HousingNowTO
Senior Member
Asking some fundamental questions about this site before it goes to Council this week -
Toronto Dawes Road Library Redevelopment | 16.45m | 4s | TPL | Perkins&Will
- Thread starter Northern Light
- Start date
Technical Difficulties
New Member
There was a rendering of the library in brad Bradfords most recent newsletter. It was not what I’d expected and quite honestly disappointing. It’s early and only exterior but far from what I’d hoped for. I’ll send a photo of the rendering shortly.
Northern Light
Superstar
I'm afraid I'm going to beat you to it............
Thanks for the tip........... took me a moment, but I found it on his Facebook Account.
Too opaque right off the bat. 100% needs more windows.
Need to see the Chapman (side street) frontage to better assess it.
Certainly original; but maybe a bit too much so for this site.
Technical Difficulties
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The perspective you’ve got is better but completely agree with you. This is what I saw. Imo for what It’s worth … not sure this is “Mayors design award” …
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Northern Light
Superstar
You've got the Chapman side in that rendering. Same issue as the Dawes side..........needs more transparency.
Also reads as a bit cold......
Technical Difficulties
New Member
I’m not an architect, or designer, simply Joe public. But in my opinion a graphical facade is not necessarily great design. For a community on the edge of revitalization, I personally think more should be expected. It’s early, the interiors could be amazing but I hope we see further iterations. I agree w @Northern Light - it reads a bit cold and is not super engaging to the street (or community).
TO Steve
New Member
It's more ambitious than I was expecting - and I suppose that's a good thing. It's also an improvement over the current building, but I have to agree with the above criticisms. In general, I don't like windowless walls, so when I see one, that's going to turn me off right away. Also agree, this is very much out of place within its neighborhood. I hope this isn't a final version. If they just remove that awful wrap, it might be decent. The section at the corner doesn't look bad.
postpostmodern
New Member
This is the new normal. More energy efficient building = more opaque surfaces on the south, west and east facades. This means architects need to find creative ways of bringing natural light into the buildings, such as through skylights, clerestory, through screens, etc.
Disagree with the idea that this doesn’t address the street. The ground floor is transparent and there are benches, planters, etc.
Just going off that one image… it looks like this will be a really special project. The large glazed area looking into the lobby space looks like a great moment. Can’t wait to see more. I have to agree that the pattern on the opaque facade isn’t doing it for me. Hopefully it evolves with time.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
I don't think it is cold, but I do feel that it looks cheesy and potentially cheap.
AoD
AoD
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Direct sunlight and books don't mix. It fades the spines / jackets and degrades the binding far quicker than temperate, indirectly lit, environments. This is why most of the great libraries are usually largely windowless. I mean, we're not going to get Beinecke here, but still, the image is illustrative of how to keep a collection safe and healthy:
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Direct sunlight and books don't mix. It fades the spines / jackets and degrades the binding far quicker than temperate, indirectly lit, environments. This is why most of the great libraries are usually largely windowless. I mean, we're not going to get Beinecke here, but still, the image is illustrative of how to keep a collection safe and healthy:
Though to be fair, it's a circulating community library - I doubt much of the collection has long-term value - plus wrapping the entire facade with an opaque material seems fairly heavy-handed given other recent TPL projects.
AoD
Northern Light
Superstar
Direct sunlight and books don't mix. It fades the spines / jackets and degrades the binding far quicker than temperate, indirectly lit, environments. This is why most of the great libraries are usually largely windowless. I mean, we're not going to get Beinecke here, but still, the image is illustrative of how to keep a collection safe and healthy:
One can easily filter the sunlight through the glazing or film applied to same.
One can also use window treatments and place shelving away from the windows which can be circulation and seating space.
I am fine with the First Nations arts and crafts symbology on the exterior wrap. I imagine there will be tweaks, but conceptually, bring it on!
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UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
Sooo...that Robarts Library Renovations thing is a deviation from this philosophy? >.<