City
What Toronto stands to gain and lose with the Mirvish-Gehry development
T. S. Eliot said it best. "Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls the shadow." That's probably the best way to view yesterday's presentation of David Mirvish and Frank Gehry's King West towers; an idea yet to go through the mill of zoning, city council, and the court of public opinion.
What the pair really gave us was a sketched vision for Toronto's theatre district and the city skyline. What we end up with will, by Gehry's admission, be slightly tweaked and refined over the remainder of the design period.
Imagining for a moment that the buildings are approved entirely as planned, which is a little unlikely, we can take stock of what we will gain and lose as part of the development.
What we could gain
- A bold design.
No doubt about it, Frank Gehry is the real deal when it comes to designing world class, iconic structures. You don't have to look any further than the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao or the recently completed 8 Spruce Street in New York City to understand Gehry's tendency to build city-defining structures.
John Karastamatis from Mirvish Productions says David considers Gehry on par with Antoni GaudÃ, the legendary designer of the Sagrada FamÃlia in Barcelona and a host of other famous Spanish buildings. Karastamatis says Mirvish admires Gehry's "built to last" sturdiness.
The three proposed towers, ranging in size from 80 to 85 stories, close to the height of First Canadian Place at King and Bay, are designed to be complimentary. As Gehry explained during his presentation, the separate designs are supposed to suggest movement.
- A new OCAD U campus
The Mirvish+Gehry project (to use it's semi-official working title) will, if approved, be completed in three phases over the next decade or so. The first phase, the east tower, includes space for a new OCAD U research centre, studio block, archives, and a public lecture hall.
The new Public Learning Centre for Visual Art, Curatorial Studies and Art History (OCADUPLCVACSAH, luckily also a working title) will be the first satellite campus for the McCaul Street school and its biggest expansion construction of the Sharp Centre for Design.
- A new museum
Details might be a little sketchy, but David Mirvish's 60,000-square-foot home for his personal collection aught to be a significant draw for King West. According to the press release distributed yesterday, the building at the corner of King and John - the last to be built - will feature a curated permanent collection of works from Jack Bush, Anthony Caro, Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, David Smith and Frank Stella.
Both architect and landowner were keen to play up the museum's public green space - or "floating garden" - which will be accessible from John Street.
What we could lose
- The Princess of Wales Theatre
Whether or not you care about this will really depend on your dedication to the performing arts. Mirvish Productions' John Karastamatis told me many of the negative comments he's heard surrounding the removal of the 19-year-old theatre so far have often come from non-customers.
Karastamatis also says Mirvish believes he will have enough performance space left with his remaining theatres. He didn't rule out the possibility of Mirvish replacing the Princess of Wales Theatre elsewhere.
The Royal Alexandra Theatre, a heritage building near the development, also owned by Mirvish, will remain untouched on the construction site's eastern edge.
- Some history
The Princess of Wales Theatre might be just a teenager but the buildings that make up the rest of the block are considerably older. Before the area was a theatrical and cinematic hub, Ed Mirvish worked hard to save the former warehouses on the north side of the street.
While they might not be highly significant in terms of the overall history of the city, they are worth factoring in to the equation. Choosing to tear down a historic building - let alone an entire block - should never be an easy decision, but what we stand to gain here is also potentially incredibly big for the city.
So, let's throw it out there. Do you think the buildings between John and the Royal Alexandra Theatre is a fair price for what could become a city-defining set of structures? How much faith should we put in Frank Gehry to deliver something that will significantly alter Toronto's skyline? If not him, who else?
Discussion
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I figure if Mirvish wants to tear down his own baby, then let him.
And rather than limiting the condos -- let the market decide. People say "we don't need more condos" in Toronto... the market will determine if that's indeed true. If sales are strong, then Toronto clearly needs more condos...
As for having faith in Gehry to deliver? You're asking the wrong question. His job is 90% done at this point. The question is, can we have faith in the city, planning officials, the developer and the public to allow him to deliver on his vision?
the legitimate reasons I'm familiar with to complain about condos - boring design, poor quality, lack of consideration for the fabric of the neighbourhood, lack of cultural/community amenities - are abundently clearly NOT an issue here. A giant Gehry museum/public space in Toronto's core is clearly an asset in all those regards.
so given the design quality and public features on offer from Gehry, what exactly is the inherent problem with condos, beyond the usual sneering nimbyism? do you object to dense urban living? exactly where do you propose toronto's growing population should live?
This situation is interesting. Unique residential towers, especially when they will dot the skyline, is a good thing. Tearing down historic buildings in a city that doesn't seem to respect its history is not a good thing, however this project is a fair trade off. There are other historical buildings worth protecting.
My main concern, as always, will be infrastructure. If Mirvish can come up with a way (say, by being that silent private partner the Ford admin desires) to help build a DRL, I'm all for it. Hell, name the first stop after him.
However, knowing how brutal getting around King St is, I want this project to die quickly if surface improvements and transit improvements aren't made. This isn't something we need, but if it results in a better standard of living for future and current residents, I'm all for it.
BUT.
I'll support this zany idea (the condos are only one small part of the greater plan, get over it).
If the results end up to being a hideous white box building, one classroom, and a store front gallery though.... I'mma be pissed!!!
I am standing clapping and giving a big bravo for thinking big. Big booos and hisses for all those that cast it off without thinking and seeing what it could be. that kind of thinking we would still living in huts along the river.
I hope the design review panel at the City can work some magic on this one.
Second, he is also ignoring the protests of subscribers like me who have been vocally against the demolition of the best theatre in Toronto (in terms of acoustics, sightlines and comfort) without so much as a public consultation or collaborative input process. It was an edict from David Mirvish for condo money. And on top of that, it was insulting to the intelligence of his customers and the public to blow flowery smoke in our face with this bullshit PR spin. If it is too expensive to upkeep the theatre and among his stable of theatres he felt the PoW was Thr one he could sacrifice, then tell us and be upfront. All that "this will make Toronto theatre stronger" is so absurd he might as well just slap us in the face with a laugh after saying it.
And let's not forget David Mirvish signed a deal with Sony Centre to lock out Dan Aubrey from downtown, then turns around and tell us there's too much unused space to justify the demolition of PoW. Machiavellian. I hope his parents are turning in their graves for the kind of seed they produced.
Second, can we PLEASE agree to stop using the phrase "World Class City"? My hand involuntarily curls into a fist every time I see or hear someone agonizing over Toronto's place among the global "elite". The biggest clue that we're not one, is always worrying about whether or not we're one. Let's just be Toronto, and let the rest take care of itself.
And lets be honest, if these condo units are not built here, they will be built elsewhere as the market requires. In any case, more people living downtown is going to put a strain on the infrastructure. Better to add density within walking distance of subways and thousands of jobs.