SIGN IN SEARCH THE AJ NEWS BUILDINGS COMPETITIONS OPINION AJ100 MAGAZINES EVENTS LIBRARY JOBS SUBSCRIBE BUILDINGS FIRST LOOK ‘I want passengers to feel a little bit of joy’: Will Alsop’s aLL Design completes two Toronto stations 3 JANUARY, 2018 BY ROB WILSON Pioneer Village station Source: Wade Zimmerman 1/28 HIDE CAPTION COMMENT MOST POPULAR MOST COMMENTED Sculptural concrete, vibrant colour and art installations all feature in the new Pioneer Revealed: TfL’s sudden change of tune over Garden Bridge construction Village and Finch West stations in Toronto contract Both form part of the new Toronto York Spandia Subway Extension, which expands the existing transport RIBA names 61 London regional system across the boundary between the City of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York. award winners with two ‘best buildings’ Pioneer Village Station straddles the border of York Region, beneath the intersection of Steeles Avenue RIBA slams Hackitt’s post-Grenfell West and Northwest Gate, anchoring a corner of York University Campus. The station will serve up to review as ‘major missed opportunity’ 20,000 passengers daily, with 1,881 commuter parking spaces and two separate regional bus terminals. The location is otherwise under-developed and it is intended that the station entrances and bus terminals will create a focal point that will serve the future development of the surrounding area, beginning with First cohort of Public Practice Steeles Avenue West. architects teams up with council planners AJ100 Employer of the Year shortlist announced New practice Assorted Skills + Talents*: ‘The profession is at a turning point’ Diller Scofidio + Renfro wins £25m V&A collections centre Foster + Partners reveals first images of new Indian state capital RELATED JOBS Associate Designate – High End SOURCE: WADE ZIMMERMAN Pioneer Village Station Residential Architect for Vibrant & Inspiring North London Studio £39,000 - £49,000 p.a. Pioneer Village’s entrances were designed as a pair of sculptural structures, higher than necessary in order to increase their visibility – ‘We learn a lot from cathedrals’, says Alsop. Rendered in weathering steel, Junior Associate - Contemporary these two structures mirror each other in shape and scale. The canopy – also made with Cor-ten steel – Residential Architect for Vibrant, has a huge cantilevered roof, the surface of which is planted with meadow grasses. Energetic North London Practice £37,000 - £45,000 p.a. Finch West Station is located at the intersection of Keele Street and Finch Avenue West. The hydro corridor Revit Experts for Pioneering AJ100 Firm to the north accommodates commuter parking for 347 vehicles, passenger pick-up and drop-off with £0.00 - £18 per hour associated access roads from Keele Street. Bruce McLean, Alsop’s long-term collaborator, was appointed as artist for this station, and in this particular case the art has been integrated into the architecture. Creative role - Skilled Designer for Inspiring and Pioneering Design McLean was inspired by ancient architecture, and the external columns at Finch West refer to Greek Workshop, Central London caryatids while those supporting the underground roof were inuenced by 6,000-year-old Minorcan pillars £36,000 - £48,000 p.a. that would have supported underground houses. The sculptural concrete forms are integrated with the Talented Designer with an Interiors bias supporting columns of the substation and entrance buildings, the bus canopy and double-height columns with a Pioneering approach to below grade. Every visible aspect of the public space of this project aims to blend the boundaries between Architecture and Interiors art and architecture. £36,000 - £48,000 p.a. Newly Qualied / Part III with great design skills for vibrant Design & Architecture Studio £30,000 - £36,000 p.a. SOURCE: WADE ZIMMERMAN Finch West station This sculptural use of concrete has also been employed at Pioneer Village, where the interior walls are faceted, highly-polished concrete and the supporting columns along the length of the platforms are angled and ovoid in section. Also key is Alsop’s characteristic use of colour. At Pioneer Village, a vibrant red contrasts the Cor-ten on the exterior and interior at ground level, and LightSpell, a public art installation by Berlin-based architecture and art studio realities:united, consists of 40 interactive light elements that run along the ceiling throughout the station. Each element can display the alphabet, special characters and numerals, allowing passengers to send messages that will appear on the displays. At Finch West, coloured glass sections and tiles feature at ground and platform levels, with the exterior’s black and white striped form recalling Alsop’s OCAD building, also in Toronto. Architect’s view I have to assume that on one of those really cold, miserable January mornings… there will be people down there travelling to a job that they’d probably rather not do. What I want them to feel is a little bit of cheer, a little bit of joy. Will Alsop Project data Pioneer Village Client Toronto Transit Commission Size 16,200m² Start on site 2011 Completion December 2017 Cost $165M CAD Finch West Client Toronto Transit Commission Size 11,200m² Start on site 2011 Completion December 2017 Cost $130M CAD TAGS WILL ALSOP TRANSPORT ALL DESIGN TORONTO CANADA COMMENT You might also like... ‘Mischievous’ architect and artist Will Alsop dies aged 70 13 MAY, 2018 RICHARD WAITE Avant-garde architect, artist and academic Will Alsop, who won the 2000 Stirling Prize with Peckham Library, has died aged 70 after a short illness Obituary: Will Alsop 1947–2018 22 MAY 2018 JEREMY MELVIN In the AJ’s ocial obituary, Jeremy Melvin looks at the life and work of the Stirling Prize-winning architect who died earlier this month ‘Colourful, messy and sometimes pyromaniac’: profession pays tribute to Will Alsop 15 MAY 2018 RICHARD WAITE Tributes have ooded in from the profession following the death of ’charismatic provocateur’ Will Alsop Allford on Alsop: ‘A global figure but also a maverick’ 14 MAY 2018 SIMON ALLFORD Simon Allford of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris remembers Will Alsop, a ‘vociferous and distinguished outsider’, who has died aged 70 Have your say You must sign in to make a comment SIGN IN REGISTER Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you conrm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. 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