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UrbanToronto member urbandreamer tipped off the UT Forum today that he had found renderings of a possible redevelopment for the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts on Front Street East in Downtown Toronto, a contemplated project which was first announced in the Toronto Star in July 2011.
The project does not show up yet on the City's website for Development Applications: these renderings by Cicada Design are the result of a feasibility study done by Diamond + Schmitt Architects. Many details are missing, as plans for the condominium tower portion of the project never got beyond the conceptual stage. Donald Schmitt has told us “there are no plans to do a high-rise tower on the site”.
What quickly became of the main talking point of this instant "Never-Built" are the candy-colours which were proposed on the building's staggered wrap-around balconies. Vivid colours are rarely seen on Toronto's skyline, and here they have caught both the imagination and ire of those have commented on them. Would units in a building painted this way sell? We won't know until a developer does bring a bold proposal like this to market.
Even though this particular design is not moving forward, it remains a bit of a treat to peruse images from an early stage of the design process: we do not often get to see such detailed plans before they have been greenlighted. Closer to what may eventually come to this site is this version of the scheme; a preliminary massing study shown without a tower.
All of the renderings above, and those of the interiors below, show a design that proposes to to raze the existing structure entirely and replace it with a new one, as opposed to merely renovating the existing two-theatre complex. A multi-storey lobby, at least one box-shaped theatre, and a lounge with a view of the city are amongst the features in this scheme.
Despite the possibilities raised by the new, we can't help thinking that the existing 1970 building, designed by the Thom Partnerhip, a leading Canadian architectural practice of the day, won't come down without a fight. While the Brutalist design is not universally loved, the building will find advocates to speak up for its preservation.
The St Lawrence Centre is currently owned by the City of Toronto, but the City is considering selling it. UrbanToronto will continue to follow developments here. If you would like to get in on the discussion, choose the Projects & Construction Forum thread link below in our dataBase listing box.
| Related Companies: | Diamond Schmitt Architects |
