Arts
Washington Post Singles Out ROM as Worst of the Decade in Architecture
More bad news for the ROM today. The now infamous Michael Lee-Chin Crystal that's probably still the most in-vogue thing in Toronto to hate these days has just been crowded the worst single piece of architecture of the decade by the Washington Post.
According to the article's author Philip Kennicott, the Daniel Libeskind designed masterpiece/monstrosity "surpasses the ugliness of bland functional buildings by being both ugly and useless....go inside and you need a map to move around its irrational and baffling dead spaces. Curators seem as baffled and frustrated by it as casual visitors."
In its defense I will say that the ROM is at least the most talked about building in Toronto. Good or bad, we Torontonians love to be part of the global conversation - any global conversation - and if it happens to be about bad architecture, well, so be it.
Discussion
65 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
270 million.....I just can't believe it.
A 1/4 of a billion dollars. We could have gotten A-Rod for 10 years for that much money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Denver_art_museum_night_archipreneur_adam_crain.jpg
And speaking of IM Pei's Louvre Pyramid, it's twenty years old and is only now generally agreed upon as a useful and handsome addition to the site. Give it some time and people will come to enjoy it. And while you're at it, try to be part of the process yourself. All this hatred, it's unhealthy.
Is there anything Torontonians like? Tough crowd over here.
"The snail."
"Indigestible hot cross bun."
"Washing machine."
- Descriptions of the Guggenheim in the 1950s. Time will truly tell.
Still, it is most unfair, there are so many worse buildings around.
The original design (sans cladding) did not work functionally or environmentally. The glass was unmaintainable in Toronto's natural environment (moisture condensation), and did not work to adequately preserve the collection. Aesthetics are always a matter of taste. Personally, the Borg-meets-the-Classics is jarring, but not in a thought-provoking, inspiring commentary sort of way. Compared to, say, the AGO redesign, the ROM is garish in my view. Compared to OCAD-on-stilts - an equally controversial but whimsically inspired work, I think - the ROM redesign attempts to take itself too seriously. As well, OCAD students and faculty (at least the ones from whom I've heard) are unanimous on how well that building works for its intended function. No one, save those with a vested interest in justifying the choice of the Libes-wunderkind-du-jour, would claim useful functionality. Recalling the politics at the time, the ROM was a matter of then director Thorsell, in effect, erecting his own pyramid. It can, in one sense, be considered a narcissistic building. In that, the architect matched the needs of the client.
The Crystal makes for a great public space on Bloor. The way it projects the music of the street performers and angles normal street noise makes for a wonderfully unique experience. It grabs your attention and also points it at the original architecture. Inside, I've heard many compliments of it actually improving the flow of the interior to the way it was originally intended.
So yes, the Crystal is another worthwhile addition to our diverse collection of architecture.
"The boldly modern Ontario College of Art and Design was an early example of Toronto's ongoing architectural renaissance."
Also keep in mind that more than 1/2 of the $250M was spent on redoing the galleries in the old building.
Libeskind is the worst of the "starchitects" of this era. He recycles the same ideas over and over, disregarding the unique context of the site within the city completely. That said, this is definitely NOT the worst piece of architecture of the decade. Maybe there's an ex-Torontonian on staff with a chip on their shoulder?
When I first saw the concept art I was mortified, but then I travelled the world a little and saw the need for major cities to push the envelope when it comes to design.
Also - for those that say the renovation ruined the original design of the ROM, I ask them to look at the structure a little more closely. The expansion replaced an ugly 60's style expansion of the ROM and hasn't really done anything to change the older structure.
I think the MLC Crystal is one of the nicest, forward thinking and exciting buildings in the city.
Given the recently passed city council restrictions on Queen W and Ossington, I'm not surprised that people in this city don't like the MLC Crystal.
Toronto loves its bland, take no chances, middle of the road lifestyle.
The reason the ROM was a compromise was not because Torontonians were too uninspired to realize Liebeskind's true vision, but because Torontonians were too stupid to realize that Liebeskind's true vision didn't actually work.
http://exshoesme.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/deja-vu-toronto-vegas-get-crystallized/
Spikes coming out of the 1914 building facade are great ...brings the ROM kicking and screaming into the future, however jagged, metallic, and scary that is. You cannot knock the thing for being standoutish and 'crazy'. It breathes life into the area that sits on the edge of Victorian UofT campus buildings and Bloor/Yorkville commercial standardness.
I love it.
Maybe a little like Paris. The best view of Toronto is from the place where the crystal cannot be seen. Unfortunately it is so badly designed that you can't just look out a window. You have to awkwardly bend and look out a window.
I'm calling the emperor's new clothes on anyone that likes it.