EXHIBITING ARCHITECTURE: Appropriating the Toronto Harbourfront Centre
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EXHIBITING ARCHITECTURE: Appropriating the Toronto Harbourfront Centre by Amber Baechler b Arch s A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in M . Architecture Professional Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2012 Amber Baechler Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93640-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93640-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada EXHIBITING ARCHITECTURE: Appropriating the Toronto Harbourfront Centre Amber Baechler b . a ^ h s Contents Abstract 01 Introduction 0 2 Architecture in the Gallery 03 Exhibition Types 0 4 Case Studies National Gallery of Canada Canadian Centre for Architecture Toronto Harbourfront Centre Conclusions 05 Laboratory Installations 0 6 Design Proposal Installation Mechanisms Program Diagrams Drawings & Models 0 7 Installation Schedule 08 Post-Script Endnotes Bibliography 1vT:;nTMl?T Abstract How is architecture communicated? The increasing interest in architecture exhibitions by both the public and exhibiting institutions presents an opportune moment to critique contemporary exhibition practices and propose alternate types and institutions. Building on the arguments o f Peter Smithson and Florian Kossak this thesis argues for the evolution o f architecture exhibitions towards a spatial based practice o f laboratory installations. Contemporary architecture exhibitions and institutions in Canada are studied and selected case studies from the National ( iallery of Canada, Canadian Centre for Architecture and Harbourfront Centre are used to define two general categories o f exhibition types: reflective and laboratory. Reflective exhibitions rely on existing artifacts and prior research as content. Laboratory exhibitions explore future architectures that engage the visitor in habitable installations. Drawing on recent discourse on art installations, the thesis argues that laboratory installations allow gallery visitors to become active agents rather than passive observers, revealing themselves to themselves and each other. Due to this activation, the definition and scope of laboratory installations is expanded beyond tectonic space to include social and political space. The thesis then goes on to propose that this expanded mandate o i laboratory installations is best suited to improve public engagement, act as a platform for research and contribute toward future democratic and architectural processes. Toward this end, an expansion o f the Harbourfront Centre program in Toronto is proposed, including a dedicated architecture gallery designed to facilitate laboratory type installations. 01 Introduction . I w ill always commend the time-honored custom, practiced by the best builders, of preparing not only drawings and sketches but also models of wood or any other material. These w ill enable us to weigh repeatedly and examine, with the advice of experts, the work as a whole and the individual dimension of a ll the parts, and before continuing any farther, to estimate the likely trouble and expense. Having constructed these models, it w ill be possible to examine clearly and consider thoroughly the relationship between the site and the surrounding district, the shape oj the area, the number and order of the parts of the building, the appearance of the walls, the strength of the covering, and in short the design and construction of all the elements... It w ill also allow one to increase or decrease the size oj those elements fieely, to exchange them, and to make new proposals and alterations until everything fits together well and meets with approval. - Leon Battista Alberti (1452)1 SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE In 1366, the citizens o f Florence were invited to confirm the architectural design of the dome that would crown the Santa Maria del Fiore. In the tradition Alberti would later document, on display in the partially constructed church tor their consideration were two models illustrating the competing visions o f the dome. The models, at 15 feet in height and 30 feet in length, were representations o f possible architectures as well as inhabitable constructions in and o f themselves.2 Their scale and articulation allowed citizens to interact with, scrutinize and ultimately vote on the architectural idea chat would come to define their city. The story of this design exhibition is told by Ross King in Brunelleschi 's Dome. Construction supervision o f the cathedral was in the hands o f Florences most powerful guild, the W ool Merchants through their administration o f the Opera del Duomo. Their vision was ambitious. They supported cathedral architect and master mason Arnolfo di Cambios plan to build the largest dome in Christendom despite the fact that this design had proved to be problematic. The proposed structure - w ith a span o f 62 braccia, or 119 feet - was 12 feet larger than the dome o f Santa Sophia in Constantinople (Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey).-’ C onstruction o f such a grand dome had been openly acknowledged as a significant - if not impossible - challenge. “Even the original planners of the dome had been unable to advise how their project might be completed.”1 Arnolfos own model had collapsed under its own weight sometime during the 14th century. By 1366, 70 years after construction o f the cathedral began, the nave had been vaulted and the east end of the church - which included the dome - was ready to begin construction. However, a resolute design direction for the dome had yet to be reached. A t the request of the Opera del Duomo two master masons, Giovanni di Lapo Ghini and Neri di Fioravanti were solicited to each propose a design - represented in the form o f a model - for the cathedral’s dome. In response to the competition Giovanni prepared a design that employed external buttresses to support the large dome. H is com petitor, Neri, rejected buttresses proposing instead a dome that supported itself with the aid o f stone or wooden chains running around its circumference. After more than a year o f deliberations it was Ncris proposal - with a few structural adjustments - that won out, thus securing the design direction of the cathedral. This decision was confirmed not only by wardens at the Opera del Duomo but also by the Florentine public through a public referendum. It was not unusual for the Florentine public to reject a proposal. Examples o f this are recounted in the exhibition narrative o f the Opera di Santa M a ria del Fiore di Firenze museum; the design of the cathedral’s exterior, for example, went through several proposals and referenda before gaining public approval. There can be little doubt that the model prepared for the competition would have been the primary means through w hich the public determined their confidence in the architects proposal. Due to the referendum, the public had both the opportunity and reason to visit the model and, given its large scale, to walk in and around it - to experience the cathedral as it would be (albeit at a smaller scale). N e ri’s model was more than a building in miniature; it tested and was b u ilt in real space, it engaged a real experience o f a possible future architecture. Following the referendum, during the period between 1366 and the 1418, according to King, “Neri’s model of the dome became an object o f veneration in Florence... it was displayed like a reliquary o r shrine in one o f the side aisles The practice of submitting a design proposal in the form of a scale model is corroborated by the original model of Santa Maria del Fiore constructed by Arnolfo as well as models created for a subsequent competition held by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral's exterior. A collection of models surviving from the later competition are on display at the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore di Firenze museum Photo: Author. o f the growing church. Every year the cathedral’s architects and wardens were obliged to place their hands on a copy o f the Bible and swear an oath that they would build the church exactly as the model portrayed.5 The model acted as a fulcrum; it inspired and challenged the wardens o f the Opera del Duomo, the Florentine public and future competitors to work towards the future reality it inspired.