Toronto Ontario Place | ?m | ?s | Infrastructure ON

buildup said:
Regent Park, CityPlace, East Bayfront, Distillery District...check them all out.
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Waterfront Toronto and the people behind the Distillery District have achieved amazing things that can be compared with the best contemporary projects anywhere. Regent Park is above average for a modern high-density neighbourhood, though CityPlace is average and arguably an example of a big opportunity for something amazing that the city missed.

In this case, we should be looking at the province's record in particular, since they're completing the project. The province has funded some spectacular projects at our universities and museums, they contribute funding to Waterfront Toronto and the stations for the Spadina look to be excellent. Landscaping at Queen's Park itself is unremarkable or unacceptable. That big asphalt parking lot and driveway in front of the legislature, for instance, is ugly and would be more remarkable as a ceremonial plaza. But it's clear that they're capable of great things. I'm confident that they can put something excellent together.
 
TheTigerMaster said:
This is an opportunity to build something incredible, like Millenium Park. I really hope they don't waste this opportunity.
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One would think that the Millennium Park comparison isn't apt because Ontario Place isn't in the middle of a thriving downtown but the more I think about it, the more good comparisons I draw.

The three highlights of Millennium Park are:

1 - The Pritzker Pavillion
2 - Crown Fountain
3 - Art (i.e. Cloud Gate)

All of these are relatable to Ontario Place.

1 - There's been talk about reviving the Forum or redeveloping the Molson Amphitheatre as part of the Ontario Place revitalization. Frank Gehry is becoming aware that he's in the final chapters of his life and has become somewhat obsessed with leaving a mark in Toronto. The Mirvish towers aside, this would be an excellent opportunity for him. A Gehryesque stage with a great lawn would fit perfectly into the new Ontario Place and create an icon on Toronto's waterfront.

2 - In recent years, Ontario Place has been mostly known and used for its water park. Commissioning an artist to design a grand fountain that allows children and adult to splash around on hot summer days and remain interesting in snowy weather using LED lighting or other modern architecture sounds like a project for United Visual Artists. Again, also very much in tune with Ontario Place's aspiring role and position in the city.

3 - Art. I don't want somebody to go out and commission Anish Kapoor to build us a copycat shiny bean, Toronto has plenty of world famous artists that could make something truly memorable. In fact, scatter plenty of artwork around Ontario Place and make it into an art destination in of itself. Perhaps the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) or the Ontario College of Art & Design could rotate student exhibitions around the park.

With those 3 established goals met, I think we'd be well on our way to mimicking Millennium Park's success.

As for the pods and the Cinesphere, I can't think of a better new home for the Ontario Science Centre. You've got the world's first IMAX (and one of the largest) screens already in place. There's plenty of room in the pods for exhibit space and it would get a downtown location that would revitalize the Science Centre and bring it a steady stream of tourist visitors, not just school field trips.

Somebody get me John Tory on the phone! :)
 
MetroMan said:
One would think that the Millennium Park comparison isn't apt because Ontario Place isn't in the middle of a thriving downtown but the more I think about it, the more good comparisons I draw.

The three highlights of Millennium Park are:

1 - The Pritzker Pavillion
2 - Crown Fountain
3 - Art (i.e. Cloud Gate)

All of these are relatable to Ontario Place.

1 - There's been talk about reviving the Forum or redeveloping the Molson Amphitheatre as part of the Ontario Place revitalization. Frank Gehry is becoming aware that he's in the final chapters of his life and has become somewhat obsessed with leaving a mark in Toronto. The Mirvish towers aside, this would be an excellent opportunity for him. A Gehryesque stage with a great lawn would fit perfectly into the new Ontario Place and create an icon on Toronto's waterfront.

2 - In recent years, Ontario Place has been mostly known and used for its water park. Commissioning an artist to design a grand fountain that allows children and adult to splash around on hot summer days and remain interesting in snowy weather using LED lighting or other modern architecture sounds like a project for United Visual Artists. Again, also very much in tune with Ontario Place's aspiring role and position in the city.

3 - Art. I don't want somebody to go out and commission Anish Kapoor to build us a copycat shiny bean, Toronto has plenty of world famous artists that could make something truly memorable. In fact, scatter plenty of artwork around Ontario Place and make it into an art destination in of itself. Perhaps the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) or the Ontario College of Art & Design could rotate student exhibitions around the park.

With those 3 established goals met, I think we'd be well on our way to mimicking Millennium Park's success.

As for the pods and the Cinesphere, I can't think of a better new home for the Ontario Science Centre. You've got the world's first IMAX (and one of the largest) screens already in place. There's plenty of room in the pods for exhibit space and it would get a downtown location that would revitalize the Science Centre and bring it a steady stream of tourist visitors, not just school field trips.

Somebody get me John Tory on the phone! :)
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These are all fantastic ideas - I especially like your fourth point of moving the science centre. It would also free up that land for office/condos on the Eglinton crosstown and possibly the eventual DRL. Although with the transit coming into the area, the Science Centre won't be in the middle of nowhere in the decades to come.
 
MetroMan said:
As for the pods and the Cinesphere, I can't think of a better new home for the Ontario Science Centre. You've got the world's first IMAX (and one of the largest) screens already in place. There's plenty of room in the pods for exhibit space and it would get a downtown location that would revitalize the Science Centre and bring it a steady stream of tourist visitors, not just school field trips.
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One of my long-time, pie-in-the-sky, completely unrealistic ideas for OP has been to let Dominion Modern have the pods to house their archives and put on exhibits. Canada has a great tradition of Modernist design and what better place to showcase it than in this unique structure? DX and the Canadian Design Resource can also have outposts here. OCAD, Ryerson, Humber, could have design-focussed satellite campuses. Etc.
 
MetroMan said:
One would think that the Millennium Park comparison isn't apt because Ontario Place isn't in the middle of a thriving downtown but the more I think about it, the more good comparisons I draw.

The three highlights of Millennium Park are:

1 - The Pritzker Pavillion
2 - Crown Fountain
3 - Art (i.e. Cloud Gate)

All of these are relatable to Ontario Place...
Click to expand...

I would add a fourth highlight that is also comparable: the BP Pedestrian Bridge. Replace one of the existing pedestrian bridges crossing Lake Shore with one that complements a redeveloped Amphitheatre, much like Gehry's in Chicago crosses Columbus Drive (but not their Lake Shore, just a little to the east).
 
This is reported from Toronto Life. A university campus with an international partnership at Ontario Place.

Sheldon Levy, 64, Ryerson University
Levy is helping spruce up not only Ryerson but also the entire east end of downtown through his work on the board of Waterfront Toronto. He has the ears of business leaders, community groups and government officials. Word has it the visionary academic has been called upon by both the premier and Infrastructure Ontario to consult on a number of new city projects, including the revitalization of Ontario Place. One of the approved Ontario Place proposals is a new world-class research centre, which the government hopes will be a partnership between a Toronto university (say, Ryerson) and an international institution—similar to the *Technion-Cornell applied science and engineering campus being built on *Roosevelt Island in Manhattan. If it happens, Levy’s golden touch will extend to the west end of the city as well.
 
Why would anyone want a research centre at Ontario Place? Put it where other research centres are located like near our major schools. Ontario Place needs to remain an entertainment/tourist zone.
 
Details of the first public consultation are on the front page.
 
I agree with Ed! Don't stick a research building or a school on such prime real estate!
 
Ontario Place needs to remain a tourist attraction where people go to have fun. I do not want it turned into another condo development, office centre or university. It needs to be what it was meant to be, a place for leisure, entertainment and amusement.
 
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