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U of T: Munk School of Global Affairs (Bloor & Devonshire, KPMB) COMPLETE

Big Daddy said:
Boy, for architecture fans some of you just have no vision. Why can't you wait and comment on the final product? It's blending old with new - just relax and wait.
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It's pretty easy to imagine what it'll look like in the end. The massive rectangular hole has been cut, and now shiny glass will be installed. It's not blending old and new so much as it's imposing new on old in a way that I hope we won't see more of. It should be noted, though, that I have nothing against blending old and new if it's an addition that's well positioned.
 
I bet the interior of that space is much better now light can get in. I will reserve judgment until I've seen inside.
 
Calm down heritage-fretters. It looked worse when the stone was first cut because it was what it was: an open gash in the stone with construction dust all over. The window will probably be a decent compromise between leaving the building in some kind of stasis and making it more useful...and if you're going to punch a window in a wall like this, might as well go for broke and make it a big one.

The window is completely invisible from Bloor, by the way. You have to go out of your way to see it. I don't think much of the addition at all will be seen from Bloor, so the observatory may yet remain postcard-shot-untouchable.
 
scarberiankhatru said:
Calm down heritage-fretters. It looked worse when the stone was first cut because it was what it was: an open gash in the stone with construction dust all over. The window will probably be a decent compromise between leaving the building in some kind of stasis and making it more useful...and if you're going to punch a window in a wall like this, might as well go for broke and make it a big one.

The window is completely invisible from Bloor, by the way. You have to go out of your way to see it. I don't think much of the addition at all will be seen from Bloor, so the observatory may yet remain postcard-shot-untouchable.
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With heritage buildings, there's nothing wrong with leaving the architecture in stasis; that's pretty much the whole point. Use the building for a different purpose and build an addition if necessary, but respect the heritage. A big pane of glass thrown in between the original windows which are framed with contrasting stonework isn't exactly in tune with the spirit of preservation. Yes, it won't be seen from Bloor, but Devonshire Place is a public space and many people will see it. It's not exactly tucked away in some laneway.
 
One simple slot of a window cut into the tower to make the interiors more functional and pleasant for the future... and so many of you are apoplectic? Please.
 
Actually, the crueler heritage sin around these parts was the demolition of the rear stair tower in the KPMBing of the Royal Conservatory...
 
WiddleBittyKitty said:
One simple slot of a window cut into the tower to make the interiors more functional and pleasant for the future... and so many of you are apoplectic? Please.
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Yeah, it's not like they're putting bubble skylights into the Dome of the Rock...

The new window isn't conspicuous and the large Goldring Centre is going in right next to it. No one would be talking about it if someone didn't post zoomed-in pics of them cutting through the wall.

For people who care only about the postcard-shot appearance of heritage buildings, and not the interior or how the building is used/reused, they can probably still get this by looking at it from Bloor.

Anyway, might as well wait for the whole thing to be finished...it's like judging plastic surgery based on a face full of sutures and swelling.
 
tiffer24 said:
Simple and insensitive earlier modifications like indoor plumbing and electricity for this heritage building may presumably fall into the same regrettable category.
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You might be right. Plumbing and electricity can be carefully installed and ultimately hidden so as not to ruin a heritage interior. But in the past, renovation projects often consisted of seriously compromising beautiful interiors with finely carved wood trim or gutting them completely. This happened to many public and private buildings.

A walk on the streets of Toronto reveals many simplistic exterior renovations of heritage buildings that have diminished their value. As for this window, the rendering makes it clear how it'll look like when finished. It will be a big pane of glass, completely out of place. At least it looks like it fits in symmetrically between the old windows, but that's hardly a relief. No one would be talking about this if there was no rendering. It would just be another poorly executed detail of the city's design fabric to randomly encounter, like a bad facadectomy, a grand commercial building stripped of its cornice, or a poorly built bay window added to a Victorian block.
 
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munkm26.jpg
 
Your photos always seem to have a great deal of clarity and a certain pop.
 
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entire project seems perfect... except for that virtical slab of glass. Unless they do something really fancy with the glazing. Although i still can't imagine why they would need to go through all the hard for to modify a perfectly fine tower.
 
Application: Building Additions/Alterations Status: Under Review

Location: 315 BLOOR ST W
TORONTO ON M5S 1A3

Ward 20: Trinity-Spadina

Application#: 10 187889 BLD 02 BA Accepted Date: Aug 17, 2011

Project: University Multiple Projects

Description: REVISION 2 - to reduce the scope of work. To delete the proposed mezzanine level and clerestory roof. Only interior alterations in tower proposed. Proposal to construct a 3-storey addition at the south side of existing UofT building, "Munk School of Global Affairs". Proposal also includes interior alterations to all floors of existing building.
 
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