Toronto Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts | ?m | 5s | COC | Diamond Schmitt

Who cares whether it opens itself up or closes itself off--honestly, the model doesn't bespeak anything more "thrilling" than the finished product. It's still the kind of Jack Diamond that Diamond-haters love to hate: glass or brick, it's just a neutral box, pure and simple. It's not like what Gehry did for L.A., Springfield, etc.

And as for being opened/closed off to surroundings; it isn't like the actual urbanistic effect of the end result would've been much different--remember all the examples out there of architecturally designed entrances/exits that, for fire/security/whatever reasons, had to be closed off...
 
Some fantasize about redesigning this place without any apparent regard to how the exterior of a building expresses what's inside it. There are obvious reasons why hallways, staff lounges, utility rooms, dressing rooms, stairwells etc. aren't showcased to passers-by on the street with big windows. The Jackman Lounge - an event space - is open to view from Queen Street, but the passageways to the east of it have smaller windows because all you'll see there are employees strolling from one office to another now and then.

The building was designed from the York Street side first, and most of the functions, with the exception of what happens in the City Room and the Jackman Lounge from time to time on the opposite side of the building, aren't particularly glamorous or worth ogling. The architect quite rightly offered neither the operagoing nor the non-operagoing public much of an opportunity to see any of these mundane activities taking place.

The building has always struck me, in much the same way as it strikes TonyV I think, as an abstraction. The differently functioning zones are expressed quite clearly, and differently, by the exterior.
 
Ah, if Toronto were Buffalo, there'd be all this talk about how Kleinhans is old and grubby and brick and introverted and depressing and dated while a Gehry/Koolhaas/Hadid would put us on the worldwide map and be an up-to-the-minute asset to the community

usa_buffalo_kleinhansmusichall_2.jpg
 
I love the world that this building has opened up for our opera singers and the opera going public; the chance to fully appreciate that art is now 100% in place. The budget was so very tight and Diamond et al did the right thing, they spent the budget where it counts; I could go on in detail about the measures that were taken to assure the acoustics and the sightlines.

I've a friend who regards this opera house as Toronto's new AGO. Remember? The AGO was the building in search of an exterior for years, and now he says the opera house has taken that spot. Well, knowing Toronto as well as I do I think some future generation will change the opera's exterior. It's not one of my priorities -- felt I needed to add that.
 
Other than adding the planned rooftop patio, once a sponsor is found, I can't think of anything else that the COC might want to change, since the building works very well as an opera house. When our little group was given a pre-opening tour the architect did mention, however, that there was space for future expansion on the York Street side - and I took that to mean that one day an additional stage might be added to the main, rear and side stages.

The City Room will, I have heard, soon get a replacement for that rather dinky little sales area tucked behind the Grand staircase, where the volunteer ladies toil in obscurity. Something larger and better stocked with more attractively designed souvenirs and opera-related merchandise I believe.
 
Venti de Milo said:
STILL the ugliest and most offensive THING in downtown Toronto. :mad:
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Are you sure you got your bearings straight? Maybe you need to go one block to the west, south side, past that shiny glass-and-steel building, o'er to that place with the new Tim's on the corner...
 
adma said:
Are you sure you got your bearings straight? Maybe you need to go one block to the west, south side, past that shiny glass-and-steel building, o'er to that place with the new Tim's on the corner...
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Hey, my friends live there, so shut it! :p

Well, you should stand at the corner of York and Richmond....and take a look at this horrible thing....totally in your face, totally offensive.
 
^ to be fair, you'd be looking at the loading docks from that perspective. The building needs it and to be frank, it deals with it well.

It could have been much worse. You could have had the loading docks completely open to the street.

What I'm the most concerned about is the Queen façade which is supposed to engage the street and had the opportunity to continue the dynamic nature of Queen st. West but missed it.
 
MetroMan said:
^ to be fair, you'd be looking at the loading docks from that perspective. The building needs it and to be frank, it deals with it well.

It could have been much worse. You could have had the loading docks completely open to the street.

What I'm the most concerned about is the Queen façade which is supposed to engage the street and had the opportunity to continue the dynamic nature of Queen st. West but missed it.
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No excuse. Imagine the people walking out from Hilton, that big black ugly thing is right in front of them, in a VERY bad way.

Instead of "wow, what is that, it looks gorgeous"
Now we have "eww, what is that ugly view outside the window"
or worst, nobody notices it and nobody cares.
 
FYI...

This thread has been moved to B&A as the project is well past its construction stage. We'll move other completed projects here over time as well.

There's still a 1-month redirect in P&C for those that are confused.

Hope this makes sense!
 
I just renewed my subscription, and asked to be moved forward, if possible. My current Row 'T' seat is the second-choice-fallback-position.

I'm particularly looking forward to War and Peace and Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The Hilton bars and restaurants have been doing better since the opera/ballet house opened, and of course COC members get discounts there and at the hotel. Tundra restaurant offers special menus for opera patrons. I would imagine that it'll be even better for their business, and the Sheraton's, once underground links to the opera house are built.
 
Surprisingly, I don't have any problem with this:

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It fits its context well. Richmond st. has always had an industrial feel to it.

... or even this:

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You can't really get any better looking than that for a loading dock. York is the minor of all four streets so it was the best choice for this function.

it's THIS that I have a big problem with:

[NO PICTURE IS AVAILABLE ... because nobody on the entire world wide web takes photos of the Queen St. façade. I wonder why]
 
Urban Shocker said:
Some fantasize about redesigning this place without any apparent regard to how the exterior of a building expresses what's inside it.
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I find it odd (and this might be the disconnect between the Pro and Con camps) that you feel a staircase and some collecting spaces best expresses "Top Opera House".

For the longest time I thought it was a Jaguar/Range Rover dealership.
 
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