Toronto Ontario Court of Justice Toronto | 95.7m | 17s | Infrastructure ON | Renzo Piano

AndreaPalladio said:
Well, it's been used hard for almost 50 years and not well maintained. Some of the courtrooms are quite nice. The library is a gem, if it hasn't been reno-ed since the last time I was in there.
Click to expand...

I was there on an errand and I was shocked how by undignified the public space was - and the supporting office area is even more horrifying. It didn't carry the level of importance I thought it might.

AoD
 
Oh, the counters at the courthouses - pretty much how I expect the entrance to Hell to be. The old one at 145 queen was far worse - 1950s vintage with a cheap 70s reno over that, no air conditioning and rat infested. Good times.
 
junctionist said:
Courthouses should look distinctive and attractive being they house some of the most important institutions in our society. They shouldn't look like office buildings or hospitals. They have to stand out in the eyes of ordinary people.
Click to expand...
Why can't sick people and those who care for them have nice things?
 
G.L.17 said:
I saw quite a few mounds of dirt about as high as the fence the other day; I'm assuming for soil testing. Also, this article I found mentions the building may be between 14-30 storeys.

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201506294784/headline-news/lawyers-happy-as-new-courthouse-moves-forward
Click to expand...

They've actually excavated large sections of the site, revealing the foundations of some old buildings. The whole area used to be Toronto's first Chinatown before it was demolished to build new City Hall. There are likely some archaeological assessments happening. I took pictures from above but I'm too lazy to transfer them from my phone.
 
IMG_20150722_155936503.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20150722_155936503.jpg
    IMG_20150722_155936503.jpg
    1.3 MB · Views: 1,522
That's impressive, as are a number of Richard Meier courthouse designs. I'd like something of their calibre, with some gravitas in it. Patkau, Saucier + Perrotte, and Shim Sutcliffe are three Canadian firms which quickly spring to mind whom I'd like to see competing for this job. Based on some of their past work, I think we would get the dignity and solemnity a court house should have, with an ultramodern feel that these three firms bring to their work. I could see Siamak Hariri leading a design effort at HPA too. And a M or B design from KPMB; K's designs have been too minimalist of late to express anything other than faceless efficiency.

42
 
interchange42 said:
That's impressive, as are a number of Richard Meier courthouse designs. I'd like something of their calibre, with some gravitas in it. Patkau, Saucier + Perrotte, and Shim Sutcliffe are three Canadian firms which quickly spring to mind whom I'd like to see competing for this job. Based on some of their past work, I think we would get the dignity and solemnity a court house should have, with an ultramodern feel that these three firms bring to their work. I could see Siamak Hariri leading a design effort at HPA too. And a M or B design from KPMB; K's designs have been too minimalist of late to express anything other than faceless efficiency.

42
Click to expand...

Having Shim Sutcliffe would be amazing, especially considering they're an Ontario based firm. One thing though is they don't have much experience with large scale projects like the proposed, which might be a major drawback. H+P would be good too - iff they can come close to matching the excellence of their Bahai temple in Santiago.

No K and no D please - it felt like they have been just going through the motions lately.

The Minneapolis KPF project looks stuffy and feels like what you'd build in Toronto with precast. Try the various Richard Meier Federal Courthouses:

http://www.richardmeier.com/?projects=united-states-courthouse-islip-2
http://www.richardmeier.com/?projects=united-states-courthouse-phoenix-2
http://www.richardmeier.com/?projects=united-states-courthouse-san-diego-2

SOM:
http://www.som.com/projects/new_united_states_courthouse__los_angeles

Morphosis:
http://morphopedia.com/projects/wayne-lyman-morse-united-states-courthou

Safdie:
http://www.msafdie.com/#/projects/unitedstatesfederalcourthouse_springfield

We'd be lucky if we didn't get WZMH and the like, given the courthouse output from the IO.

AoD
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top