Ach du Libeskind! Some pics for 48percenter:

[JeffR]

48percenter had a starchitect thread in GD recently, where I posted an 6 month-old pic of Libeskind's addition to the Royal Ontario Museum during early construction. Went by there the other day to see how it's progressed. Virtually all the cladding is on now, and it's much less interesting than when it was a cockeyed series of naked girders. These snaps don't convey the sheer bulk of the damn thing, but they do convey its aggressively antisocial street presence.



Just visible on the right is the ROM's original wing, built in 1914. Libeskind told the press he wanted to create a "dialogue" with the older wings. Strikes me as more a screaming match than a dialogue, with all the volume coming from the new section...

[Eurobabe]

1. Hi Jeff, thanks for the photos!! Two words...

Oh my.

What a montrosity.

Sorry, but I fail to see the "dialogue" between the Venetian Gothic revival (from what I am seeing, the old section) and this wet dream. Where in the cold squares, thingamagic dashy lines and geometric shapes are any faint echoes or homage to the original structure? If you see any let me know. This is no different than IM Pei's plopping an upside-down pyramid in the processional courtyard of the Louvre.

These structures do not compliment they distract and scream LOOK AT ME!!! I AM AN EGOISTIC BUILDING built by HOWARD ROARK! Oy, I bet these Arsche-tects (inside German joke) are all Ayn Rand fans.

[JeffR]

2. For comparison's sake, I should have posted these

This is the 1914 wing:





This is the 1932 wing, which runs parallel to the original and is joined to it, forming an 'H':





Libeskind's little $200 million tantrum fills in the open area at the top of the 'H', replacing this addition, completed in 1983:



These are from a CD-ROM I developed on Toronto's built heritage.

The city has been salivating for something - anything - by the new crop of architectural rock stars. Frank Gehry, originally from Toronto, is now remaking the art gallery. Will Allsop completed a new building at the College of Art and Design a year ago or so, the notorious 'flying tabletop', which is an amazing thing. There have been a couple of low-key projects by Norman Foster and Santiago Calatrava, but the Libeskind museum has been looked on as the jewel in the crown of all this novelty. Now that it's approaching completion, a lot of the cognoscenti are going to be a bit chagrined.

[Eurobabe]

3. Well, the POMO bunker was ugly too, I don't know which is worse?

Did they tear down the 1983 building to make way for the "whimsical" one? Gawd, I hate it when architect's refer to their monstrosities as full of whimsy and capriciousness. :puke:

But I guess if I had to vote between the bunker and the new bldg. I'd take the new one. At least it is more visually shocking than the bunker that looks like one of the old UVA libaries and our architecture school!!

[JeffR]

4. Libeskind's sits (squats?) where the '83 wing was

If the thing were the size of a 2-car garage, I'd say whimsical might be appropriate. But given the actual scale, it's got no whimsy. It's hard right now to get a shot of the entire thing to convey the size of it. It's huge.

[Eurobabe]

5. So if the techtonic plates and mountains were inspiration for the

Denver Art Museum, have you heard what his inspiration was for Toronto? Can't wait to learn the answer to THIS one.

[JeffR]

7. He's a great bullshitter

the Denver project was really a dry run for Toronto's, conceived after it but finished before it. I wish I had links to a couple of op-eds he's written about what he believes he's doing. Pretty incredible, even by standard art-speak standards.

[NashVegas]

6. Too Close Up for Me to Form an Opinion

I love modern architecture, myself, when it's based on the old sacred geometry rules.

Interesting to note that in Brooklyn, there is a protest movement against the Gehry project Atlantic Yards.



http://dddb.net/index.php

[JeffR]

8. Just read an article about that project & all the controversy

I like Gehry, but city planning doesn't seem to be at the top of his list of aptitudes.

His renovation of the art gallery here has drawn some criticism from neighborhood groups already. Gehry grew up right in the vicinity of the gallery, so this project is apparently precious to him. All the pseuds are disappointed that his design isn't Bilbao-like. This is the third reno of the gallery since the 70s. Maybe Gehry can finally get the place right...

[Eurobabe]

9. What I don't like about Gehry and this building by

Libesmyself is their disregard for the surroundings. They stand out, show off and show no reverence for their natural surroundings. I can deal with modern architecture that integrates the building with the space. I cannot deal with buildings that are purely conceived to be an art object. I can tell you in several ways how the old building (1924?) art museum shows reverence for nature.

Oh and that concept for NY is out of a bubble gum machine! :puke:

[Eurobabe]

10. And that is honoring Nature

all the way back to the Golden Ratio. Which is why is is appealing to the eye. Mathematics = divine proportions.