ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM summary notes REDEVELOPED DISTRICT walking tour prepared by instructor Marta O'Brien

See the world through a different angle! www.skope.ca We explored an area that was a manufacturing and warehouse district for 100 years: • with coming of railway lines along the shoreline in the 1850s, many factories were built here (displacing upscale residences and institutions, including the Lieutenant Governor's mansion and a posh private school for boys) • use of transport trucks (needing highway access), cheaper land outside downtown, & globalization led to decline of manufacturing in Toronto • this area was redeveloped beginning in the 1970s as an Entertainment District of theatres, restaurants, & nightclubs • since 2000, area is multi-use with residential condos & varied commercial services • many examples of former factories repurposed as commercial spaces • development proposal signs indicate more changes to come

POPS • one of many Privately Owned Public Spaces in Toronto; usually adjacent to condos or commercial buildings (over 25 in downtown core) • ensures public space in densely-developed areas • controversial: building occupants & public misunderstand what’s public and what’s private

ATMOSPHERE 2014 Wallman Architects • 49-storey residential tower with 13-storey soft loft building • a soft loft is a new building with loft-like spaces (open plan, high ceilings) • a hard loft was built as a factory or warehouse and has been repurposed

CANADIAN BROADCAST CENTRE 1988-92 John Burgee Architects Inc with Phillip Johnson with Bregman+ Hamann Architects / Scott Associates Architects • houses all English-language television, radio, & digital programming for Canada's public broadcaster • building in Deconstructivist style: parts break away from main volume • main entrance defined by glass cylinder projecting beyond grid & above roofline • sound attenuation critical: foundations on giant rubber pads, & floor slabs isolated from foundation walls • studios, production & control rooms float on approximately 3,000 steel- laminated neoprene rubber isolation pads

SIMCOE PARK SCULPTURES 1995 • public art pieces include Anish Kapoor's Mountain & artists Brad Golden & Lynne Eichenberg's monument to when the Simcoes founded Toronto

See the world through a different angle! www.skope.ca RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL 2006-11 Kohn Pederson Fox (U.S.) & Page + Steele • 53-storey luxury hotel

RBC CENTRE 2009 Kohn Pederson with Bregman + Hamann • 43-storey office building illustrates southern expansion of financial district

METRO SQUARE renamed PECAULT SQUARE in 2011 for late city advocate

METRO HALL 1992 Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects • 27 storeys accommodating 2,300 City of Toronto staff

ROY THOMSON HALL 1978-82 Arthur Erickson with Mathers & Haldenby interior transformed 2000-02 KPMB • home to Toronto Symphony Orchestra seats 2,630 • circular glass form lightens building's mass & connects lobbies with exterior • acoustics system required too much technical adjustment to be effective • post-2000 work improved acoustics & included using Canadian maple on previously concrete surfaces

CANADA'S WALK OF FAME • 1st inductees 1998; >160 inductees since then

KING STREET PILOT PROJECT 2.6 km 2017-18 • to improve reliability & travel speed of busiest surface route in city • priority to over 65,000 streetcar users over 20,000 private vehicles each day • parklettes designed to attract pedestrians

THEATRE PARK 2012-15 architectsAlliance • 47-storey condo; units from 31.8 m2 to 230m2 + penthouses

ROYAL ALEX 1906-07 John Lyle • luxurious theatre for touring companies based in London & New York City • almost demolished in 1960s but rescued & spawned Entertainment District

PRINCESS OF WALES 1991-93 Peter Smith of Lett/Smith Architects • understated exterior lines up with flanking historic buildings • colourful interior & exterior murals, & sculpted balcony fronts, by renowned American artist Frank Stella • stage one of widest & deepest in North America; house seats 2,000

See the world through a different angle! www.skope.ca DAVID MIRVISH/FRANK GEHRY PROPOSAL unveiled Fall 2012 • concerns over height (3 towers over 80 storeys each), traffic implications, & demolition of heritage buildings & Princess of Wales Theatre caused City to refuse permission for demolition and development • scaled back now to 2 condo towers, and retention of two heritage buildings plus Princess of Wales Theatre

TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2007-10 KPMB • see course book for details

FESTIVAL TOWER 2010 Kirkor Architects & Planners • 42-storey condo with building envelope & balconies fully glazed • 2011: glass shattered & fell from balconies (also happened elsewhere; thought due to impurities in glass) • balconies replaced 2012 with laminated glass that won't spontaneously shatter

JOHN STREET CULTURAL CORRIDOR • extends from Front Street north to AGO • being redeveloped to enhance pedestrian experience & facilitate events

BISHOP’S BLOCK 1829-33 • originally 4 residential rowhouses (5th added 1844-45) • preceded industry in area; considered posh neighbourhood • eventually housed hotel, then tavern, by early 1980s just 2 units remained • restored as Soho House private club in 2013

SHANGRI-LA 2012 James Cheng, Hariri Pontarini • 66-storey mixed-use building includes hotel, condos, restaurants, & amenities • set a new precedent for extreme height on University Avenue • distinctive Rising sculpture by Chinese sculptor Zhang Huan

FOUR SEASONS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 2006 Diamond Schmitt Architects • see course book for details • 5-storey City Room facing University Ave. Is glass-enclosed main lobby with low-iron glass walls custom-designed in Germany; 1st of its kind in North America • double-glazed panels supported by suspended steel crosses & laterally braced against wind by horizontal glass shelves • has computer-controlled shade linked to weather sensors

See the world through a different angle! www.skope.ca