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Already mired in controversy over the privatization of a culturally significant public site, the Ford Government-championed Ontario Place redevelopment took another dramatic turn this week following the announcement of plans to relocate the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place, priming the heritage designated building for demolition and redevelopment.
The announcement has been met with a deluge of condemnation from the public on social media, and a number of organizations have echoed these sentiments including the Architecture Conservancy of Ontario (ACO), who formally entered the conversation on Thursday, penning a letter to the Government of Ontario asking them to reconsider their plan.
“While a satellite expansion of the Centre could be explored, moving the entire program from this building puts both the building and surrounding neighbourhoods at risk,” the letter states, signed by ACO President Stephanie Mah. “We believe through stewardship, care, and community collaboration, additional housing and new amenities can still be provided elsewhere on this site and in the area, while allowing the Ontario Science Centre building to be restored and maintained as a vibrant cultural hub in North York.”
One of the key factors behind the case to protect the Science Centre building is its cultural value as a piece of built heritage that preserves the legacy of a significant era of modern architecture in Canada.
Designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, the building was completed in 1969, and is a globally recognized example of the brutalist style that enjoys a uniquely harmonious relationship with its wooded ravine site. Located on the edge of the Don Valley, just southwest of the intersection of Eglinton Avenue East and Don Mills Road, the building is composed of three distinct volumes positioned at different heights along the hillside.
The prevailing motif, a highly textured surface of rough formed concrete arranged in a narrow vertical fin configuration, creates a distinct visual theme that transitions from the exterior to the interior; the geometric massing, incorporating circular, triangular, and square volumes, reflects the vision of an era of modernism that sought to create the future in the present; and as a whole, the massive concrete structure activates different areas of the site to augment the natural environment rather than disrupt it.
Arguably carrying more weight than the building’s architectural significance, however, is its role in the local community. The Science Centre has been an institution serving the communities of Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park for over 50 years, and one that has been instrumental in providing educational programming for the large youth demographic of the area.
In this way, the relocation of the Science Centre would represent the removal of a revered cultural hub — that serves a place making role — from a community that has historically been underserved in this city. Furthermore, the Government has failed to be transparent about this plan, and has overlooked the need for consultation with the community that stands to lose the most from this plan.
Finally, it is also important to consider the environmental repercussions of such an undertaking. Constructed primarily out of concrete, the Science Centre represents a significant amount of embedded carbon, and at the age of 54 years old, the structure is nowhere near the end of its life. Yes, the building has fallen into disrepair due to lack of maintenance, but to tear it down would be an irresponsible decision when the carbon intensive materials could be preserved and, at the very least, be incorporated into a redevelopment of the site.
The ACO joins the Toronto Society of Architects and Moriyama Teshima Architects on the list of groups that have sent letters to the Government of Ontario asking them to reconsider their plan. With Toronto’s mayoral hopefuls expressing mixed opinions on the issue, the future of the Science Centre and Ontario Place have quickly taken on immense weight in Toronto’s upcoming by-election. More information is still to come on the details of the Government’s justification for the relocation plan; in the meantime, the full ACO letter can be read online here.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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