restless snooze, dreaming of the day it can finally reawaken for good. But even as the party leaves and the grounds empty out, the spotlight is now firmly fixed on the aging Hearn, and the conversation surrounding its uncertain future is only just getting started.
The 2016 edition of Luminato was a roaring success, with the highest number of tickets sold in the festival's 10-year history, and the largest ever number of individual donations received. But Clyde Wagner, executive producer of the festival, stated that the biggest surprise was the number of people interested in the building itself. "I know people bought the tickets, we were well sold," Wagner explained during an Urban Land Institute tour of the facility before the festival ended, "but the sheer number of people who just wanted to see the building itself, and see what we've done, that’s been a surprise, because we have thousands of people coming in just to walk around."
There was evidently a symbiotic relationship between the building and the art that it contained. Jörn Weisbrodt, artistic director of Luminato, and Wagner both recognized that the space of the Hearn presented a unique opportunity, and was not something to be overlooked when planning the festival. "Jörn and I decided that the building should be an artwork in itself, and that's how we approached it", Wagner explained. And it showed. The awe-inspiring space of the Hearn only enhanced the impact of the art installations and performances, and vice versa. The entire experience was a work of art.
When Jörn and Wagner first proposed occupying the Hearn, they were met with a lot of skepticism and incredulous looks. But sheer determination and a lot of hard work pushed the project to fruition, and Luminato became the first company to open up the aging Hearn to the public in an improbable feat. But Wagner explains that this is just what Luminato is all about:
“Part of David Pecaut’s vision for the Luminato festival as an economic driver for the city of Toronto was really to show people parts of the city that they’ve never been in, and to use the city and different aspects of it in a way that they had never seen before", Wagner stated. "We are kind of like cultural R&B. We do stuff in spaces that nobody really wants to go in, or maybe that people hadn’t seen before.”
So given the booming success of the Hearn experiment, will Luminato be returning to the site next year? Wagner doesn't think so. "The most wonderful thing about the festival is that we’re the most ephemeral thing that you'll ever witness", he exclaimed. "We are 17 days in and out and done. And all we are, our whole existence, is just to create and stimulate the imagination. We are like a memory factory, an experience factory. if you're not here during the 17 days, its not going to happen again."
The purpose of the festival, Wagner explained, is to change people's perceptions of the city and the spaces within it. It aims to get people thinking differently about the buildings and sites that they occupy, and at the same time, present a real-life proposal to the City of what can be done with these spaces. Wagner added that Luminato may return to the Hearn as the location of one or two isolated events or installations in the future, but never again will it all be held there. “I know there's lots of people who want me to say that we'll come back here next year. I don’t think that’s a good thing to do”.
Occupying the Hearn was no easy feat in the first place. After lying abandoned other than for movie shoots for the last 30 years, the Hearn had no electricity, plumbing, or water supply, and in order to allow the public in, the building had to be brought up to code. All the temporary staircases, railings, and even the elevator were added in specifically for the festival. Over 98,000 square feet of acoustic material was hung to control sound reverberations, and patchwork concrete was poured on the floor to provide a more walkable surface. Given budgetary and time issues, only the areas necessary for public access were cleared for safety; the rest was barricaded and left untouched.
Wagner described the 'safe zones' they created: “We spent weeks at a time with riggers going up to the ceiling and just pulling off debris that was just loose and ready to fall. And we did that throughout the areas that you're allowed to walk but if you go off of that path, we haven’t done any of that work”. He said that despite the extensive clearing, they were always weary to keep an eye on the ceiling for any signs of instability and falling objects. It was "a little bit like dark Disney", he added with a laugh.
But given the ephemerality of the festival, all of the added infrastructure mentioned above is being taken out of the building at this very moment, and the Hearn will once again return to its decaying state with barely a trace of the flurry of activity that took place within its walls. As the building empties out, there is one question left lingering in everyone's minds: what now?
This is exactly the dilemma that a group of students at Ryerson University, in conjunction with PARTISANS, the architects and designers in charge of setting up Luminato at the Hearn, attempted to tackle over a two-week studio focusing on the future of the site. At a pop-up session hosted at the Hearn, the projects were presented alongside comments from Weisbrodt, Alex Josephson of PARTISANS, and Ward 30 Councillor Paula Fletcher.
Recognizing the difficulties faced in re-occupying the Hearn, and the monstrous costs associated with upgrading the building, the requirements of the project asked students not only to reimagine the purpose of the structure, but to also find a way to finance it by adding millions of square feet of commercial, residential, and office space to the site. Though many people will cringe hearing the words 'condos' and 'the Hearn' in the same sentence, it is a sobering reminder of the realities that come with transforming a disused space and its associated pricetag.
Three proposals were presented, each outlining a different vision for the aging structure. They included the installation of urban agriculture within the building, stripping away the brick cladding in the process to expose the complex steel structure inside; transforming the structure into a station for Elon Musk's proposed Hyperloop track, complete with a shopping centre, office space, and condo units; and a sprawling 'carpet condominium' that drapes itself over and around the structure, but preserves the bulk of the Hearn as is, to be used as a multi-purpose space. The three projects were combined into one futuristic model.
The discussion surrounding the future of the Hearn is definitely a relevant one, given that the Port Lands are considered Toronto's next great development site, with space rapidly running out in the downtown core. Councillor Fletcher explained that she recognizes the importance of the Hearn, not only in terms of its heritage value and extraordinary spatial qualities, but also the potential that the building presents to become a great landmark in the city of Toronto. Having saved it from demolition some years ago, she is an active participant in the future of the site.
Both Fletcher and Josephson acknowledged that when considering the Hearn, we need to think big, and go beyond "just a skating rink" - a reference to a past proposal to turn the Hearn into ice rinks. Councillor Fletcher marked the Hearn as a catalyst for the development of the Port Lands, calling for "one big gesture" that will foster development in the area and lead to a healthy, thriving community. The building would be a landmark not just in the Port Lands, but in Toronto itself, and must set a precedent for future reuse projects in the city and beyond. One thing was unanimously agreed upon: it will be the centrepiece around which the Port Lands community will evolve, and it must be one grandiose statement that will resonate for years to come.
The Luminato festival and the Ryerson pop-up studio are only ephemeral ideas, real or imaginary proposals that have started the ball rolling on what to do with the rusting mass of the Hearn. But there were many engaging questions raised during the discussions, ones that designers and the public must consider for its future.
What about the Hearn is so captivating to its audiences, and what about it is worth keeping? Is it the vastness of its spaces, the nakedness of its construction, its associated industrial past, or the 'ruin porn' effect of its current state of abandonment? How do we occupy the space without diminishing the qualities that we aim to keep? How do we finance the endeavour and create a sustainable program for the building that will survive for generations to come? How do we preserve the qualities of the site as the land around it inevitably densifies?
While Luminato has left us with more questions than answers, it certainly has gotten us excited about one of Toronto's long-forgotten gems. We will keep you updated with any news on the future of the Hearn, but for the time being, Toronto's sleeping giant remains peacefully at rest along the water, waiting for its time to come.
Want to have your say on the future of the Hearn? Check out our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
