Toronto Buildings

Our means of obtaining food have changed substantially over the history of our civilization.  From the days of hunting and gathering, agriculture has changed the way we eat and live. It has shaped an entire industry. The St. Lawrence Market is an important component of this industry. In a densely populated city, such as Toronto, it can be difficult to provide its inhabitants with fresh locally grown produce and animals. The market promotes individual health and supports a network of farmers, distributors, vendors and consumers.

The shape, size and materials of the South St. Lawrence Market remind me of the hockey rink in my home town of Welland.  Both buildings were designed and constructed in the early 20th century. They are of similar volume and built in the same era, therefore construction methods are much alike.

Several shop-like stations within the South market building are leased to food merchants, jewelry makers and restaurant owners. Several meat, seafood and bakery merchants are gathered in the center of the floor, while delicatessens, produce vendors, a dairy vendor, a bagel maker, a wine distributor and several restaurants line the perimeter of the marketplace. The lower floor is home to jewelry makers, arts & crafts vendors, a coffee house, specialty vendors and more restaurants.

The Claude Watson School for the Arts is a hidden gem in the North York Toronto area. The building seats boldly off the intersection of Yonge st and Spring Garden ave and adjacent to the high rise booming development condos which arguably might have influenced its character as will be discussed . The building was constructed in 2007 and designed by Kohn Shnier Architects for the Toronto District School Board. The building is sited alongside a suburban secondary road which is adjacent to high density, high rise residential buildings. In response, the project is a simple and compact form with a strong street presence while presenting an image of performance and accessibility.

Sited adjacent to a low density suburban neighbourhood and high density, high-rise residential buildings, the simple and compact form of Claude Watson School for the Arts respectfully maintains a strong street presence at a variety of scales.

The design garbs attentions with the aluminum braise soleil hexagonal structure of the facade which at first glance could be read as a giant honey comb. The character of the facade becomes more interesting with the projection of a floating volume (third floor) with pilotis reminiscent of Le Corbusier Villa Savoye Facade and entrance. This projecting volume creates a shaded open space with stairs that form entrance design.

The Royal Ontario Museum  is amongst  the largest museums in  North America.It is situated  north of Queen’s Park and east of Philosophers walk  with its  main entrance  facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto. The original building was designed by Toronto Architects  , Frank Darling and  John A Pearson in 1910-1912 and opened its doors on march 14,1914.  Alfred H.Chapman  and James Oxley designed the first addition to the museum in 1933. The newest expansion  to the ROM was in 2007 designed by polish architect Daniel Libeskind. This new building was named after  Michael-Chin Lee who donated 30 million dollars towards its construction. The ROM houses various galleries ranging from world cultures to fossils and  mineral specimens.

The National Ballet School of Canada is located at 400 Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto, in the Wellesley-Church district. The building is comprised of the Celia Franca Centre and an old heritage building called the Northfield house which is situated in the center of the school. The architectural firms, KPMB, concept was to express the tradition in ballet by using the old heritage building and express the innovation in ballet by using the new contemporary construction. The new building is composed of glass, steel, metal panels, and concrete blocks, and appears transparent from the street façade. The architects played with horizontal and vertical plane elements to create the building composition. Since the completion of the construction of the building in 2005, the building and the architects have won many prestigious awards, including the Governor’s General Award in 2006.

Resources:

“Canada’s National Ballet School (Project Grande Jete).” KPMB Architects. Web. 14
Oct. 2010.<http://www.kpmbarchitects.com/index.asp?navid=30&fid1=10
&fid2=12#desc.>

The Bata Shoe Museum was conceived by Sonja Bata, the wife of shoe lover Thomas J Bata, and was the beginning of an iconic, historical, and cultural establishment in the development of Toronto as a city and the history, celebration, and understanding of shoes in its various context, styles, and forms as viewed around the world. The intension of the museum was to provide, through its collection, knowledge and understanding of the numerous functions and responsibilities of footwear and its relationship and development socially and culturally. The dedication and devotion of the museums resources to the diverse histories and cross-cultural life of shoes is exemplified when reading the visual form and charisma of the museum’s architectural expression. The museum aesthetically becomes apart of the display of works and engages with the theme of shoes initially from the exterior and consistently through space and interior form. Raymond Moriyama, the architect of The Bata Shoes Museum, was initially challenged to create a building which would define and articulate his experience of the collection which he saw prier to his design process. In trying to reiterate his experience in others the design of the museum came to life.

by: Lydon Whittle

Toronto possesses a diversity of attractive and interesting places for tourists from around the world. One of those dramatic, stunning and unexpected places is the historic Gooderham Building. Since this ‘flat-iron’ architectural form cannot be found easily, the historic Gooderham Building is protected under a City By-law under the Ontario heritage Act. Similarly, the New York City has a famous Flatiron Building which was built 10 years later. Its unique narrow wedge shape provides it the name called the Flatiron Building commonly. This building is already known well as a historical landmark in Toronto. David Roberts, the architect of the building has compromised to the irregular triangular shaped at the apex of Front, Church and Wellington streets, 49 Wellington Street East in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Also, this site is right on the edge of the city’s financial district surrounding by the Market Square Condominiums, the A.E. Le Page Building, the towers of the Royal Bank Plaza and of the IBM building in the T-D Centre, and the CN Tower. The Gooderham Building is in the dramatic skyline of Toronto bringing tourists to a stop for pictures very frequently. One of the reasons that many people visit the Gooderham ‘Flatiron’ Building is the interesting mural painted on the west wall of the building. It faces to Berczy Park, a place providing people energy and liveliness.

The National Ballet School located at 400 Jarvis Street is the ultimate example of postmodern architecture.  It combines historic and contemporary buildings to create a balanced visual environment.  Northfield a large Victorian home even acts as a visual anchor creating a much needed focal point.

From http://www.designlinesmagazine.com/images/content/1222374369_nbs_b.jpg.

Located on the northwest corner of University Avenue and College Street, Foster and Partners’ Leslie Lee Dan Pharmacy Building is a state-of-the-art facility that can accommodate more than 1,000 pharmacy students. It is the largest pharmacy faculty in Canada built for multi-functional purposes. There are several reasons that gave birth to the Pharmacy Building project. First, the University of Toronto demanded an elegant building so as to highlight the entrance to the campus. Second, the original buildings were undersized in terms of lecture rooms, laboratories, and other functional spaces. There was a convincing need to provide sufficient space for the current and the increasing number of students. Third, classrooms, research and administrative space, practice labs, and library were spread throughout the university campus; therefore, it was necessary to organize and centralize them in one building to allow the students to manage their time more efficiently. By lifting the bulk of the building with series of slender concrete columns, Foster and Partners has created a unique corner condition. The most dynamic space that attracts attention happens on the ground level in the main atrium. It features extraordinary egg-shaped “pods” that appear as if they are floating freely. Akin to any other building, Foster and Partners’ Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building is not only an object built to fulfill its purpose, but an entity which reflects time and place. The Pharmacy building, which has become one of the landmarks in Toronto, mirrors the era of modern culture as well as the general trend in architecture.