Quote:
Originally Posted by Hali87
I get that that wasn't your point, but I was just wondering how those schools function, socially/culturally, within their cities. York I kind of get. But I haven't really spent time on any of the other campuses. I could see York interacting with its surroundings in the same way as UBC, But U of T?
Ryerson is another one that I've always wondered about (and considered going to).
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No problem Hali87. And I guess I have made a bit of a start about what you are asking in the posts above. In terms of York University, I have not been to it in a very long time. Just going by student counts and Google Earth surveys, it has grown a lot since then, but looks to have the same suburban campus as always. When I knew a student there, and went out to the campus, it was not a great experience. Too big, with too many buildings scattered all over. Weirdly enough, it is superficially similar to the University of Victoria. They share a planning typology. But UVic is much smaller, and has been much more successful creating good outdoor space which connects a lot of its buildings in a much better way. It has structure, while York still seems to be a weakly structured spatial 'field.' I don't want to say its all bad though. I am sure it has been improving. Besides, give me a bump in the ground, some grass and a nice tree and I'm happy. York has a lot of that.
UBC is much much more structured, delineated and defined than York. York is surrounded by quite a low density suburban realm, characterized by more empty green space, high rises, townhouses (I think) and arterial roads. UBC is set against either strongly defined forested parkland, or strongly defined geography (the cliffs and ocean). UBC also has a stronger street pattern (a kind of expanded grid) within the campus, and the large arterials sort of radiate out to the city in the east. It does not have the character of York. UofT is a beast across the board. It relates to Toronto as I noted above, plus serves as a strong public (health etc.) research anchor, and a cultural site for most anything. All big universities do this, but the scale of UofT has a particularly potent impact on the physical, social and cultural structure of Toronto. UBC could have held such a position had it been built on Stanley Park for example. McGill is not big enough to dominate downtown Montreal like this, but a similar situation does arise because downtown Montreal is surrounded and embedded with McGill, as well as Concordia and UQAM.
Another thought is that while discussing Universities (I know its supposed to be university skyline photos) in this way, we need to remember the other related institutions which are also at play. I am referring to places like the National Theatre School, the CCA, SAT, Musée des beaux-arts in Montreal; and the AGO, OCAD, the Ted Rogers School of Management (Ryerson but separate), the COC, Osgoode, the National Ballet School, and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. These along with teaching hospitals and a multiple of other entities create the fabric which the universities are the heart. In Vancouver, to the detriment of UBC, these places are mostly in the central city and the resulting relationship is relatively week.
Hali87, are you studying now, or in the choosing process?