Toronto AGO: Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery | 48.35m | 6s | AGO | Selldorf

UtakataNoAnnex said:
Is it the style or execution of it that you are having issues with?
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Execution. Is it not obvious or am I about to spoil the AGO for you because once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Gehry created organic forms in his architecture and this staircase has unnatural kinks to the flow of the forms, whose only explanation is that it would have cost more to engineer a continuous form.

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The staircase in the interior follows those organics forms.

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Am I glad they spent the money on the interior instead of outside? Yes, but I would have rather they had just not built the stair outside if the budget didn't allow for it.
 
Fair point. The inside squiggle always worked better for me than the outside one. But I never quite sure if the outside one was an intentional thing in deconstructivism...or the engineers of it went, "What, how are supposed to do this!?"...and this is what they went with for the ages. >.<
 
I don't know if it was a factor, but the interior stair did crazy things when the falsework got stripped and it was a disaster to clad and finish it. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happened on the exterior barnacle stair, and it just didn't get the same level of TLC to fix. Because, really, what you're showing in the photos is something that could've been easily hid in the panels, but it wasn't for some reason or other
 
whatever said:
I don't know if it was a factor, but the interior stair did crazy things when the falsework got stripped and it was a disaster to clad and finish it. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happened on the exterior barnacle stair, and it just didn't get the same level of TLC to fix. Because, really, what you're showing in the photos is something that could've been easily hid in the panels, but it wasn't for some reason or other
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Only Frank would know but he can't answer anymore, IMO it was meant to be the way it is or he would have commented on it.
 
He wasn't exactly walking the floors and picking out issues like that. I could point to tons of finicky little details like that on that building
 
Frank does things for a reason and he often publicly says why he did them. What I am less sure of are the finer details which are likely left to contractors, developers and engineers to figure all out.
 
UtakataNoAnnex said:
Frank does things for a reason and he often publicly says why he did them. What I am less sure of are the finer details which are likely left to contractors, developers and engineers to figure all out.
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It’s been a long time but I recall that corners were cut to achieve the “main events”, Galleria Italia along Dundas and Walker Court. Aspects of the original scope were left out. The members lounge was updated years later sans-Gehry.

If there’s any indication that the AGO couldn’t afford him, it’s that this new wing isn’t being built by Gehry Partners. It would have been a good opportunity for Frank to add more of his flourish —perhaps correct shortcomings — and expand the gallery space while maintaining consistency. Selldorf has done a good job of keeping things in line but if the AGO could afford a Gehry, they would have gotten Frank Gehry to continue his work there.
 
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