ADRM
Senior Member
I want all those things.
I want all those things.
I think a grassroots movement is in order!
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jje1000
Senior Member
Haven't been in a while, but have they finished the gallery section between the third(?) floor Early Rome/Egypt/Greece section and the old main stairway? It was awkward when it was either completely empty or a temporary exhibit went in (meaning lots of partitions).
MetroMan
Senior Member
Totally agree. I'm one of the few who like the Michael Lee Chin Crystal and even the spaces within it but the cheap materials ruined it. Luckily, those can be remedied with refinishing galleries one by one over time.
- White ceramic or back painted glass walls in the galleries to replace the cheap drywall.
- Replace the mismatched exterior metal panels with white frosted glass panels. Install lighting under the skin so that the Crystal can glow at night in any colour.
- Finish the circuit. The Crystal has good circulation but it's suddenly ended where it meets the old wings. They were supposed to continue to a path to a south Crystal.
- The Stair of Wonders needs to be completely done. Everything from the anemic displays, to the cheap finishings, to the fire escape doors, to the lighting should all be redone. Get it dark in there. Add lights to carpeted stairs to eliminate the echo and make it comfortable. Build grand displays on each landing with meaningful artifacts. Replace the blast doors with fireproof glass doors. Play a voiced narration over music, informing visitors of what's on display in the museum and on which floor.
- The Spirit House is also tragically underused. I like @interchange42's idea of displaying the whale with underwater atmosphere through lighting and sound.
- Open up the Spirit House doors to the Gift Shop to provide more foot traffic through this space. I'd rather the gift shop be replaced with a café but I understand that gifts generate a significant revenue for museums. Maybe the gift shop could go where the coat check is today. That space is wasted given how few people check coats, even less so in the warm months. A café fronting Bloor would make the square out front far better used and active.
I like the idea of cutting out a much larger entrance. A ceiling high window would open up the view into the lobby from the street. Build it in the same style as the other windows. A black framed window with a set of black framed doors within it.
I don't see the need for a canopy though. Why are people waiting outside at all? The atrium is so large. Certainly, they could have a waiting area for a group. The Spirit House could be it or open up the ground floor as a non paid area as has been mentioned. Groups could wait anywhere in the atrium.
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Northern Light
Superstar
^^^^^^^^ This
In addition there are some functionality issues to be addressed in that lobby space. Perhaps the reopened Avenue entrance will assist, but there is definite over-crowding, and poor flow
With ROM hitting record attendance, I'd be interested to know whether the building, as configured is nearing capacity, based on current hours.
I spoke earlier in this or another thread about longer hours, as one option, not merely as a convenience, but as way to distribute traffic loan more evenly.
Building alterations may also be required.
Looking at museum traffic levels for North America, its not unreasonable to hope/expect attendance growth to the 1.6M annual range in the near future.
But that would be a 20% plus increase from today's levels.
Could that be sustained?
Some of it—about a third—has been given over to Byzantium, but the rest is still used for temporary exhibitions. I'd rather see temporary exhibits in dead end sections which you can just pass by if they're not currently on.
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I'd like a canopy for two reasons: they help signal important entrances from a distance, so they draw people, and there are times when I have been to the ROM and it's still lined up out the door and raining… so, for those days.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Clad the entire interior with ultra-highly polished and exactly flat stainless steel, and light it up properly. Forget the Spirit House, call it the Geode.
AoD
jje1000
Senior Member
That's definitely a problem with the space- I would almost prefer if they moved the Greek exhibits there (that area needs an update anyways), rather than having something so incredibly disruptive to the flow and experience of the space.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Well, thank goodness for this. I remember as a kid on school trips in the 1970s being in awe of that grand entrance.
Now if they can only chisel off that monstrosity on Bloor st. and give it a grand entrance that adds to the Edwardian architecture instead of intentionally contrasting with it.
greenleaf
Senior Member
Spirit House is already home to a permanent sound art installation by Canadian composer John Oswald that, for reasons I do not know, AFAIK they have not turned on in years.
"The space’s permanent sound installation is A Time to Hear for Here by multifaceted artist John Oswald. This unique auditory experience incorporates both random sounds, which may only happen once in a blue moon, such as a loon and a whale singing a duet, or a Chinese folk melody accompanied by a CN train whistle, and sounds that occur at a particular hour, such as a the first four notes of the Canadian national anthem timed to the noon horn in Vancouver, British Columbia."
edit to add: more info here [pdf].
"The space’s permanent sound installation is A Time to Hear for Here by multifaceted artist John Oswald. This unique auditory experience incorporates both random sounds, which may only happen once in a blue moon, such as a loon and a whale singing a duet, or a Chinese folk melody accompanied by a CN train whistle, and sounds that occur at a particular hour, such as a the first four notes of the Canadian national anthem timed to the noon horn in Vancouver, British Columbia."
edit to add: more info here [pdf].
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Admiral Beez
Superstar
CanadianNational
Senior Member
If I'm remembering this correctly, the original renderings for the spirit house showed it to have deep- red coloured walls, and the bridges were almost completely made of structural glass. A good coat of paint would do the trick for the first part. The second would require some serious rethinking.
Come to think of it, a rethinking of backgrounds to the exhibitions is overdue. A good coat of paint would greatly help a lot of the interior making it easier on the eye than the hard white there now. Glad to hear this reno is taking lighting into consideration.
Come to think of it, a rethinking of backgrounds to the exhibitions is overdue. A good coat of paint would greatly help a lot of the interior making it easier on the eye than the hard white there now. Glad to hear this reno is taking lighting into consideration.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
That is correct:
(not providing link to image since the site looks potentially dodgy)
AoD
Bogtrotter
Senior Member
Neat looking building- is it a museum? I'm pretty much through lamenting what should have been done at the ROM though. It's external appearance has grown on me- lets just push and hope for improvements to the interior. The new entrance looks awesome.