Canadian City Proposals

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I say keep adding on and see where it goes at this point. It will be our Frankenstein Art Gallery.

Frankenstein art gallery is a good way of putting it!

Having seen many Gehrys up close, I'm not a fan of his architecture, but the AGO is one of the rare buildings of his that I like. The interior is, as you said, beautiful and also (unusually) functional.

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Well this was an exciting announcement to see today - even if not the most architecturally exciting project - the AGO will be getting a new 5-storey, 40,000 sqft wing with an additional 13 contemporary gallery spaces:

That is exciting news. For a city of its size and reputation, Toronto isn't exactly awash with top-drawer museums.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Gresto

That is exciting news. For a city of its size and reputation, Toronto isn't exactly awash with top-drawer museums.

Not sure what "awash" would look like, but ROM, AGO, Bata, Hockey Hall of Fame, the Science Centre, and the Aga Khan makes for a pretty respectable offering, along with smaller spots like the MTV TV Museum and the Textile Museum. I would like to see an expanded City of Toronto museum and a national museum of design would be good as well. The growth of theatre and movie/TV production in the city might make an entertainment museum of some sort a good bet for the future.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Here is the original A.G.O structure built in 1910. Most of it is now inside newer additions. I say keep adding on and see where it goes at this point. It will be our Frankenstein Art Gallery.
source: https://ago.ca

Fascinating.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Gresto

That is exciting news. For a city of its size and reputation, Toronto isn't exactly awash with top-drawer museums.

Canadian museums in general suffer from a bit of a "triple-whammy" disadvantage compared to those in our peer nations - we neither have the legacy of colonial plundering like the Europeans; the historic wealth of the Americans; nor the unbroken history of Europe or Asia. At this point, they're playing catch up, but doing so at a time where antiquities are no longer up for grabs and philanthropy is less dependable.

The AGO is one of the small handful of museums in Canada that are actually decent on a global level (but even then, certainly isn't at the top tier). I've never been to Australia, but I'd be curious to see how some of their museums compare to ours.

[urbandreamer]

^The building behind it facing Grange Park was built for OCA. I just realized my aunt is in the photo on OCADU's Wikipedia page (class of 1931.) She became an art teacher in Vienna and left for Belfast when WW2 began.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by JHikka

If only GO RER/Expansion went to Hamilton instead of ending in Aldershot. Would make too much sense to have frequent, fast trains connecting Hamilton and Toronto.

I'd love to see more peak period trips INTO Hamilton.

CN and CP are a big issue. Freight rail is king once you go west of Aldershot, and even with an extra track heading into the rail yard next to West Harbour GO station, CN still calls the shots. There's also the limitation of the ancient rail tunnel with a single track leading to the downtown GO station. CP has a "from my cold, dead hands" mentality about that.

[paulwillyjean]

Looking at the first render, I can’t help but think that Yonge is more than overdue for a Saint-Denis treatment. Even transitory infrastructure would benefit from bus islands so busses don’t need to pull up in the bike lane and pedestrians islands mid block to help people cross that street.

[WhipperSnapper]

The AGO spent hundreds of millions to expand and develop a cohesive appearance to all the previous expansions. Why not have Gehry draw up plans for future growth? Fundraising and donations are probably an easier sell hiring a new architect to design a new flashy wing than an expansion on the Gehry design.

Moving to a new site? I don't get that. Toronto is a sprawling city. Build a satellite gallery elsewhere if they have run out of room at the current site.

[urbandreamer]

^Ideally I'd restore the AGO to its 1920s appearance, expand Grange Park around it with a sculpture garden. Keep the classic art here and create a Modern Gallery of Art on University Avenue.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by paulwillyjean

Looking at the first render, I can’t help but think that Yonge is more than overdue for a Saint-Denis treatment. Even transitory infrastructure would benefit from bus islands so busses don’t need to pull up in the bike lane and pedestrians islands mid block to help people cross that street.

It's in the works: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2021/01/dow...alized-heads-february-council-vote.43908

Being Toronto it's very overdue and moving slowly and in a way that's way more convulted than it needs to be, but slowly & surely the city does continue to progress on stuff like this.

[davidivivid]

Speaking of museums, I don't remember if I posted here the renders of the new Riopelle pavilion to be built on the MNBAQ complex.







Riopelle's masterpiece, L'Hommage à Rosa Luxmbourg, a 40m long triptych composed of 30 individual paintings, will really get the setting it deserves:



https://www.mnbaq.org/espace-riopelle?fb...UGqQfJ4DOn8aPlqkY7P82j6Qa-YNmb-ap5rNeslg


It will replace the old entrance.



https://iwan.com/portfolio/mnbaq-museum-quebec-oma-musee-national-des-beaux-arts-du-quebec/#19229

[GeneralLea]

I believe this was posted earlier in this thread, but it's still good to see the renders again for a tastefully done, high quality expansion of a museum.

[MonkeyRonin]

Who's ready for the Chateau Laurier debacle pt. 2?

Hotel Vancouver owner proposes 12-storey office tower connected to iconic building

Published March 4, 2023 7:30 a.m. PST

The owner of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has submitted a rezoning application to the city in hopes of building a 12-storey office tower where the iconic hotel's loading docks and valet parking are currently located.

The new building would replace an existing annex to the main hotel, and would include a new ballroom, hotel spa and restaurant, as well as ground-level and basement retail space.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/hotel-vancouver-ow...r-connected-to-iconic-building-1.6298953

[gaviscon]

Vancouver

516-534 West Pender Street

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/516-534-west-pender-street-vancouver-hotel-marcon


























3362-3384 Vanness Avenue, Vancouver

Rental Housing


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/3362-3384-vanness-avenue-vancouver-rental-towers-intracorp

[MonkeyRonin]

516 West Pender looks great, lots of nice textures. And replaces a parking garage too.

Those Vanness towers on the other hand are horrible. Cheesy dressed up slabs.

[vanman]

The Vanness towers pay homage to the nearby Telus boot which I like.


https://www.rentwithadvent.com/wall-cent...ment-rental-1804-5515-boundary-vancouver

[WhipperSnapper]

534 W Pender is a step back in time to add coolness to appease the design gods but lacks cohesion. It works for the lobby. The horizontal element works a lot less up the tower. The intent beyond providing architectural stardom, IMO, is to break up the massing. It does that poorly.

I get hungry for a chain restaurant looking at the rental towers. The design does require two towers on a podium. The black and white cladding theme in which i'm been known to pray to the universe's Grand Architect to kill is innocuous.

[ssiguy]

I don't mind those 2 rental towers, kinda retro.

As for West Pender I think that's rather nice but I can't get over how wide it is. Vancouver buildings are EXCEPTIONALLY skinny, even the office towers. This is due to the city's antiquated "view corridor" policy. This looks way to wide to conform.

[C3YVR]

Vancouver buildings are not skinny because of the "view corridor", they are slender because it is smart, as was very well pointed out why in this LA article: https://letsgola.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/high-rise-codes-housing-affordability-in-los-angeles/