AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From the Globe, by John Barber:
A sophisticated city at every scale
John Barber
The Globe and Mail
Sep 18, 2007 pg. A14
"I'm really getting quite optimistic about this city," architect Peter Clewes admitted yesterday, boldly breaking ranks with the army of whiners that besieges Toronto - and seems to grow inversely with respect to legitimate things to whine about. But the Montreal-born, Waterloo-educated architect has reason to like his grudgingly adopted home town this week.
Widely acknowledged as the definitive residential architect of Toronto in the new century, he and his colleagues at Architects Alliance dominated the 2007 Toronto Urban Design Awards, winning awards for five projects, including the condominium complexes at 18 Yorkville Ave., on the west side of Bay Street, which won two awards; and Radio City on Jarvis Street, which shares its site with the rebuilt National Ballet School.
But as a member of the panel that helped select the awards, I assure you that Mr. Clewes and company didn't run away with it. The source of Mr. Clewes's optimism - the emergence of a vital design culture in Toronto - was powerfully evident amid most of the entries and all the winners of the 2007 awards, which are sponsored by the city and granted every two years.
Looking through the lens of this year's winners is to see a beautiful and sophisticated Toronto at every scale, from the monumental sweep of the planned Port Lands Estuary to the micro-surgical deftness of the narrow infill house architects Dean Goodman and Janna Levitt built for themselves on Euclid Avenue.
The value of the awards is that they encourage people "to think about spaces in the city that are not buildings," according to Mr. Clewes. "The spaces in between," he added, "are ultimately the things that matter most to the city."
Urban design, the art of the spaces in between and the specific focus of the Toronto awards, is not something that North American cities do well as a rule, "Toronto being no exception," according to Mr. Clewes. But you would never know that if the best of current practice, as showcased by this year's awards, was all you knew of the city.
Winners include such high-profile projects as the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts by Diamond and Schmitt Architects, a unanimous choice, and Plant Architect's winning entry from the Nathan Phillips Square contest. Big and promising waterfront visions won, but so did comparatively obscure interventions such as Scarborough's wonderful Thomas Wells Public School, by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, and a single window architect Ted Watson added to the blank side wall of a corner house in the Annex, changing everything inside and out.
"We're not looking for object buildings," said Robert Freedman, the city's director of urban design. "We are looking for buildings that give something back to the public realm, creating wonderful spaces."
Now even the most commercial-minded developers realize city building "is not just about creating great units with great views," according to Mr. Freedman. They are marketing design and hiring top architects to fulfill the promise. "There's a lot of room for improvement," Mr. Freedman said. "It's a big city and there are some pretty messed-up spaces. But there's some really good progress being made."
Nobody is accusing Toronto of being a beautiful city - not yet. For every award winner that emerges from the current construction boom, there are half a dozen bottom-line clunkers. But the catalogue of virtue is expanding rapidly.
"Toronto is a growing city and it changes," Mr. Freedman said. "From the right angles, in the right light, it can be extremely beautiful."
If you don't believe it, check out the winners at www.toronto.ca and judge for yourself.
jbarber@globeandmail.com
AoD
A sophisticated city at every scale
John Barber
The Globe and Mail
Sep 18, 2007 pg. A14
"I'm really getting quite optimistic about this city," architect Peter Clewes admitted yesterday, boldly breaking ranks with the army of whiners that besieges Toronto - and seems to grow inversely with respect to legitimate things to whine about. But the Montreal-born, Waterloo-educated architect has reason to like his grudgingly adopted home town this week.
Widely acknowledged as the definitive residential architect of Toronto in the new century, he and his colleagues at Architects Alliance dominated the 2007 Toronto Urban Design Awards, winning awards for five projects, including the condominium complexes at 18 Yorkville Ave., on the west side of Bay Street, which won two awards; and Radio City on Jarvis Street, which shares its site with the rebuilt National Ballet School.
But as a member of the panel that helped select the awards, I assure you that Mr. Clewes and company didn't run away with it. The source of Mr. Clewes's optimism - the emergence of a vital design culture in Toronto - was powerfully evident amid most of the entries and all the winners of the 2007 awards, which are sponsored by the city and granted every two years.
Looking through the lens of this year's winners is to see a beautiful and sophisticated Toronto at every scale, from the monumental sweep of the planned Port Lands Estuary to the micro-surgical deftness of the narrow infill house architects Dean Goodman and Janna Levitt built for themselves on Euclid Avenue.
The value of the awards is that they encourage people "to think about spaces in the city that are not buildings," according to Mr. Clewes. "The spaces in between," he added, "are ultimately the things that matter most to the city."
Urban design, the art of the spaces in between and the specific focus of the Toronto awards, is not something that North American cities do well as a rule, "Toronto being no exception," according to Mr. Clewes. But you would never know that if the best of current practice, as showcased by this year's awards, was all you knew of the city.
Winners include such high-profile projects as the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts by Diamond and Schmitt Architects, a unanimous choice, and Plant Architect's winning entry from the Nathan Phillips Square contest. Big and promising waterfront visions won, but so did comparatively obscure interventions such as Scarborough's wonderful Thomas Wells Public School, by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, and a single window architect Ted Watson added to the blank side wall of a corner house in the Annex, changing everything inside and out.
"We're not looking for object buildings," said Robert Freedman, the city's director of urban design. "We are looking for buildings that give something back to the public realm, creating wonderful spaces."
Now even the most commercial-minded developers realize city building "is not just about creating great units with great views," according to Mr. Freedman. They are marketing design and hiring top architects to fulfill the promise. "There's a lot of room for improvement," Mr. Freedman said. "It's a big city and there are some pretty messed-up spaces. But there's some really good progress being made."
Nobody is accusing Toronto of being a beautiful city - not yet. For every award winner that emerges from the current construction boom, there are half a dozen bottom-line clunkers. But the catalogue of virtue is expanding rapidly.
"Toronto is a growing city and it changes," Mr. Freedman said. "From the right angles, in the right light, it can be extremely beautiful."
If you don't believe it, check out the winners at www.toronto.ca and judge for yourself.
jbarber@globeandmail.com
AoD
