Sherbourne Commons: An Unfinished Gem?

By Kawai Lam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHAo9RhDCP4&feature=player_embedded

 

Bike Rings, Sherbourne Commons

Open Park Area, Sherbourne Commons

On September 24th the latest project of the often referred to as long planned and even longer incubating waterfront revitalization was officially unveiled, at least partially. Located at the foot of Lower Sherbourne Street and Queens Quay East, the southern half of the recently dubbed Sherbourne Commons (a title awarded after a public naming contest with over 500 entries) officially opened to the public. When both halves are completed the 1.5 hectare narrow park will stretch from Lake Shore Boulevard to the water’s edge, neatly divided in half by the Queens Quay. It will add to the growing amenities, life, and destination potential, of the East Bayfront neighbourhood (considering it now mostly consists of abandoned industrial infrastructure). Recent other nearby Waterfront Toronto projects that have raised the profile of the area are the massive Corus Entertainment complex and the adjacent fully integrated and delightful public urban space, Sugar beach (both previously reviewed on this blog). Another much anticipated project planned for completion in fall 2011 and sitting directly to the east between the Corus complex and Sherbourne Commons, will be the new George Brown Health Sciences centre.

On an unfortunately overcast and lightly raining drab day, I made the trek to the still fairly inaccessible Port Lands area to take in Sherbourne Common South. It was indeed “completed” except for the main water feature: the pond/skating rink that will be the centerpiece of the park, which was still fenced off and clearly in progress. The rest of the park was regrettably at first glance bland. It consisted of a long rectangular area of plain green grass, still visibly freshly unrolled and camped upon by a flock of Canadian geese, and a wide paved walkway down the west side with pleasantly stylish and modern streetlights, benches, and bike parking rings. All of the details in the park furniture were sophisticated and polished, but beyond that there was much disappointment and not very much to the park except for grass, which is admittedly an odd complaint. Perhaps the rain and grey skies detracted from the park’s natural charm.

Built Form: Toronto as a Film Set

Proposed "Film Set" Neighbourhood

By Kawai Lam

Would you ever consider living in an actual permanent film set? Sounds interesting and exciting right? It would probably not be feasible, let alone desirable for the long term however. What if though, the film set was a fully mixed-use vibrant neighbourhood with cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, and was located right downtown on the waterfront with promised LRT access? What if it was next door to the future site of the Pan Am games amenities and sport facility, and the neighbourhood would be a very faithful replica of famous neighbourhoods in New York, Chicago, and London? If you are even slightly interested, or at least intrigued, welcome to the future of approximately 13.5-hectares of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization. On November 14th Pinewood Studios Toronto in partnership with a group of investors including Build Toronto (which is completely city owned) announced its “go-ahead plan, it’s not a dream plan” vision to build a fully realized complete neighbourhood including condominiums, low rises, a hotel, a public plaza, and a mixture of retail, all of which would be in various parts modeled after famous international locations and used as film sets throughout the year, while simultaneously being operational as lived-in city neighbourhoods. Ambitious, daring, and perhaps genius - or a fiasco in waiting? If such a lifestyle interests you, the apartments will apparently be priced at approximately $500/sq. ft, which is a hundred dollars less than the current average of $600/sq. ft for waterfront condos in Toronto. The catch is, of course, since the whole area including the streets are privately owned, Pinewood studios would be able to close down the streets to film whenever and as long as they wanted without permission.

Architectural Politics

by Courtney Meagher

With Toronto’s municipal elections just recently behind us I found my mind wandering to civic architecture and issues of architectural politics. Specifically, I wondered what happened with the debate over protecting the viewshed of the Ontario Legislative building? The issue, which was brought all the way to the Ontario Municipal Board in May of this year, was this: buildings erected to the north of the Legislative Assembly, if built too tall, will ruin this historical and civic monument’s prominent silhouette against the sky. Should the viewshed of such a symbolic building remain unobstructed?

If asked, "what are some of Toronto’s most notable buildings?" the Ontario Legislative building would no doubt cross many peoples’ minds. Forming a terminating vista at the north end of University Avenue it was built in 1893 and designed by the architect Richard A. Waite. It is one of Toronto’s best examples of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, a style characterized by its overall massive quality: heavy, rusticated masonry, geometric massing and monumental proportions, it became a popular style for important civic buildings in North America in the late 19th century. As one of Toronto’s key civic and historical monuments, does the viewshed of the Ontario Legislative building deserve to be protected? This is what historical advocates, namely the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO), have been fighting for.

 

I am Going to Buy a Groovy Condo Downtown

By Astra Burka

Architect and Filmaker

"Dreaming of Space"
Réunion, view of Indian Ocean
Photo by Astra Burka

Recently I decided to take a tour of the latest über kül condominiums by Freed Developments. Why? Because I am thinking of downsizing at some point and wanted to see what was available in the price range of $445,000 - $600,000 (approx. 900-1200 square feet). I was guided by a tall condo hostess to 75 Portland, interiors by Philippe Starck. The lobby was über white with a long diagonal table that continued in the outside space. Along with oversized white planting pots, these white objects dominated the interior court. The courtyard space, long, narrow, and 8 stories high, was claustrophobic.

I first thought the space I entered in the 1st unit was a large mudroom. I did not know that a “den” is defined as a windowless space. Or how would I have guessed in the 2nd unit that a 4 feet by 3 feet space with a column in it, was called a “den”. I went to look at a 3rd unit in the new Thomson residences and said: “Oh, what a huge walk-in closet with opaque glass sliding doors”. I was told this space was “the second bedroom”.  Can you imagine putting a child or guests in a windowless room? For the price, I was disappointed that Frigidaire stainless steel kitchen appliances were chosen instead of European products like Bosch and Miele. From the balcony, I could even reach into the open window of one of the Thomson Hotel rooms.

Welcome to Architecture for Humanity Toronto’s blog!

This is somewhat of a test-run meant to smooth out any glitches before we really dive into the world of architectural blogging and as a one-time thing we all tackled the same topic: the Corus Quay Entertainment Building (so please forgive us for the overlap). We expect exciting changes in the next couple of months as we become more comfortable with blogging...stay tuned!

My Bicycle Trip to Corus Entertainment on the Waterfront Or, Where is the Lake?



Corus Quay Building, view of northwest corner.

Photo by Andrew Chiu


By Astra Burka, OAA

Architect and Filmmaker

After being terrified by a police officer, who warned me NOT to ride my bicycle along Queens Quay during G20 week from Bathurst to Sherbourne, I decided to do it anyway. Starting from Little Italy, I get terrified crossing the “anti-pedestrian” intersection at Lakeshore Boulevard and Bathurst Street to our waterfront.

Happily, I followed the bicycle path east on Queens Quay when it suddenly disappeared at Spadina. The path never reappeared until east of Yonge, where delivery vans were blocking it.

Finally, I arrived at the Corus building that is still under construction. The official opening is not planned until September 30th. My first reaction was that the somber greenish glass façade looked like any of the sprouting towers situated on highways instead of one of the first major Waterfront Toronto projects. What was the design review panel smoking? If I had not seen the small stainless steel Corus sign at the entrance, I would not have known that this was a building housing a successful integrated media and entertainment complex. Half of the lower portion of the city facing façade consisted of metal grills for the electrical panels. Where was the water view?

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Who on our Waterfront is Fairest of All?

View of west facade looking south.
Photo by Andrew Chiu

By Andrew Chiu

At first glance, the Corus building is all about the glass. After taking a closer look, it is still all about the glass, and it will always be that way because that’s what it is: ageless, hard-edged, shiny and as long as we keep it clean, always perfect.

FACTS:

Official building name is Corus Quay, located just south of Queens Quay and east of Lower Jarvis across from Redpath Sugar. It is a 500, 000 square foot, eight-storey building. It is the headquarters of Corus Entertainment Inc. Designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects, tenant interior space designed by Quadrangle Architects Limited.

Corus Quay reminds us of a perfect and complete design for a corporate headquarter. It is a finished product straight off of an assembly line. The process is to eliminate unevenness in an effort to improve the flow of work. It is working from the perspective of the client who consumes a product. ‘Value’ is defined as any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for. It is the Lean principles that come from the Japanese car manufacturing industry. It’s manufactured purity meant to fit into any context in various ways. If I secretly air-lifted the entire building and turned it around, nobody would notice it other than the Corus employees coming to work the next morning.

There is a saying: “practice makes perfect”. If you do the same thing over and over, you will do it very well, and in some cases, not much else. Perfection is a process; Toronto is a city struggling to be perfect. Our waterfront is not complete, our bike lanes are not all connected and our public transit system is too small for a growing mega-city. As we are struggling to make sense of our city, we need to challenge ourselves to confront something less defined and familiar. Our waterfront will continue to evolve in the coming years. Torontonians want to see spaces and buildings that are exciting, innovative, and colorful, instead of their own reflection on the glass as they are walking by.

Queens Quay Obstacle Course

By Douglas Robb

View of north facing main entrance.

With construction expected to wrap up later this summer, I recently visited the Corus Quay building at Queens Quay and Lower Jarvis to take a look at the progress myself. Since 2007 the project has been plagued with problems, from a dysfunctional design review panel to questionable land development practises. My original plan was to have a quick walk around the building and maybe shoot some pictures, but I quickly realized my trip would be be much more complicated than I had expected.

My route from Union Station to Corus Quay lead through an underpass and below the Gardiner Expressway. As I walked east along the Queens Quay, the sidewalk began to crack and crumble until it disappeared altogether, only to be replaced by loose gravel and rusty railroad tracks. Along the way I encountered four busy lanes of traffic, three desolate parking lots, and one sugar refinery (probably the source of that strange burning smell). Once I arrived at Corus, chain link fences made it impossible to navigate the site and “No Entry” signs silenced any thoughts of exploration. Accessibility - or the lack thereof - seems to be a serious issue that extends beyond the building site and into the surrounding urban landscape.

Boxy & Boring, Not Bold & Beautiful

By Courtney Meagher

The new headquarters for Corus Entertainment blends seamlessly into its surroundings. Boxy and plain, the 8-storey structure, officially known as Corus Quay, creates a sense of continuity with the surrounding warehouse-like buildings lining the Queens Quay: the Guvernment night club and a Loblaws mega-mart sit across the street, the Redpath Sugar factory is its neighbour to the west. However, if Toronto’s waterfront is to become a vibrant, bustling neighbourhood that engages the public, then Diamond & Schmitt’s design for the Corus Entertainment building is a foundation laid in the wrong direction.

Sure, moving a large entertainment company into a brand new edifice erected on a barren plot of industrial wasteland has plenty of economic appeal. Ideally, a project such as this will generate hope that it will be the start of a tide that lifts all boats for this east Harbourfront neighbourhood by inviting opportunities for further development around it. But the Corus Quay building falls woefully short of convincing me that this will be the outcome. A random survey would no doubt result in a nearly unanimous vote: the structure is not bold and beautiful, it's boxy and boring. The smooth glass façade attempts to give the massive square building some sense of lightness amidst all its boxiness, but this achieves only minimal success on the south side of the building, unbeknownst to anyone viewing the building from its point of approach on the Queens Quay.

They Have Built it, But Will They Come?

By Kawai Lam

Interior atrium space, looking south towards the water

Located in a fairly industrial and remote area of the Toronto waterfront, at least psychologically if not truly in distance, the Corus Quay building at the foot of Lower Jarvis Street is a vanguard of the coming changes to the area. The building is an impressive, solid, modernist presence of sleek turquoise glass contrasted against a wrap-around gray stone terrace that opens the space up to the lake's edge. Bordered on the west by the virtually finished and completely integrated man-made beach named Sugar Beach (a nod to the industrial might of the Redpath Sugar refinery right next door), Corus Quay is a prime example of the mixed-use vision of the city for the slowly appearing waterfront revitalization that it proudly promotes as "the city's new blue edge".

The eight-story building, the new corporate headquarters of the same named Canadian children's entertainment giant, is set quite back from the street of Queens Quay Way allowing it to flow smoothly into and share street presence with the city built public terrace. The terrace features grassy hills, a massive red and white stripped boulder, and is emblazoned with multiple maple leaf designs. One of the emblems seem destined to become a non contained fountain, à la Yonge and Dundas Square, from the indications of the presently non-functioning fountain jets embedded into the pattern. Framing the building, the terrace provides a sense of the site's past as an industrial dock, while acting as a patio to the building and offering encounters with the lake for public pedestrians with a polished urban sheen of a well designed city amenity. It is a multi-use transition space between the building and the adjoined artificial beach, binding the two worlds and making the quay as a whole a blurring between private and public space. This blurring is achieved through careful design....

Corus Building: Sugar and Spice and Not Everything Nice

By Cameron Barker

The revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront represents the awakening of an untapped potential symbolizing Toronto as a truly distinct and creative 21st Century metropolis. This explains why the new Corus Entertainment building at the foot of Jarvis Street and Queens Quay should have been a monumental place reflecting the grandiose presence of Toronto in today’s ever-globalizing world. Unfortunately, the building missed the point, or perhaps I did.

As I cycled my way eastward on Queens Quay Boulevard over the bumpy and pot-holed pavement of the south side bike lane, I came upon a looming gray mass: the Corus Entertainment Building woefully named Corus Quay. The building is one of the first buildings in Toronto subjected to the rigorous scrutiny of the city’s Design Review Panel, which should have resulted in design excellence; something it does not have.

What should have been a beacon summoning the city’s masses to the two new parks flanking the building’s exterior, is instead a glass and steel beam box on the waterfront. Renaissance or status quo? The answer is opaque. Either way, while I walked around the building (also a construction site), I noticed that the building’s mass and scale belittled me and did not engage with the waterfront like I originally thought it would.