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

As a long-time booster of the project, I'll admit that I'm disappointed with the exterior of the crystal... though it is 99% faithful to its rendered promise.

I'll also admit that the (misguided?) architectural opening left me astonished at how poorly some of the finishes appeared. I can only assume that some of these deficiencies have been/will be addressed.

On the other hand, I also saw some of the most extraordinary spaces I've ever seen, and I can only assume having dinos and calcites to gawk at ... will further enhance the experience.

Bottom line... the building's job (besides providing some display space) was to generate traffic. And it will deliver.

The Crystal's proposition to the outside world is "come in me". And I have little doubt they will. After all, how many dates have you had lately where the opportunity to "come in me" is on the table immediately?
 
3Dementia said:
The Crystal's proposition to the outside world is "come in me". And I have little doubt they will. After all, how many dates have you had lately where the opportunity to "come in me" is on the table immediately?
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I guess this goes a step or two further than the ‘gorgeous’ crowd in expressing one’s feelings about a building, or buildings.

Shall we point out that Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas has said just as much in several of his writings, and some would say in a few of his buildings as well.
 
GB: sorry for the tardy reply, but I keep getting "database error".

In any case "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I needed a shower.". I'm concerned about the tense. If you "needed" a shower... than I've done nothing wrong.

If after reading my post you "need" a shower... then I am surely guilty as charged. Since you have moderator powers, you can :
a) take a shower .. or
b) sanction me appropriately.
 
Irishmonk said:
A long time ago I stated somewhere in this thread that this would become Toronto's most detested building. As much as I hate people who say "I told you so," I have to say, "I. Told. You. So." Even brand new this ill conceived scrap heap is pig-ugly and it's only going to get worse with time. When things start breaking down, and the ROM can't afford basic repairs because they're still trying to pay down the construction costs, Libeskind's name will be mud in this town (as it already is in many other cities.) William Thorsell is stuck with a major headache of his own doing and it might be wise for him to sneak out of town before the debt monster and an irate citizenry begin looking for some payback. In the meantime it's nice to have writers like MacFarlane adding levity to a dire situation, and calling out the Emperor when he has no clothes.
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First of all, is Libeskind's name such "mud" in other cities that they're dying to tear down what he hath wrought? And who're those making such demands, anyway?

If it's the same kind of crowd to whom Boston City Hall is *that* city's "most detested building", then, I'm sorry, that's enough to make me run to Libeskind's defence, in spite of himself...
 
Let's face it: The L-angled thing is a disaster we gotta live with for a few more decades. L is the equivalent of American TV: loud in your face but cheaply produced garbage! I like the idea of L's vision; but at that corner it makes zero sense. The wasted opportunity for a nice strong streetwall with retail, a dramatic open view of the historic east and west wings (glass with maple wood pillars woulda been my solution), and useable gallery space. My insider mole@ROM tells me someone's gonna be seeking a new gig soon....
 
I don't think my previous post captures the fact that I actually like the new addition. I just don't think it has much timeless value. What I mean is that this addition will likely be to those in the coming decades what say brutalism or post modern structures are to us today. Some people like these styles and when well executed some of the structures built will stay with us for a long time but I have doubts about this one partly because it is an addition and not a stand-alone building. This however need not be viewed in a negative sense because the mandate of the addition is in my opinion closely aligned with what the architect came up with. It is supposed to be new, showy and create marketing buzz for the museum as it transforms itself from a place that houses historical and culturally significant items to a cultural event space. The fall out from this approach however is that eventually the new and punchy becomes old and dated, after which just like a nightclub or restaurant you are forced to re-model to survive.
 
Today I saw approximately 9 police cruisers, 5 fire trucks, a couple of ambulances and a bomb defusion vehicle at Bloor and Avenue, as well as cops directing traffic away from the ROM. Anybody caught wind of what was going on?
 
$600 a plate wow hope they got free coupons to McD's

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/280884

Suspicious package found at ROM a hoax
Nov 28, 2007 09:10 PM
Henry Stancu
Staff reporter

An elaborate bomb hoax forced the cancellation of a $600-a-plate black-tie fundraiser at the Royal Ontario Museum Wednesday night.

A suspicious package was found in the glass-covered lobby of the ROM around 6:15 p.m., Toronto police said. Bomb squad officers closed down University Ave. and Bloor St. W., in the area around the ROM. The upper floors of the museum were evacuated.

The event was supposed to attract about 2,500 people, but Bloor St. W. was closed between St. George St. and Avenue Rd., while University Ave. was closed between Bloor and Queen’s Park Circle, at Hoskins Ave, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

During the entire time, numerous people showed up for “Bloor Street Entertains,†the gala fundraiser benefiting the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, but all were turned away by police, who said the event was cancelled.

The event, which has run since 1997, is a series of dinners at 20 trendy Bloor St. W. and Yorkville-area restaurants. Guests paid $600 a plate. It’s the charitable organization’s largest source of revenue. This year’s event was to be co-chaired by Belinda Stronach.

The night was to have wrapped up with a party in the ROM. The police Bomb Squad X-rayed and examined the package at the scene, and found it to be made to look like a series of pipe bombs, wrapped together with wiring. It didn’t contain an explosive device
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I've seen this type of criticism of Libeskind's work before TrickyRicky, and you may be on to something in your analogies. The man certainly carries flash-and-clash in his hip pocket with many of his buildings, and invariably he gets that visceral reaction we are now seeing in Toronto of love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore it.

Personally, I think this effort will be around for a while even if it some day must be renovated, but I respect your difference of opinion. I am more of a waffler, however, on the L-Tower. The interior of the ROM Addition is a revelation in its own way, and the aggressive pose that it takes on the streets is becoming legend on a daily basis.

I am already on record as preferring the cladding of the Denver Art Museum Addition, but I still think that Toronto will settle down and accept this one eventually.
 
So that's what all those ostentatiously-dressed people were doing around there. I also noticed that both the Rolls-Royce dealership (beside Hazelton Lanes) and Birk's at Manulife appeared to be hosting VIP functions (the latter had lined the entire stretch of Balmuto with black, imposing limos. At first I thought I was witnessing a funeral procession for a mafia kingpin).
 
The latest I've heard about the new hardcover book on the ROM's architecture is that it'll be out in mid-December.

Member's Preview is December 14th: I'm looking forward to the talk at 11 am about the planning of the Dinosaur gallery, given by Janet Waddington, assistant curator of Paleontology.
 
Spoonman said:
So that's what all those ostentatiously-dressed people were doing around there. I also noticed that both the Rolls-Royce dealership (beside Hazelton Lanes) and Birk's at Manulife appeared to be hosting VIP functions (the latter had lined the entire stretch of Balmuto with black, imposing limos. At first I thought I was witnessing a funeral procession for a mafia kingpin).
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That's how the event works. Black tie dinners at various Bloor/Yorkville stores, then the after party at the ROM for those people and those who only want to spend $100 bucks on a ticket.
 
Zephyr said:
I've seen this type of criticism of Libeskind's work before TrickyRicky, and you may be on to something in your analogies. The man certainly carries flash-and-clash in his hip pocket with many of his buildings, and invariably he gets that visceral reaction we are now seeing in Toronto of love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore it.

Personally, I think this effort will be around for a while even if it some day must be renovated, but I respect your difference of opinion. I am more of a waffler, however, on the L-Tower. The interior of the ROM Addition is a revelation in its own way, and the aggressive pose that it takes on the streets is becoming legend on a daily basis.

I am already on record as preferring the cladding of the Denver Art Museum Addition, but I still think that Toronto will settle down and accept this one eventually.
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Agreed. I wouldn't even mind the L Tower if it were a stand alone building. It's the fact that they want to clumisly graft it on to an already beautiful building that I don't like.
 
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