Toronto Royal Ontario Museum | ?m | ?s | Daniel Libeskind

wyliepoon said:
I don't get the point of this list. Why create an "annual" list of ugliest buildings that have been standing, in some cases, for decades? Why not just haul out a bunch of brutalist building, throw in some ugly archaeological ruins, plus the Tower of Babel, and be done with it.

Also, does it occur to anybody that none of the ugly buildings come from China or from Dubai? Surely these places have produced some architectural blunders over the course of their construction booms.
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The point isn't to create an all-inclusive list... that would be impossible, which you know. The point is to bring shame to buildings like the ROM that are 1) clones (or by starchitects... barf) 2) bastardize an old building 3) built like a hackjob... shoddy 4) inefficient and 5) overrated.

Or at least the ROM falls into all those categories perfectly!
 
It seems bizarre to me that I don't see a single major building built in the UK 1950s through 1970s on this list. The entire city centre of Coventry surely is more deserving of this award than anything ... someone should firebomb it again.

I seriously question the functionability, usability, and amount of space per $ that the extension got ... but I don't see that it's even the ugliest building in Toronto, let alone top 10 in the world.
 
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Why are people getting worked up about this stupid listicle?

It was likely written in the five minutes before deadline, with plenty of cut and paste from a google search for "ugly buildings".
 
I love this building. In fact, I made it my home away from home for 2 years. I got a membership and moved my mobile office into the Crystal.

This year, the AGO lured me in with their members only lounge and the incredible Galleria Italia. Unfortunately, the ROM got rid of their member's lounge after the makeover and eventually the constant rush of shouting kids and nowhere quiet to retreat to pushed me away.

The only issues I have with the building are the cold looking skin (with mismatched slats) and the details on the interior finishings. The stair of wonders is far from wonderful.

When Thorsell leaves, I'm sure his successor will want to leave his mark and we'll probably see some of the issues resolved and maybe even a second phase -- the South Crystal -- implemented as originally planned.

I'd love to see the metal cladding replaced by opaque white glass (like what's going on FCP). It would just be a matter of replacing each slat with an identical glass version. Same mounting mechanism. The advantage here would be that LEDs could be installed under the skin for a nightly light show. The Crystal would actually look like a crystal, shimmering in the day and glowing in the night.
 
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You guys realize that a site like that only releases these lists as a way to bring people to their site, right? It's essentially free advertising for the site. Seems to have worked too.
 
Pretty vapid list with yer usual suspects strewn throughout. The "Beehive" looks rather brilliant, imo, and the Pompidou Centre remains as vital as ever. OTOH the Rug Hotel should be pinned to the #1 spot for all eternity.

As for the Crystal, sure it's a catastrophic failure on almost every level and is rightly despised by nearly all who cast their eyes on it, but 8th ugliest in the world? C'mon there are at least 7-8 local mutts that are far far worse. (HBC, MTCC, Harbour Sq, YEC, the five uglies, etc...)
 
I get the feeling this is less a list of 10 ugliest buildings on Earth than "here are 10 buildings which aren't my favorite." Everyone knows the ugliest buildings on Earth are the ones nobody knows about, while these are all relatively famous. The description for the ROM didn't even sound like they thought it was THAT ugly. All they said was that some people find it incongruous with the old ROM and then compared it to the I.M. Pei pyramid. That's not particularly damning or even inaccurate.

EDIT: My biggest annoyance with the ROM continues to be the area around the ROM. The Crystal is, from the outside at least, so sleek and bold that it hurts my head to see it facing two of the most bland and forgettable buildings in the entire City right across the street and that, imo at least, idiotic Church/Condo on the other corner. If we could just replace those with something that would compliment the ROM.
 
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MetroMan said:
I love this building. In fact, I made it my home away from home for 2 years. I got a membership and moved my mobile office into the Crystal.

This year, the AGO lured me in with their members only lounge and the incredible Galleria Italia. Unfortunately, the ROM got rid of their member's lounge after the makeover and eventually the constant rush of shouting kids and nowhere quiet to retreat to pushed me away.

The only issues I have with the building are the cold looking skin (with mismatched slats) and the details on the interior finishings. The stair of wonders is far from wonderful.

When Thorsell leaves, I'm sure his successor will want to leave his mark and we'll probably see some of the issues resolved and maybe even a second phase -- the South Crystal -- implemented as originally planned.

I'd love to see the metal cladding replaced by opaque white glass (like what's going on FCP). It would just be a matter of replacing each slat with an identical glass version. Same mounting mechanism. The advantage here would be that LEDs could be installed under the skin for a nightly light show. The Crystal would actually look like a crystal, shimmering in the day and glowing in the night.
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Brilliant idea MetroMan! The primary failure here is in those mismatching metal slats, I don't understand why the manufacturer wasn't sued for providing inferior materials and made to replace them.
 
Whoaccio said:
The Crystal is, from the outside at least, so sleek and bold that it hurts my head to see it facing two of the most bland and forgettable buildings in the entire City right across the street and that, imo at least, idiotic Church/Condo on the other corner. If we could just replace those with something that would compliment the ROM.
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Uh...the Park Plaza/Park Hyatt "bland and forgettable"? And Church Of The Redeemer expendable on behalf of "something that would compliment the ROM"? Uh...
 
Whoaccio said:
EDIT: My biggest annoyance with the ROM continues to be the area around the ROM. The Crystal is, from the outside at least, so sleek and bold that it hurts my head to see it facing two of the most bland and forgettable buildings in the entire City right across the street and that, imo at least, idiotic Church/Condo on the other corner. If we could just replace those with something that would compliment the ROM.
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I'm an atheist but I even like the church. It looks great on the corner. The McDonalds though.... that's a diff story. Can't wait to see it knocked down.
 
I think he meant to address the condo more than the church per se. Then again, knowing Whoaccio, it wouldn't surprise me if he felt the church was ridiculously out of place in its present situation and hence worth sacrificing, no matter what the self-styled urban/preservationist elite says...
 
First and foremost, allow me to borrow that old adage "any publicity is good publicity"... smile, kids, and get over the VirtualTourist bit of journalistic fluff. It is so easy to besmirch something in the cyberworld these days. If some hack critic in New York gives a shitty review to a visiting orchestra, for example, someone brainless goof on the other side of the globe may actually believe what's written. Those of us who received a functioning brain at birth may just pause long enough to question the critic's sensibilities, hearing, sensitivities, etc. The same approach applies to "virtual" architectural reviews.

My thinking of the ROM re-do has evolved. This doesn't mean I like it but I accept it. As much as I don't care for Libeskind's type of architectural metaphors, this thing in fact does offer something to the street.

The ROM has landed on the same list as the Pompidou, that's a compliment! Have a latte, and have a nice day.
 
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