Toronto Royal Ontario Museum | ?m | ?s | Daniel Libeskind

[Admiral Beez]

Some info here.

ROM to revamp Bloor St. entrance with greenery, outdoor performance venue
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...-with-greenery-outdoor-performance-venue.html

Any improvement on the outside will not address the sense of underwhelming when you enter what should be a soaring, tall glazed-in place. You're expecting the Crystal Palace, and are instead welcomed by a low-ceiling, subway-like entrance with drab white walls. My local Loblaws at MLG has a nicer entrance.

But my biggest aggravation with the ROM isn't the building, it's that the entrance fee doesn't cover what you came to see. Instead they hit you again for more cash.

 

[ADRM]

Some info here.

ROM to revamp Bloor St. entrance with greenery, outdoor performance venue
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...-with-greenery-outdoor-performance-venue.html

Any improvement on the outside will not address the sense of underwhelming when you enter what should be a soaring, tall glazed-in place. You're expecting the Crystal Palace, and are instead welcomed by a low-ceiling, subway-like entrance with drab white walls. My local Loblaws at MLG has a nicer entrance.

But my biggest aggravation with the ROM isn't the building, it's that the entrance fee doesn't cover what you came to see. Instead they hit you again for more cash.

Doing one smart and good thing does not preclude them from doing another smart and good thing in the future. Both need doing, and it's undoubtedly a positive that they're doing one of them now.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Doing one smart and good thing does not preclude them from doing another smart and good thing in the future. Both need doing, and it's undoubtedly a positive that they're doing one of them now.

The best thing they can do is a ROM-ectomy and chop that crystal rubbish off our Darling and Pearson designed Edwardian museum, and replace it with something that flows and contributes, not contrasts with the original building. When we added to the building in the 1920s we tried to do that.

 

[raptor]

The best thing they can do is a ROM-ectomy and chop that crystal rubbish off our Darling and Pearson designed Edwardian museum, and replace it with something that flows and contributes, not contrasts with the original building. When we added to the building in the 1920s we tried to do that.

Can't argue with opinions, but a lot of people love the crystal. Also, show me one kid that doesn't love the crystal.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The best thing they can do is a ROM-ectomy and chop that crystal rubbish off our Darling and Pearson designed Edwardian museum, and replace it with something that flows and contributes, not contrasts with the original building. When we added to the building in the 1920s we tried to do that.

TBH, the original 1914 ROM wing is fairly pedestrian, unimpressive and frankly cheap for what it is - just because it is old doesn't give it a pass.

AoD

 

[Admiral Beez]

TBH, the original 1914 ROM wing is fairly pedestrian, unimpressive and frankly cheap for what it is - just because it is old doesn't give it a pass.

AoD

If the building is just old and of no value to the city's heritiage, then it's better to demolish and rebuild the entire museum than to snap on these contrasting odds and sods.

 

[ADRM]

If the building is just old and of no value to the city's heritiage, then it's better to demolish and rebuild the entire museum than to snap on these contrasting odds and sods.

Adaptive reuse whereby a contemporary addition is added to an older building is one of my favourite styles of architecture.

 

[old boy]

I'm looking forward to the " adaptive reuse " for the public spaces on Bloor St. One of the biggest disappointments in the Crystal addition for me is the poor, formerly main, entrance on Bloor St. - an afterthought is being too kind . More and more, it's rejuvenated public spaces that bring Toronto up by the bootstraps, architecturally speaking. It's kind of ironic that it's new landscaping that might bring this ROM some new love, finally. Some afterthoughts are better than others.

 

[.dwg]

I'm most impressed by just how little regard the Libeskind project gave to some of the basics, such as the streetscape. If I was working with such a site, the first thing my eye would be drawn to is the opportunity of the space toward Philosopher's Walk - it would be a priority to tie into it or program it somehow in relation to Philosopher's Walk. And only now, 10 years later, is that being addressed.

The lack of any landscaping or even articulation in the paved surfaces was also a huge missed opportunity. But that's classic starchitecture - the building as a discrete object that owes nothing to its surroundings. Blech.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

If the building is just old and of no value to the city's heritiage, then it's better to demolish and rebuild the entire museum than to snap on these contrasting odds and sods.

Didn't say there is "no value", just saying that the intrinsic value isn't that great - it was a product from a time where limited means tampered ambition. Historical value added significantly to what isn't intrinsic.

Adaptive reuse whereby a contemporary addition is added to an older building is one of my favourite styles of architecture.

Having said that, Libeskind's addition as executed is clumsy in this regard.

As to this particular landscaping redo - I am not particularly fond of it - it felt fuzzy and going through the motion - and not all that ambitious. I look forward to seeing more details than just one rendering though.

AoD

 

[vatche]

what blows my mind is how bad architects and builders in Toronto are with public realm. it should be mandatory that every building that goes up has sidewalks with proper room for trees and landscaping. they have to have rules for this. it makes such a big difference. so easy to do yet so rare in the city.

 

[ADRM]

what blows my mind is how bad architects and builders in Toronto are with public realm. it should be mandatory that every building that goes up has sidewalks with proper room for trees and landscaping. they have to have rules for this. it makes such a big difference. so easy to do yet so rare in the city.

Setback provisions and review of landscaping plans are indeed part of the development review process. In some cases, developers are willing to be more ambitious in some respects than the various City departments allow them to be, sometimes for departmental budgetary reasons and in others for subjective/interpretive reasons.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

what blows my mind is how bad architects and builders in Toronto are with public realm. it should be mandatory that every building that goes up has sidewalks with proper room for trees and landscaping. they have to have rules for this. it makes such a big difference. so easy to do yet so rare in the city.

Room really isn't the issue here - the question is what you do with it and how you do it.

AoD

 

[MetroMan]

Didn't say there is "no value", just saying that the intrinsic value isn't that great - it was a product from a time where limited means tampered ambition. Historical value added significantly to what isn't intrinsic.



Having said that, Libeskind's addition as executed is clumsy in this regard.

As to this particular landscaping redo - I am not particularly fond of it - it felt fuzzy and going through the motion - and not all that ambitious. I look forward to seeing more details than just one rendering though.

AoD

There are a few renderings on the hoarding. The square facing on to Philosopher's Walk is well done. The new entrance isn't very detailed in any of the renderings. I'm a little worried how they're going to handle that. If they're going to chop up Libeskind's work, then do the whole thing. At least try to match his style. This is how mishmash architecture happens.

 

[MetroMan]

Here are the problems with the Michael Lee Chin Crystal in one photo...

And it looked like this on opening day.

They spent all the money on the architect and the design and little of it on actually building it. These cheap rivets and ill fitting panels were embarrassing. My heart sank when I walked through the ROM after years of great expectations.