882 
Open from September 1 to October 9, the Paul H. Cocker Gallery at Ryerson University will be hosting a special architectural exhibit, Shaping Canadian Modernity: The 1958 Toronto City Hall and Square Competition and its Legacy. The exhibition is curated and co-hosted by architect and urban planner George Thomas Kapelos, Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University, and Christopher Armstrong, Emeritus Professor of History at York University, and author of Civic Symbol: Creating Toronto's New City Hall, 1952-1966 (UofT Press, 2015).
The free exhibit will showcase the fascinating, colourful history behind the planning and construction of Toronto's most recognizable civic structure, a building that from its inception sought to redefine the boundaries of Canadian modern architecture. The product of an exhaustive design competition which included more than 500 entrants from a range of 42 countries around the globe, Toronto's New City Hall was at the time of construction the first great leap forward for civic architecture in a city which had yet to shed its Victorian and Edwardian past.
On the occasion of this special exhibit, a coinciding publication, Competing Modernisms: Toronto's New City Hall and Square, has been released by the Dalhousie Architectural Press. The book features a critical examination of the design competition and its outcome, and includes a full selection of archival materials, sketches, and plans from among the 500 entries. The book will be available onsite and online here.
The official opening will take place on Thursday, September 17, from 6 to 8 PM at the Cocker Gallery in the atrium of the Architecture Building at Ryerson University at 325 Church Street. This event is free to the public, but will require an online RSVP, no later than September 15.
In addition to visiting the exhibit galleries, there will be an opportunity to meet with its curators at a series of three public lectures sponsored by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Public Library, and hosted in the City Hall Council Chamber at 100 Queen Street West. The first will be on September 3 from 7 to 9 PM, and will feature George Kapelos lecturing on Impact and Legacy: Toronto's Competition for a New City Hall. The second will be on September 10 from 7 to 9 PM, featuring Christopher Armstrong lecturing on Civic Symbol: Municipal Politicians Build a New City Hall. The third will be on September 24 from 7 to 9 PM, and will feature George Baird lecturing on Innovative Design Aspects of Revell's Toronto City Hall. No tickets are required.
The exhibition is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ryerson University and is sponsored by the Ontario Association of Architects, Perkins + Will Architects, and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
