TOareaFan
Superstar
Maybe a big chute to take the ice down.....who knows....it could double as an indoor toboggan slide! 
Toronto Ryerson's Mattamy Athletics Centre + Loblaws at the Gardens | ?m | ?s | Ryerson University | Turner Fleischer
steveve
Senior Member
it's funny how i was walking past Maple Leaf Gardens at night a few weeks ago and noticed Citytv interviewing some people!... I snapped a shot and didn't realize what was happening the day after!... I'll post the picture if you really want but there's nothing to see except a news reporter interviewing someone.
JasonParis
Moderator
Last edited:
steveve
Senior Member
Cool! ^ Things are happening!
wyliepoon
Senior Member
In Hong Kong, skating rinks in shopping malls are located on insanely high floors. A skating rink at Megabox is located on 10/F, which in Canada would be the 11th Floor. Another rink at Dragon Centre is located on 9/F (10th floor in Canada).
Megabox skating rink
The rink is located inside the big arched window.
yyzer
Senior Member
from today's Globe.....
Elizabeth Church
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Mar. 01, 2010 3:18AM EST
Last updated on Monday, Mar. 01, 2010 4:20AM EST
.When the puck drops at Maple Leaf Gardens' new centre ice, fans will find plenty to remind them of the rink's past glories, say the two men chosen to refurbish part of the landmark arena.
The huge lights that lit the Leafs' way to 11 Stanley Cups will be back in place, fitted with energy-saving technology. The rafters they hang from will be the same. Even the colours of the seats will likely hearken back to the time when they could fetch double their ticket-price from the scalpers who lingered at Yonge and Carleton streets on Saturday nights.
“There will be lots of subtle hints,” says Chris O'Reilly, a partner at Toronto-based BBB Architects, the firm chosen by Ryerson University to design its new $60-million athletic centre and rink that will fit into the upper levels of the famous building.
The firm's selection will be announced by the university today and follows a space-sharing deal reached in December between Ryerson and Loblaw Co. Ltd., owner of the property. The reconfigured Gardens will include underground parking, a 70,000-square-foot supermarket at street level and a Joe Fresh clothing store, as well as gym facilities for Ryerson students. The unique deal will give the landlocked downtown campus badly needed new facilities and provides Loblaw with a partner for the massive redevelopment of the site that has sat mostly unused since it was bought in 2004.
Mr. O'Reilly and partner Greg Alexander will be responsible for designing Ryerson's space in the upper floors of the building and the main entrance off Carleton Street. They will work with Stadium Consultants International, a subsidiary of their firm, and bring to the job a long list of sports projects. This is the same team behind the current redesign of another iconic arena, New York's Madison Square Garden. In Toronto, the firm designed the Air Canada Centre, Ricoh Coliseum and BMO Field at Exhibition Place. They also worked on Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome, Edmonton's Rexall Place and today will unveil plans for a new stadium in Regina.
In the case of the Gardens, the seating at the new rink will be much smaller than the original, although the exact numbers have yet to be decided. Both men say their aim is to preserve elements of the old rink, and they are even considering working into their designs the viewing area known as the “Ballard Bunker,” where former Leafs owner Harold Ballard watched the games. Ryerson's colours – blue and gold – conveniently are the same as two of the Gardens' seat sections and Mr. O'Reilly said he hopes to make use of that.
“We want to celebrate the history of Maple Leaf Gardens without replicating it,” said Mr. Alexander, who grew up in Montreal following the Habs. When he moved to Toronto, he says he discovered the Gardens was a welcoming place for all hockey fans.
Mr. O'Reilly, who will take the lead on the Gardens project, said the firm also is looking at how to use the arena's old scoreboard, perhaps incorporating new technology developed by Ryerson students and graduates.
He also stressed that the centre – paid for with a new student levy, federal funding and private donations – will be accessible to everyone through tours and public skating.
Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said his hope is that the athletic centre also can become a showcase for the work of Ryerson students. To help spark that collaboration, he recently took the two architects on a tour of the school's Digital Media Zone, a fledging project designed to give students support to develop new tech products and collaborate with businesses on ideas.
“Every time you think of employing technology, think here,” he told the two architects during the visit. “I want this place humming in the summer with students doing creative work and getting well-paid jobs.”
The $20-million grant from the federal government, part of Ottawa's economic stimulus package, means the construction work on the new rink and athletic centre must be completed by next spring.
For that reason, the project is well into the design phase, the partners say. They expect to unveil the first drawings for the site in the next few months.
Elizabeth Church
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Mar. 01, 2010 3:18AM EST
Last updated on Monday, Mar. 01, 2010 4:20AM EST
.When the puck drops at Maple Leaf Gardens' new centre ice, fans will find plenty to remind them of the rink's past glories, say the two men chosen to refurbish part of the landmark arena.
The huge lights that lit the Leafs' way to 11 Stanley Cups will be back in place, fitted with energy-saving technology. The rafters they hang from will be the same. Even the colours of the seats will likely hearken back to the time when they could fetch double their ticket-price from the scalpers who lingered at Yonge and Carleton streets on Saturday nights.
“There will be lots of subtle hints,” says Chris O'Reilly, a partner at Toronto-based BBB Architects, the firm chosen by Ryerson University to design its new $60-million athletic centre and rink that will fit into the upper levels of the famous building.
The firm's selection will be announced by the university today and follows a space-sharing deal reached in December between Ryerson and Loblaw Co. Ltd., owner of the property. The reconfigured Gardens will include underground parking, a 70,000-square-foot supermarket at street level and a Joe Fresh clothing store, as well as gym facilities for Ryerson students. The unique deal will give the landlocked downtown campus badly needed new facilities and provides Loblaw with a partner for the massive redevelopment of the site that has sat mostly unused since it was bought in 2004.
Mr. O'Reilly and partner Greg Alexander will be responsible for designing Ryerson's space in the upper floors of the building and the main entrance off Carleton Street. They will work with Stadium Consultants International, a subsidiary of their firm, and bring to the job a long list of sports projects. This is the same team behind the current redesign of another iconic arena, New York's Madison Square Garden. In Toronto, the firm designed the Air Canada Centre, Ricoh Coliseum and BMO Field at Exhibition Place. They also worked on Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome, Edmonton's Rexall Place and today will unveil plans for a new stadium in Regina.
In the case of the Gardens, the seating at the new rink will be much smaller than the original, although the exact numbers have yet to be decided. Both men say their aim is to preserve elements of the old rink, and they are even considering working into their designs the viewing area known as the “Ballard Bunker,” where former Leafs owner Harold Ballard watched the games. Ryerson's colours – blue and gold – conveniently are the same as two of the Gardens' seat sections and Mr. O'Reilly said he hopes to make use of that.
“We want to celebrate the history of Maple Leaf Gardens without replicating it,” said Mr. Alexander, who grew up in Montreal following the Habs. When he moved to Toronto, he says he discovered the Gardens was a welcoming place for all hockey fans.
Mr. O'Reilly, who will take the lead on the Gardens project, said the firm also is looking at how to use the arena's old scoreboard, perhaps incorporating new technology developed by Ryerson students and graduates.
He also stressed that the centre – paid for with a new student levy, federal funding and private donations – will be accessible to everyone through tours and public skating.
Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said his hope is that the athletic centre also can become a showcase for the work of Ryerson students. To help spark that collaboration, he recently took the two architects on a tour of the school's Digital Media Zone, a fledging project designed to give students support to develop new tech products and collaborate with businesses on ideas.
“Every time you think of employing technology, think here,” he told the two architects during the visit. “I want this place humming in the summer with students doing creative work and getting well-paid jobs.”
The $20-million grant from the federal government, part of Ottawa's economic stimulus package, means the construction work on the new rink and athletic centre must be completed by next spring.
For that reason, the project is well into the design phase, the partners say. They expect to unveil the first drawings for the site in the next few months.
savevp
Active Member
This can be seen as a good sign of the things to come regarding the store's impact on the facade. Loblaws erected this tasteful sign with rich colours rather than a bright, flashy sign.
Ideally, I would hope that they stuck with an all-white logo sign when completed. You know what would be really cool but will never happen? If they wrote Loblaws Supermarket in the original lettering of Maple Leaf Gardens (same font, location, etc.). That would be better than a logo but less likely.
Maybe I will write them and suggest that later.
adma
Superstar
When you say "original lettering", you mean 1931-style or 1990s-style?
jswag
Active Member
From today's Star
The men behind the Maple Leaf Gardens makeover
Architects chosen to remake iconic building have close hockey connections
The sacred home of the Toronto Maple Leafs will be transformed by a Canadiens fan and the brother of one of Boston's most famous Bruins.
Greg Alexander and Chris O'Reilly are principals with BBB Architects, a local firm that has created major Canadian sports arenas such as the Air Canada Centre and Vancouver's GM Place, and is handling the renovation of New York's Madison Square Garden. Loblaws will design its own store on the main floor.
The Star asked Greg Alexander for his take on the historic project.
Q: So, you're a Montreal Canadiens fan?
(Laughs) I'm going to stop talking about this; it's going to get me in trouble. I think it's fair to say that if you grew up in Montreal you wouldn't have been a Leafs fan. After we moved here, I remember taking my kids to Maple Leaf Gardens and the dilemma was always whether to wear the Canadiens sweatshirt. Chris grew up here and he was a Leafs fan. He's also the brother of (legendary Boston Bruins right-winger) Terry O'Reilly.
Maple Leaf Gardens is the only one of the original six arenas left. What Montreal did to the Forum was not so great. There's nothing left, there's no sense of ... what it used to be. It will be nice to do this project, which will have more of a sense of the original.
Q. What historic elements are you hoping to keep?
We've discussed reusing the original scoreboard but updating it with new technology. Same thing with those large lighting fixtures that used to hang from the original rafters. ... We're looking at including some of the original colour coding, the blues and the golds, which happen to be Ryerson colours as well. Some of the geometry of the lower bowl, the rinkside seating that was unique to that arrangement, that might be included as well. There also may be a seating area that recalls Harold Ballard's private box within the bowl area. Obviously the large cathedral-like ceiling is going to be left intact and repainted and made to look beautiful. It already is beautiful.
Q. How do the other sports arenas BBB has done compare?
It's a renovation project, so it's similar to the Ricoh Coliseum, which was a historic building at the Ex. We had to go in and renovate: We raised the roof and lowered the bowl element, turned it into a spectator facility. It was the same thing with the ACC – we kept the existing post office building facade.
It's a totally different animal than Madison Square Garden, as that's a revenue-generating facility, not for a university. But it is multi-use. Maple Leaf Gardens will have programming for Ryerson sporting events in the bowl and arena component, and then volleyball, basketball, gymnasiums and workout rooms for students as well.
Q. What can you tell me about the entranceway?
The entrance will be off Carlton St., underneath the marquee that exists now. When you walk into the main entrance, there will be a lot of vertical connection between that and the upper level. You won't be able to look into the seating bowl, but you'll be able to go up to the top level and have a great view of the new facility and see into some of Ryerson's space.
Q. Will Ryerson students be involved with some of the design?
We're looking to collaborate with some of the students in the digital media zone, using some of the innovative multimedia projects that they're involved in. There are great opportunities for images on the sidewalk or lights inside.
There will be a history presentation in the main lobby. Some of that will be fixed objects, like photographs, but some of it could be projected images of the historical nature of the Gardens, celebrating that within the space.
Q. The federal government's $20 million grant is conditional on it all being ready by next spring. Is that a tight deadline?
Yes, we need to be finished by March 2011. It's a very challenging time frame. We're moving forward with the design and Loblaws is already excavating below grade and pouring slabs and putting parking on the lower level.
We hope to have drawings of the athletic space in several months. It's just going to be ongoing from now till next March, obviously from the ground up. After all, everything has to fit on footings and foundations.
----------------
Interesting to me that Loblaws is "already excavating below grade and pouring slabs"-- anyone notice any activity associated with that type of construction on-site?
The men behind the Maple Leaf Gardens makeover
Architects chosen to remake iconic building have close hockey connections
The sacred home of the Toronto Maple Leafs will be transformed by a Canadiens fan and the brother of one of Boston's most famous Bruins.
Greg Alexander and Chris O'Reilly are principals with BBB Architects, a local firm that has created major Canadian sports arenas such as the Air Canada Centre and Vancouver's GM Place, and is handling the renovation of New York's Madison Square Garden. Loblaws will design its own store on the main floor.
The Star asked Greg Alexander for his take on the historic project.
Q: So, you're a Montreal Canadiens fan?
(Laughs) I'm going to stop talking about this; it's going to get me in trouble. I think it's fair to say that if you grew up in Montreal you wouldn't have been a Leafs fan. After we moved here, I remember taking my kids to Maple Leaf Gardens and the dilemma was always whether to wear the Canadiens sweatshirt. Chris grew up here and he was a Leafs fan. He's also the brother of (legendary Boston Bruins right-winger) Terry O'Reilly.
Maple Leaf Gardens is the only one of the original six arenas left. What Montreal did to the Forum was not so great. There's nothing left, there's no sense of ... what it used to be. It will be nice to do this project, which will have more of a sense of the original.
Q. What historic elements are you hoping to keep?
We've discussed reusing the original scoreboard but updating it with new technology. Same thing with those large lighting fixtures that used to hang from the original rafters. ... We're looking at including some of the original colour coding, the blues and the golds, which happen to be Ryerson colours as well. Some of the geometry of the lower bowl, the rinkside seating that was unique to that arrangement, that might be included as well. There also may be a seating area that recalls Harold Ballard's private box within the bowl area. Obviously the large cathedral-like ceiling is going to be left intact and repainted and made to look beautiful. It already is beautiful.
Q. How do the other sports arenas BBB has done compare?
It's a renovation project, so it's similar to the Ricoh Coliseum, which was a historic building at the Ex. We had to go in and renovate: We raised the roof and lowered the bowl element, turned it into a spectator facility. It was the same thing with the ACC – we kept the existing post office building facade.
It's a totally different animal than Madison Square Garden, as that's a revenue-generating facility, not for a university. But it is multi-use. Maple Leaf Gardens will have programming for Ryerson sporting events in the bowl and arena component, and then volleyball, basketball, gymnasiums and workout rooms for students as well.
Q. What can you tell me about the entranceway?
The entrance will be off Carlton St., underneath the marquee that exists now. When you walk into the main entrance, there will be a lot of vertical connection between that and the upper level. You won't be able to look into the seating bowl, but you'll be able to go up to the top level and have a great view of the new facility and see into some of Ryerson's space.
Q. Will Ryerson students be involved with some of the design?
We're looking to collaborate with some of the students in the digital media zone, using some of the innovative multimedia projects that they're involved in. There are great opportunities for images on the sidewalk or lights inside.
There will be a history presentation in the main lobby. Some of that will be fixed objects, like photographs, but some of it could be projected images of the historical nature of the Gardens, celebrating that within the space.
Q. The federal government's $20 million grant is conditional on it all being ready by next spring. Is that a tight deadline?
Yes, we need to be finished by March 2011. It's a very challenging time frame. We're moving forward with the design and Loblaws is already excavating below grade and pouring slabs and putting parking on the lower level.
We hope to have drawings of the athletic space in several months. It's just going to be ongoing from now till next March, obviously from the ground up. After all, everything has to fit on footings and foundations.
----------------
Interesting to me that Loblaws is "already excavating below grade and pouring slabs"-- anyone notice any activity associated with that type of construction on-site?
savevp
Active Member
I was kind of thinking the 90's lettering. It is kind of iconic of the Gardens. Nevertheless, it is unlikely to happen. Just wishful thinking.
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Today
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From Globe Real Estate:
Property Report
Play called for renos at Maple Leaf Gardens
BBB Architects accepts makeover challenge – complete with a new ice rink two floors up from street level
Published on Monday, Mar. 08, 2010 8:00PM EST
Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 09, 2010 9:46AM EST
Getting the makeover at Maple Leaf Gardens just right might not be as difficult as winning the Stanley Cup, but neither is it going to be easy. Built in 1931, the iconic Toronto building is more than a place. It's an authentic link to the past.
The challenge, then, is to reinvent the downtown property – creating a new ice surface, for instance, two levels above the street – for new generations of users while remaining true to the building's roots. A unique set of partners is digging deep to do just that.
When completed in 2011, the building will reopen as the Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre at Maple Leaf Gardens, with a rink and athletic centre for the downtown campus and a 70,000-square-foot supermarket for Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
Each partner will own its portion of the building – making the university and the private business like linemates on a new kind of team. (Ryerson's portion will mainly be for students, but there are plans to also make it accessible to the community.) Ottawa is contributing $20-million to the project through its infrastructure stimulus fund, Ryerson will raise $20-million from student fees, and the final $20-million will be raised by Ryerson and Loblaw through a joint fund-raising campaign, including a $5-million contribution from the grocery giant.
A basement will be dug below the original building for a new level of parking and then a ground-floor supermarket and a second-floor Joe Fresh store will be built.
Meanwhile, Ryerson last week chose sports and entertainment facility leaders BBB Architects of Toronto to refashion the sporting part of the Gardens. BBB is working on a several hundred million renovation of Madison Square Garden in New York, where the ice rink slab is five floors above 8th Avenue.
“Everyone probably has at least one distinct memory of attending an event at Maple Leaf Gardens,” says architect Chris O'Reilly, one of four partners at BBB, who attended his first NHL hockey game there as a child in the early 70s. “I had never been in such a large room with so many people before. The mood was electric. I remember being quite fascinated with the volume and height of the domed ceiling high above the ice surface. I am sure I spent an equal amount of time examining the structure of the building above as I did the hockey action on the ice below.”
It's a good thing he did. Property Report asked Mr. O'Reilly to explain the challenges of the job.
Front entry
The main entrance will be located beneath a restored canopy on Carlton Street. The open-concept, double-height lobby will house a grand staircase, escalator and elevators to transport people to the floors above.
The space may include a vertical digital wall to display historical images of the building and its events. Ryerson's Digital Media Zone students are exploring new technologies that may be worked into the design.
Ryerson students will enter their secure premises one level above the street. We are in the process of developing a detailed space program with Ryerson, however the main areas on this floor will be a double gym for basketball and volleyball with seating for 1,000, along with a recreation court, high-performance training gym, multiuse fitness rooms, locker rooms, juice café and student lounge area.
The next level up will accommodate the new ice rink floor with associated change rooms, ice refrigeration plant and resurfacing machine room, along with some classroom and multi-purpose room space. People attending an event in the new arena will enter at rink level, or continue to the uppermost level by escalator to the new arena seating bowl beneath the dome roof.
Public concourses at the west and east sides of the bowl will provide circulation area, direct access to the seating areas, washrooms (no troughs) and food and beverage kiosks. An alumni lounge is proposed to stretch across the north edge of the seating bowl. The arena space will be used for Ryerson hockey, basketball and volleyball games, exam writing, convocation ceremonies and other university functions.
Ice rink
One of the more challenging requirements of this project is building an ice rink slab two floors above street level. The technology of an elevated ice slab is not new, but special attention must be given to the detailing and waterproofing, to avoid leakage into finished areas below. The new rink will be NHL size – 85 feet by 200 feet. A refrigeration plant at this level will pump a cold brine solution through a network of pipes, cast within the rink slab, to cool its surface. As water is applied to the surface of the concrete, thin layers are built up to an overall thickness of about 1 to 11/2 inches of ice.
The concrete rink slab can be likened more to a piece of mechanical equipment than to part of the building structure. The slab will play no part in supporting the building. Instead, the six-inch-thick slab will rest on a composition of insulation, poly slip sheet and sand bed on a structural floor supported by a gridwork of columns to be constructed within the existing building envelope.
The ice resurfacing machine will also be kept here for ease of access to the ice surface. If it needs repairs, it can be taken down in a large freight elevator.
Ice was last made at the Gardens in November for CBC's Battle of the Blades , above.
Ceiling
The cathedral-like dome roof is being retained and will be a dominant feature of the interior. The dome is supported at its base by a rectangular configuration of twenty-foot-deep steel trusses. These trusses and dome were obviously quite high in relation to the original ice surface and seating areas of Maple Leaf Gardens. With the new raised ice floor configuration, the new concourse floor and seating bowl will be immediately beneath the large truss, and much closer to the dome ceiling.
The interior of the dome is being stripped of the unsightly acoustic baffles that hung there. The existing catwalks throughout the underside of the dome are still intact and will be maintained.
The energy efficiency of the building envelope will be improved with new insulation and windows, and the external surface of the dome will receive a new cladding. We will utilize as many existing window openings possible at all levels of the Ryerson space to allow natural light to penetrate. Ryerson is considering retaining the existing scoreboard, but with updated technology designed by Digital Media Zone students.
Seating
BBB is developing a seating layout based on the concept of the lower bowl of the original Gardens. A degree of authenticity is planned in a variety of areas where possible. Some distinctive features are the “rail seats” immediately around the rink boards, and the gold “box seating” areas, which were defined by half walls around the perimeter.
Some of the original seats are in storage, but we have yet to assess their physical size and condition to determine whether some will be reused. Many of the original seats were quite snug, to say the least, with restricted legroom, which we don't intend on re-creating. The new layout will conform to modern building code requirements. Perhaps one designated section of the new seating bowl might contain original chairs. We will also consider the application of the original gold, red and blue colour scheme of the original lower bowl, of which the gold and blue coincide with the Ryerson colours.
The large lamp housings that were suspended above the original ice rink may be reused – with new, more efficient lamp technology – to illuminate the rink.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real...r-renos-at-maple-leaf-gardens/article1494023/
AoD
Property Report
Play called for renos at Maple Leaf Gardens
BBB Architects accepts makeover challenge – complete with a new ice rink two floors up from street level
Published on Monday, Mar. 08, 2010 8:00PM EST
Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 09, 2010 9:46AM EST
Getting the makeover at Maple Leaf Gardens just right might not be as difficult as winning the Stanley Cup, but neither is it going to be easy. Built in 1931, the iconic Toronto building is more than a place. It's an authentic link to the past.
The challenge, then, is to reinvent the downtown property – creating a new ice surface, for instance, two levels above the street – for new generations of users while remaining true to the building's roots. A unique set of partners is digging deep to do just that.
When completed in 2011, the building will reopen as the Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre at Maple Leaf Gardens, with a rink and athletic centre for the downtown campus and a 70,000-square-foot supermarket for Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
Each partner will own its portion of the building – making the university and the private business like linemates on a new kind of team. (Ryerson's portion will mainly be for students, but there are plans to also make it accessible to the community.) Ottawa is contributing $20-million to the project through its infrastructure stimulus fund, Ryerson will raise $20-million from student fees, and the final $20-million will be raised by Ryerson and Loblaw through a joint fund-raising campaign, including a $5-million contribution from the grocery giant.
A basement will be dug below the original building for a new level of parking and then a ground-floor supermarket and a second-floor Joe Fresh store will be built.
Meanwhile, Ryerson last week chose sports and entertainment facility leaders BBB Architects of Toronto to refashion the sporting part of the Gardens. BBB is working on a several hundred million renovation of Madison Square Garden in New York, where the ice rink slab is five floors above 8th Avenue.
“Everyone probably has at least one distinct memory of attending an event at Maple Leaf Gardens,” says architect Chris O'Reilly, one of four partners at BBB, who attended his first NHL hockey game there as a child in the early 70s. “I had never been in such a large room with so many people before. The mood was electric. I remember being quite fascinated with the volume and height of the domed ceiling high above the ice surface. I am sure I spent an equal amount of time examining the structure of the building above as I did the hockey action on the ice below.”
It's a good thing he did. Property Report asked Mr. O'Reilly to explain the challenges of the job.
Front entry
The main entrance will be located beneath a restored canopy on Carlton Street. The open-concept, double-height lobby will house a grand staircase, escalator and elevators to transport people to the floors above.
The space may include a vertical digital wall to display historical images of the building and its events. Ryerson's Digital Media Zone students are exploring new technologies that may be worked into the design.
Ryerson students will enter their secure premises one level above the street. We are in the process of developing a detailed space program with Ryerson, however the main areas on this floor will be a double gym for basketball and volleyball with seating for 1,000, along with a recreation court, high-performance training gym, multiuse fitness rooms, locker rooms, juice café and student lounge area.
The next level up will accommodate the new ice rink floor with associated change rooms, ice refrigeration plant and resurfacing machine room, along with some classroom and multi-purpose room space. People attending an event in the new arena will enter at rink level, or continue to the uppermost level by escalator to the new arena seating bowl beneath the dome roof.
Public concourses at the west and east sides of the bowl will provide circulation area, direct access to the seating areas, washrooms (no troughs) and food and beverage kiosks. An alumni lounge is proposed to stretch across the north edge of the seating bowl. The arena space will be used for Ryerson hockey, basketball and volleyball games, exam writing, convocation ceremonies and other university functions.
Ice rink
One of the more challenging requirements of this project is building an ice rink slab two floors above street level. The technology of an elevated ice slab is not new, but special attention must be given to the detailing and waterproofing, to avoid leakage into finished areas below. The new rink will be NHL size – 85 feet by 200 feet. A refrigeration plant at this level will pump a cold brine solution through a network of pipes, cast within the rink slab, to cool its surface. As water is applied to the surface of the concrete, thin layers are built up to an overall thickness of about 1 to 11/2 inches of ice.
The concrete rink slab can be likened more to a piece of mechanical equipment than to part of the building structure. The slab will play no part in supporting the building. Instead, the six-inch-thick slab will rest on a composition of insulation, poly slip sheet and sand bed on a structural floor supported by a gridwork of columns to be constructed within the existing building envelope.
The ice resurfacing machine will also be kept here for ease of access to the ice surface. If it needs repairs, it can be taken down in a large freight elevator.
Ice was last made at the Gardens in November for CBC's Battle of the Blades , above.
Ceiling
The cathedral-like dome roof is being retained and will be a dominant feature of the interior. The dome is supported at its base by a rectangular configuration of twenty-foot-deep steel trusses. These trusses and dome were obviously quite high in relation to the original ice surface and seating areas of Maple Leaf Gardens. With the new raised ice floor configuration, the new concourse floor and seating bowl will be immediately beneath the large truss, and much closer to the dome ceiling.
The interior of the dome is being stripped of the unsightly acoustic baffles that hung there. The existing catwalks throughout the underside of the dome are still intact and will be maintained.
The energy efficiency of the building envelope will be improved with new insulation and windows, and the external surface of the dome will receive a new cladding. We will utilize as many existing window openings possible at all levels of the Ryerson space to allow natural light to penetrate. Ryerson is considering retaining the existing scoreboard, but with updated technology designed by Digital Media Zone students.
Seating
BBB is developing a seating layout based on the concept of the lower bowl of the original Gardens. A degree of authenticity is planned in a variety of areas where possible. Some distinctive features are the “rail seats” immediately around the rink boards, and the gold “box seating” areas, which were defined by half walls around the perimeter.
Some of the original seats are in storage, but we have yet to assess their physical size and condition to determine whether some will be reused. Many of the original seats were quite snug, to say the least, with restricted legroom, which we don't intend on re-creating. The new layout will conform to modern building code requirements. Perhaps one designated section of the new seating bowl might contain original chairs. We will also consider the application of the original gold, red and blue colour scheme of the original lower bowl, of which the gold and blue coincide with the Ryerson colours.
The large lamp housings that were suspended above the original ice rink may be reused – with new, more efficient lamp technology – to illuminate the rink.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/real...r-renos-at-maple-leaf-gardens/article1494023/
AoD
UrbanAffair
Senior Member
Well they better get started if they plan on finishing this makeover in a year and a bit...
savevp
Active Member
Today
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.
Looking at this image I noticed that Days Inn is replacing their sign with the nice new logo. That should be good. Maybe they will eventually put up new cladding?????
In addition, anybody else think that the Main Drug Mart on the corner could use a new facade?
SVP
whatever
Senior Member
Actually, I think the Days Inn is being rebranded as a Holiday Inn.
That little pharmacy actually has a really nice facade, it's just a bit beaten up. I'm sure if it gets redone they'll replace all of that real stone with stucco or EIFS, so I'd prefer they leave it.
That little pharmacy actually has a really nice facade, it's just a bit beaten up. I'm sure if it gets redone they'll replace all of that real stone with stucco or EIFS, so I'd prefer they leave it.