Toronto St Lawrence Centre Redevelopment | ?m | ?s | CreateTO | Hariri Pontarini

[TonyV]

A dissenting note. [edit] With respect to Donald Schmitt having been selected to the feasibility:

This may be incendiary, but to be brutally frank, I am reaching a saturation point with Diamond [edit] and Schmitt's work and I think it is time to bring in some new influences. The Li Ka Shing facility at St. Michael's inflicts pain on me (plain and simple as that), and the Image Arts building on Gould is bugging me more and more as it nears completion - it looks as though he was trying to let his spirit soar a little this time around but one wing got clipped, shall we say.

I think I'd call in KPMB if we have to stick to the local talent.

 

[DSC]

Of course, the Mayors Ford (Mayor Fords?) latest scheme is to get rid of the SLC so this may all be 'academic'.

 

[Thanos]

Condos??? What are you people talking about.
Why don't you get all the facts straight.
"The goal, according to the request for proposals to which Diamond and Schmitt responded, is to provide a state-of-the-art contemporary performing arts centre in the heart of the downtown area"

There's no talk of condos or any tower going up. Just because some misinformed journalist assumed a tower would go on is not proof that anything like this will happen.

Talk about jumping the gun.

I'm not a big fan of brutalism. I think it's the worst thing to ever happen to Toronto.
Would this not be a perfect situation to call for international tenders?

 

[Red October]

I'm not a big fan of brutalism. I think it's the worst thing to ever happen to Toronto.
Would this not be a perfect situation to call for international tenders?

Although buildings like One Yonge and Sheraton Centre are pretty big eyesores, Brutalism also brought the city one of it's more notably interesting buildings..

 

[JasonParis]

Totally missed this over the weekend. Not sure how I feel. I'm partial to brutalism in many cases, but this one never seemed to work that well with its surroundings.

 

[Thanos]

Although buildings like One Yonge and Sheraton Centre are pretty big eyesores, Brutalism also brought the city one of it's more notably interesting buildings..

I appreciate the "weirdness" of this building. However, the majority of brutalism has a fairly bland shape.
I'm sure someone can think of doing something with the SLC without tearing it down.

 

[TonyV]

I like the Robarts, or "fort book" as it is known, on the outside, a lot. The issue is the interior.

Weighing in on other brutalist pieces, I don't take exception to them the way others do. But I have no sentiment toward keeping SLC as opposed to starting afresh.

 

[TonyV]

It is refreshing that SLC would step forward with a new idea in a time like this. Ford and co. are preaching austerity and an arts organization has the cojones to buck the trend and stand up for art. I am not suggesting that they will ask for public money, but still, good on them.

 

[adma]

Although buildings like One Yonge and Sheraton Centre are pretty big eyesores, Brutalism also brought the city one of it's more notably interesting buildings..

Too much of a potboiler. More authentically historically important is this

 

[adma]

But I have no sentiment toward keeping SLC as opposed to starting afresh.

From a preemptive "why start afresh? it betrays insecurity" perspective, I think the StLC is an endearing (even in its awkwardness) little sweetheart of a place.

An interesting Brutalist performing-venue-as-preservation-issue comparison point

 

[TonyV]

From a preemptive "why start afresh? it betrays insecurity" perspective, I think the StLC is an endearing (even in its awkwardness) little sweetheart of a place.

An interesting Brutalist performing-venue-as-preservation-issue comparison point

When it comes to theatres, I base my opinion on the interior, not the exterior. The only justification I would have for starting afresh is the usefulness / flexibility of the theatre proper, including backstages and amenities. If a new building is recommended with considerations for all functionalities, then I understand.

Count me in as somewhat a preservationist, though. To go tearing down some of the fabric of our city because it doesn't satisfy everyone's ideal aesthetic is an idea I find wrong and wrong-headed. We need to be able to look back at where our headspace was at various points in our history.

 

[tkip]

Although buildings like One Yonge and Sheraton Centre are pretty big eyesores, Brutalism also brought the city one of it's more notably interesting buildings..

Yes. I like this building despite the concrete for it's form. I have a friend that works in the asian library and been there numerous times.

 

[Tewder]

This is the best picture to cite/post in defense of brutalism, which is to say it works so much better as 'sculpture in open surroundings' than it does in an urban context.

 

[Filip]

If you want cool futuristic brutalism, look no further than Yugoslavia's communist monuments to the defeat of fascism. Some of them are literally out of this world!

More here: http://www.cracktwo.com/2011/04/25-abandoned-soviet-monuments-that-look.html

 

[Northern Magus]

Wow. That last one is mind-blowingly amazing.

I can't fathom why anyone would do a knock-down on the StLC, and I can't see where they could plunk down a tower on top of the existing site.

If anything, this city needs more of a theatre district with more Off-Broadway sized theatres complementing our larger ones.