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

Riverdale Rink Rat said:
Lastly, I think most Crystal haters have no clue that the modernist pile that was there before was not open to the public and didn't provide a way to get from one wing to the other. The number of gripes about the catwalks and passages from east to west ignores the fact that there was NO east/west route beforehand, except the main building. The Crystal has provided not just better exhibition space, permanent space, front entrance space and ancillary (restos/shops) space, it provides better circulation!

Cheers.
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There is nothing wrong with having catwalks. In fact, they're probably the right thing for that sort of space. My gripe is that the catwalks themselves feel cheap and temporary.

And no gripe about the fact that this has added space to the ROM, and that the space was sorely needed. From that sense--purely on the "added gallery" factor--the project has been successful. Of course, an enormous Quonset hut would have solved that issue, too, if all we're talking about is square footage.

What's sad to me about the ROM expansion is that it had the potential to be astounding--and for various reasons it is not. There are parts here and there that work, or that hint at what the structure could have been, but there are other parts that (for me at least) fail on just about every important factor. I'll cite the textles gallery again. For one thing, it's an example of the issue that turned this project from a crystal to something else: Textiles usually have to be displayed in low light. So you can't have a crystal. Instead, you have some very nice glass display cases--wonderful for seeing the textiles themselves, but in an odd-shaped and somewhat claustrophic space (especially for its size).
 
Regardless of the shape of the building - crystal, box, or sphere - the challenge of how to display light sensitive objects would be similar. I think you'd be on surer ground questioning the decision to display textiles in a space that might have been more suitable to displaying gemstones and minerals if the windows weren't screened.
 
The new entrance is so poorly designed, that it doesn't even have washroom facilitiies. As a result, as your leaving, unless you now what your in for, the barbarians that run the place won't let you back in to pee (at least just before closing).

(though at least with a small child they'll glare at you, and let you run for the washroom ...).

Quite dehumanizing ...

Of course, now I've got a membership ... I know to to head to the washrooms first ... but what about the poor tourists ... they must think Toronto a dreadful peeless city.
 
Urban Shocker said:
Regardless of the shape of the building - crystal, box, or sphere - the challenge of how to display light sensitive objects would be similar. I think you'd be on surer ground questioning the decision to display textiles in a space that might have been more suitable to displaying gemstones and minerals if the windows weren't screened.
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Completely agree with you there--the faults can't be pinned solely on the design, but in what the ROM has chosen to display in the space.

The other issue is the rotating exhibition space. The best special exhibitions I have seen at the museums I have visited over the years are those designed to bring you into the world of whatever is being exhibited--for instance, the recent exhibit at the Bata of chopines and high-heeled shoes was amazingly well-done, with the main exhibit area echoing Renaissance Italy, where many of the shoes came from, with the use of architectural elements and lighting. The special exhibition area in the Crystal, on the other hand, is not very adaptable. I saw the diamond exhibit there, which mostly worked, but it would be harder to customize that space for anything other than modern or abstract art or a science exhibit. Perhaps the fault of the ROM, but a fault nonetheless.
 
nfitz said:
The new entrance is so poorly designed, that it doesn't even have washroom facilitiies. As a result, as your leaving, unless you now what your in for, the barbarians that run the place won't let you back in to pee (at least just before closing).

(though at least with a small child they'll glare at you, and let you run for the washroom ...).

Quite dehumanizing ...

Of course, now I've got a membership ... I know to to head to the washrooms first ... but what about the poor tourists ... they must think Toronto a dreadful peeless city.
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Seriously? Given that the main floor washrooms are steps away, they should have built more washrooms before the ticket counter? Ridiculous.
 
FAC33 said:
Completely agree with you there--the faults can't be pinned solely on the design, but in what the ROM has chosen to display in the space.

The other issue is the rotating exhibition space. The best special exhibitions I have seen at the museums I have visited over the years are those designed to bring you into the world of whatever is being exhibited--for instance, the recent exhibit at the Bata of chopines and high-heeled shoes was amazingly well-done, with the main exhibit area echoing Renaissance Italy, where many of the shoes came from, with the use of architectural elements and lighting. The special exhibition area in the Crystal, on the other hand, is not very adaptable. I saw the diamond exhibit there, which mostly worked, but it would be harder to customize that space for anything other than modern or abstract art or a science exhibit. Perhaps the fault of the ROM, but a fault nonetheless.
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You can argue with the imagination of the curators at the ROM or the exhibitions, but the space is a huge empty box with very high ceilings. It is adaptable to a fault.

C'mon people, at least try with your kvetches! The Stair of (very few) Wonders! The unbelievably crappy views out of their (tres cher) resto! The ridiculously slow pace of renovation in the old galleries! Moaning about the placement of washrooms? That an empty space is empty?
 
I understand that the Rome / Near East / Byzantium / Nubia / Etruria galleries on the third floor centre block are on schedule to open this summer, as planned. As posted earlier, I was at a presentation a few months ago by the curators working on the adjacent Modern Design gallery, and the exhibits for that one are well beyond the early planning stage.

Frankly, I wasn't thrilled by the Water exhibition - when you've seen one bunch of newts, or whatever, in a tank you've seen them all - and I breezed through in no time at all. It didn't feel like a major show, rather an interesting and informative one that might have been better suited to the second floor gallery where Early Life will eventually go. Still, I'm less interested in the natural world than the ... er ... unnatural one.

As for future expansion, I understand that the ROM can build two additional floors on the Curatorial Centre if they want to. Then, they can either shift everything up by two floors and use the liberated space for more museum, or use the extra two floors for more storage/curatorial/ office space.
 
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Does anyone else feel:
1) The top floor of museum space is for the most part wasted space ... there's some nice exhibitions but it's very underwhelming.
2) The 'Canadian' section is really lackluster / same goes for the British section ... terrible disappointments in my books.

The mineral section was quite nice though.
 
Yes the top floor is the least interesting in my opinion, I thought it would feel open and airy with perhaps some views of the city. It also seems an awkward space to exhibit in, indeed they were having problems with leaks when I was last there- staff had a bucket crudely placed on top of one of the display cabinets to collect water. I guess as I reached the top of the crystal I was expecting something a little more exalting.
 
I hadn't visited the ROM in years; The last time was before the expansion opened. Taking it all in, I'd have to say I'm fairly disappointed overall. Over the years I've visited similar museums in various cities in America and Europe and really the ROM falls short of many of these. To be fair the dinosaurs / animals section isn't too bad. The mineral section is actually impressive, and the integration of technology (i.e. the touch screens that provide a description) was great [though the information presented is rather limited]. There's a museum in Houston that had a very similar display in terms of minerals and I found ROM's more engaging.

Now one thing, the building it self, is amazing! I almost half wonder if they emptied out the entire ROM and just left it bare (featuring the building) it'd be a much more impressive space. The angles / shapes / windows ... it's a great experience. The ROM does very little to integrate the museum with the building though - there are some interesting bits on the first floor and one of the stairwells but that's just about it.

It's interesting, as visiting the AGO, (and again I haven't been there in years but have seen many similar museums across the World) I was left with the opposite feeling. The AGO really stood out as one of the most interesting / engaging art museums I've see.
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
Seriously? Given that the main floor washrooms are steps away, they should have built more washrooms before the ticket counter? Ridiculous.
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Once you have passed through to the area where the ticket sales, coat check, and museum store are, museum staff don't let you return to those washrooms. If the policy wasn't so hardcore then more washrooms wouldn't be necessary; but the combination of not letting one use those washrooms, and not putting washrooms in the entrance area is a problem. And I'm not sure even meets the building code.

The entire expansion is a very disappointing space really. I'm sure a better architect could have made a lot more usable space for a lot less money, and still had something interesting visually to look at.

Not that the finished crystal even looks that impressive ... I expected more ... just looks tacky really. It was far more impressive when under construction with steel girders sticking out every which way.
 
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Unless you've thrown away your ticket, you can gain readmission.

Several of today's ROM Colloquium talks dealt directly with the idea of adaptability - Alexandra Palmer explained how the patterned floral fabric of one lovely item of 18th century clothing was recycled several times, including as late as the 1970s; Corey Keeble, in his talk, showed images of the interior of the S.S. Keewatin that had been refitted several times since she was launched in 1907. Similarly, the ROM Crystal has already undergone changes - Siamak Hariri designed those "permanent" display walls in the ICC gallery, and a ramp linking the Mammals gallery in the Crystal to the Birds galleries was added. The point Palmer made - that it's difficult, with fashion, to define precisely what era a garment "belongs" to - might just as well apply to buildings as they evolve.
 
Got into a discussion of the ROM yesterday with a couple of friends, one who is in the architectural/construction industry and another with ties to museum staff.

My architectural firm friend told me that there is apparently fairly severe leakage in the Crystal, while my museum friend confirmed that many of the curators at the ROM hate it. Apparently the textile department is particularly worried about their space because of some of the leakage issues.

On the positive side, my architectural friend indicated that the rickety catwalks are actually integrated into the building design and designed to move with expansion/contraction. So they're "supposed" to be that way.
 
Urban Shocker said:
Unless you've thrown away your ticket, you can gain readmission.
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I tried - they said no, because they were closing in a couple of minutes. It was only when I picked up my toddler and asked them where they wanted me to change the diaper in the lobby that they relented (for a minute I thought I was heading to McDonalds). I did e-mail a complaint with them at the time, perhaps they fixed their ways ... not that they responded. . Anytime since (this was about a year ago) I simply go before leaving the main hall .. (and with a 3-year old, you always need to go).

Still seems a bizarre design to me, especially as some days the gift store is open after museum closing. But the entire Crystal seems very poorly designed ... it could have been so much more.
 
The AGO gift shop is also open for half an hour after last admission to the galleries - but it doesn't open in the morning until the galleries have been open for 1 1/2 hours. The ROM Museum Store opens at the same time as the Museum galleries. These cultural institutions all have their own ways of doing things.
 
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