Mithras
Active Member
Would look a lot better stepped back from the ROM and not over powering it through height. Could do with being a story or two lower even then.
Toronto U of T: Centre for Civilizations, Cultures, and Cities | 42.75m | 9s | U of T | DS + R
- Thread starter unimaginative2
- Start date
Brother Jonathan
New Member
Hey, that looks cool.
(Probably not the density they want on the site)
jozl
Active Member
I’m not crazy about the large blank wall on the 4th (5th?) story.
UrbanFervour
Active Member
Still looks a mess. ?
.dwg
Active Member
Better not disagree with Alex Bozikovic about it on Twitter. For him, you either like it, or you're wrong. But I digress.
The reality is, the architects may have done a valiant job, but it's still a small and difficult site with too much program and various faculties competing for space in the new building. On first glance, it appears that the challenges outweighed the way they were resolved in this case. I have yet to speak to anyone else from the architecture world who sees this project as a victory.
It's not an issue of incapable architects or lack of talent, that's certain. It's an issue of client demands / client's brief (with site and program under that umbrella).
The reality is, the architects may have done a valiant job, but it's still a small and difficult site with too much program and various faculties competing for space in the new building. On first glance, it appears that the challenges outweighed the way they were resolved in this case. I have yet to speak to anyone else from the architecture world who sees this project as a victory.
It's not an issue of incapable architects or lack of talent, that's certain. It's an issue of client demands / client's brief (with site and program under that umbrella).
concrete_and_light
Active Member
Could this be better? Yeah, I think so - it feels a little clumsy.
This probably just speaks to how low the bar is in the city, but I'll basically get excited about anything that has a warm colour, materials other than glass and spandrel, and that tries to do something adventurous. The imposing scale of it is kinda cool to me as well. I really like the juxtaposition with the heritage and this will become an interesting part of a lot of different vistas.
It may not end up perfect, a lot of university buildings aren't, but it has character and nice materiality and will probably end up looking pretty cool. Could it be better, Yeah! But there's a lot to like here as well and so many worse, boring buildings so it's hard for me to think negatively about this on the whole.
Plus, the theatre will likely make all of this worth it on its own.
This probably just speaks to how low the bar is in the city, but I'll basically get excited about anything that has a warm colour, materials other than glass and spandrel, and that tries to do something adventurous. The imposing scale of it is kinda cool to me as well. I really like the juxtaposition with the heritage and this will become an interesting part of a lot of different vistas.
It may not end up perfect, a lot of university buildings aren't, but it has character and nice materiality and will probably end up looking pretty cool. Could it be better, Yeah! But there's a lot to like here as well and so many worse, boring buildings so it's hard for me to think negatively about this on the whole.
Plus, the theatre will likely make all of this worth it on its own.
ADRM
Senior Member
Yeah, it'd be a nice opportunity for some sort of etching that's meaningful to perhaps either the program inside the building or the history of the land on which it sits.
jje1000
Senior Member
It already looks far better, but I would swap the massing around so the bulk of the height lies towards the ROM, with the building stepping down towards Queens Park- they could even compensate for some of the lost density with a few additional floors. That way, the building is far more contexturally appropriate, plus there's also the potential for continuous terraces with awesome downtown views that will never be obstructed.
TBH, the auditorium box isn't doing much for me and feels like an tumorous intrusion into the overall design language, I would replace that volume with the same detailing as the rest of the building, but maybe as a void space. Sort of the way D+S did it with their Vagelos Building at Columbia.
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center / Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Completed in 2016 in New York, United States. Images by Nic Lehoux, Iwan Baan . Columbia University Medical Center’s new, state-of-the-art medical and graduate education building, the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, will...
www.archdaily.com
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
This is a perfectly reasonable criticism -- the one about the project, that is.
FWIW I think people's views of this will be more positive once more drawings are released. The renderings are not helping.
greenleaf
Senior Member
I may be wrong about this, but this is what I think happened. That big blank block on the east side that is the concert hall was originally a backdrop behind a Falconer Hall that was going to get chopped in the back. The concert hall was planned to be on the second floor.
To appease HPS and to help this building move quickly thru planning process, in exchange for tearing down the planetarium building, they kept pretty much all of Falconer Hall. There was no longer space for the performance hall now after this change, and so then that blank wall moved on up.
To appease HPS and to help this building move quickly thru planning process, in exchange for tearing down the planetarium building, they kept pretty much all of Falconer Hall. There was no longer space for the performance hall now after this change, and so then that blank wall moved on up.
concrete_and_light
Active Member
I'm not sure... I imagine the idea for the theatre overlooking the skyline because that's a sick idea came first rather than it ending up there as an accident born out of compromise because they weren't allowed to demolish part of Falconer Hall.
I'm not even really sure why people see the blank wall there as a downside. It appears to have a pleasing texture for one, but also it functions as clean negative space in the design in contrast to the very busy rest of the building. The simple geometry of the theatre portion is one of my favourite aspects of the design and it didn't even occur to me that some would see it as a problem in the design. If I were adjusting the design of the building I'd likely lean into highlighting it even more.
I'm not even really sure why people see the blank wall there as a downside. It appears to have a pleasing texture for one, but also it functions as clean negative space in the design in contrast to the very busy rest of the building. The simple geometry of the theatre portion is one of my favourite aspects of the design and it didn't even occur to me that some would see it as a problem in the design. If I were adjusting the design of the building I'd likely lean into highlighting it even more.
Marcanadian
Moderator
Docs are now online for anyone wanting to take a closer look at the plans:
app.toronto.ca
Application Information Centre
Search for details about current planning applications and Minor variance and Consent applications. Application Information Centre For best results, please use the latest version of Microsoft IE/Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. The Application Information Centre allows you to: Search by...
app.toronto.ca
One more rendering from Philosophers Walk in the docs, plus a close-up:
42
42
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
This is extremely skinny at the south end
greenleaf
Senior Member
Some insight into why the ROM is planned to be in this building in this interview with Scott Mabury.
(tl; dr - UofT wants/needs to monetize some of their spaces)
(tl; dr - UofT wants/needs to monetize some of their spaces)