The Ugly Canada Thread

[MolsonExport]

^that's what it is. A Concrete Turkey.
I like Turkey...much more than concrete. You see, I work in one of those horrid 1970s Architectural disasters that are liberally found at Universities and Hospitals...especially in Ontario.

[WhipperSnapper]

Are you kidding? The interior of Robarts is anything but. We rarely build grandiose spaces like that anymore.

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/back-school-u-t-library-system-ranked-top-three-harvard-and-yale

Well, maybe white walls, curtain wall and aluminum is your thing.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Are you kidding? The interior of Robarts is anything but. We rarely build grandiose spaces like that anymore.

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/back-school-u-t-library-system-ranked-top-three-harvard-and-yale

Well, maybe white walls, curtain wall and aluminum is your thing.

Yes I agree that brutalist buildings generally knew how to build grandiose spaces. The churches especially. I've also found some with amazing atriums like the old Delta at the Calgary airport. New builds generally don't allow for things like open atriums or courtyards with gardens anymore because it's all about squeezing every last sf of leasable office space out of designs. Just look what they did to the atrium in the Bow.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

^that's what it is. A Concrete Turkey.
I like Turkey...much more than concrete. You see, I work in one of those horrid 1970s Architectural disasters that are liberally found at Universities and Hospitals...especially in Ontario.

It might not be your preferred style, but Robarts (along with many other 1960s/70s educational buildings) is one of the best Brutalist buildings in the country.

It's disappointing to see such a low level of architectural knowledge and appreciation that a work like that is brought up alongside tacky stucco piles of 🞵🞵🞵🞵 like the Clocktower and Venetian in an "ugly" thread. Then again I did just see a thread full of "my kid could draw better than that"-type comments on a Basquiat painting, so...

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

It might not be your preferred style, but Robarts (along with many other 1960s/70s educational buildings) is one of the best Brutalist buildings in the country.

It's disappointing to see such a low level of architectural knowledge and appreciation that a work like that is brought up alongside tacky stucco piles of 🞵🞵🞵🞵 like the Clocktower and Venetian in an "ugly" thread. Then again I did just see a thread full of "my kid could draw better than that"-type comments on a Basquiat painting, so...

Right now, you have a bunch of heighters bitching that the proposal thread doesn't put height first.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

The concrete turkey has grown on me.

Same it's a beast, but it fits in well in it's surroundings. I'd miss it if it went off to fight Clockzilla.

It's actually kind of a beautiful structure once you get to know it.

soource:s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com


Source:blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca


Source: images.adsttc.com


Source: img-s3.onedio.com


Source: heritage.utoronto.ca


Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com

[niwell]

I had full access to the UofT library system as a grad student at York and studied at Robart's quite often. It's an amazing building. Also I wasn't going all the way up to York unless I absolutely had to...

[WhipperSnapper]

I'm actually envious for once.

[TorontoDrew]

I need to get in there next Doors Open. I had no idea it was so bad 🞵🞵🞵 inside and over 1 million sq ft.

[MonkeyRonin]

As much as I like Robarts, I think UofT's Scarborough campus is even better:



http://utscpulse.blogspot.ca/2012/10/utsc-good-bad-and-ugly-buildings.html


http://heritage.utoronto.ca/


http://vikpahwa.com/tag/brutalist/page/2/

[LeftCoaster]

Scarberia?

It's cool but not much more depressing than UofT S on a grey winter day.

[TorontoDrew]

Looks good in The Weeknds new video.
• Video Link

[WhipperSnapper]

I've only ever seen it in films.

[O-tacular]

Having gone to ACAD I spent a lot of time inside a Brutalist building. Rumours abounded that the architect had only designed prisons before that. My best description for it would have to be Labyrinth meets Quake. In hindsight I kinda like it though. There was something very weird about it. When you walked in from the train station through the long entry hall there is a window looking into the boiler room complete with dangling chains etc. that looked right out of Nightmare on Elm Street. Also one time I remember noticing a panel partly open on a wall on my way to the bathroom on the 5th floor. I peeked inside and it led to a weird metal grate platform that looked down all the way to the basement. In many ways it felt like it was designed as a level in Quake or a horror movie insane asylum or something. One of my first year sculpture teachers also told us a story about how some homeless dude had found his way into the building and ended up living for a time in one of those weird crawl spaces above the women's bathroom in the basement.

[lio45]

That's an university?!?!? It looks like WWII fortifications.

Brutalist can look good but it usually needs windows and texture/shapes to pull that off.

[niwell]

Since we are on the topic, I just noticed this news about the expansion of Robarts: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2017/06/u-t-robarts-common-breaking-ground-summer



Urbantoronto.ca


Almost had a heart attack at the first render, but the iconic "peacock" (or turkey) view from the East pictured in this thread will remain more or less as is. The expansion will be built along the back end here: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2017/06/u-t-robarts-common-breaking-ground-summer

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by lio45

That's an university?!?!? It looks like WWII fortifications.

Brutalist can look good but it usually needs windows and texture/shapes to pull that off.

Haha. Yes. It's an art college of all things.

Here's some streetviews:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.0612899,-...2LDZRCFh7Q8jylHjp7mT5Q!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.0621314,-...vJej3-U-Mim3Gyj4JySMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Aerial view: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Calgary...b652b63a!8m2!3d51.0486151!4d-114.0708459

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by niwell

Since we are on the topic, I just noticed this news about the expansion of Robarts: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2017/06/u-t-robarts-common-breaking-ground-summer



Urbantoronto.ca


Almost had a heart attack at the first render, but the iconic "peacock" (or turkey) view from the East pictured in this thread will remain more or less as is. The expansion will be built along the back end here: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2017/06/u-t-robarts-common-breaking-ground-summer

HA. I saw that and wondered if any on here would be concerned. The addition looks really messy and does nothing for the overall shape of the building.

[SignalHillHiker]

Whoever did this gives as much of a 🞵🞵🞵🞵 about it as I do.

[O-tacular]

Since MolsonEx loves bad Canadian album covers from decades past here's a list for ya!

http://etcanada.com/photos/235450/12-awkward-canadian-album-covers/#image-235454

This is hands down the best!



Followed by David Suzuki:



Futuristic: