Sydney doesn't have much of a place to actually hear opera because their hall was designed from the outside shell inwards. That's no way to do an opera house, and it's tempting to say that it isn't much of a model for anything we'd want to build here no matter how desperately we crave spectacle - but empty shells can sometimes work for cultural buildings. The Crystal, a local example, has versatile gallery spaces that aren't custom-designed for specific collections - they can house whatever the ROM wants to put in them. Still, it was a hugely expensive way to do a linking wing, and it required massive amounts of construction material for the additional space that was built.
Are we still in an age that sees such extravagance in cultural buildings as appropriate ... or possible? I think the economic meltdown has put quite a damper on things. Besides, what local cultural institutions haven't already built themselves new homes?
The buildings we line the harbour with, such as Corus, are going to be seen from the lake and from the islands and from the waterfront promenade just as much as they will be from the mainland to the north of them - if not more so. Not that it could one-up the CN Tower, but if the RCYC decides to build anew rather than renovating their fine old club house on the island it would be nicely visible from the foot of the city.
