Tag Archives: toronto
20140829. The post-modern, strangely intriguing McMurtry-Scott Building, home of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
20140828. Toronto’s new streetcar at night saying “510 Spadina” on Spadina before the big day.
20140823. A composite image showing a boat disappear on the Toronto Harbour as a sudden fog rolled in yesterday.
20140822. Modernist high-rise demolition cross-section in Regent Park, Toronto.
We should applaud the revitilization in Regent Park but should also appreciate the design of these modernist towers before all five are gone.
They were very unique. John Bentley Mays did a good job describing these apartments: “Every one of the five high-rises is a stack of 97 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, each disposed, like a small townhouse, on two floors. By eliminating corridors on every second floor — the elevator skips the floors without hallways — Dickinson was able to open out the common area in each apartment to the width of the whole slab. The results: a sense of spaciousness, light coming from two directions, good cross-ventilation and views of Lake Ontario for almost every resident of the towers.”
20140821. Now choose from 28 doors when entering the Union Station subway or underground PATH system in Toronto. Minimal Aesthetic 39.
Alternate Caption: 20140821. Pigeons use the subway too.
If you are taking the Yonge line, enter from the east doors (farthest) and if you are taking the University line, enter from the west doors (closest). What concerns me is if you want to go into the underground PATH, you must come through the west doors or you will be met by a bank of 17 turnstiles where once you could just walk through.
20140820. The half-demolished 1958 Peter Dickinson modernist high-rise in Regent Park, Toronto.
20140819. Sections of the TTC’s new Union Station platform (Toronto) are quite wide but very, very white.
Apologies for suggesting the entire platform was narrow. Will this platform change from white to grey over time from subway train grime?
20140818. Finally, the TTC’s Union Station (Toronto) has its second, albeit narrow, platform.
The new platform services trains heading northbound on the Yonge line. Note: a) the wayfinding signage above the train (similar to stations to the north), b) the ceiling panels that snap in/out of place allowing easy access for servicing, c) the exposed concrete floors and d) the matte wall tiles with the occasion glossy ones thrown in.
20140817. White circles in glass rectangles. Minimal Aesthetic 38.
20140815. The floating ramp and nice lines of the Brutalist Robarts Library (University of Toronto).
20140813. The protruding stairwell at the Art Gallery of Ontario, a Frank Gehry redesign. Minimal Aesthetic 37.
20140811. A front-lit tree with the sun shining through from behind.
20140809. Two views of a giant three-sided billboard from below. Exhibition Place, Toronto.
20140807. Attention! Go ziplining at Toronto’s EX this year from platform rigging secured by guy wires.
20140805. We are the Pillars of Justice. Sculpture by Edwina Sandys (c.2007) outside Toronto Courthouse at 361 University.
The plaque reads “Pillars of Justice. The People of our community participate in the legal system by serving on the Jury. We are the Pillars of Justice. The missing pillar invites you to imagine that you are the twelfth juror.”
20140801. The Canadarm of concrete pumping stands out Toronto’s Bay Adelaide East construction site.
20140730. Putting all the Brutalist planters in one place in preparation for the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto.
This is as Canadian as concrete gets! It is not the letters CNE stamped in the concrete but rather what the concrete is made of. If you look closely, you can make out the smooth pebbles that the cement is mixed with. This type of concrete is found throughout Canada; in Brutalist buildings, concrete benches and the ground we walk on in places like Montreal’s Olympic park. It must be a lot of work hauling these around but I hope they keep them to remind us of our architectural past.
20140728. The Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge triptych.
This is one of only three bailey bridges in the Greater Toronto Area. This particular bridge (in Markham) dates back to 1954. It was built by the Canadian Military Engineers in three days after Hurricane Hazel hit Toronto and washed out the original bridge.
Although hard to see in the bottom image, the bailey bridge does not actually make contact with the original bridge foundation.
Interestingly, bailey bridges are usually considered temporary structures but this bridge has been in place for 60 years.
20140726. The Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) grand rounded and segmented windows (c.1914, Architects Darling and Pearson).
This is the original ROM building featuring buff-coloured brick and terracotta. It faces Philosopher’s Walk and is now the west wing of the museum. The building you see facing Queen’s Park was added in 1933.
20140724. Lights and stairwells create patterns on the Essroc Cement Company silos in Toronto’s port lands.
As part of the re-naturalization of the mouth of the Don River, these silos will be decommissioned and made into a visual monument to our waterfront heritage and the company will move their operations to south of Commissioner’s Street just off Leslie St. If you have been down to the area recently you have probably noticed the new silos.
20140720. A silhouette of sport field lights against the sky. Minimal Aesthetic #36, Lamp #4.
20140717. Hanging out on an empty Lakeshore Blvd courtesy of Toronto’s Honda Indy.
20140710. Cubes, cylinder and shadows outside the Portlands Energy Centre (Toronto).
20140709. Ducts, frames and stairwells inside the Portlands Energy Centre in Toronto.
