Tag Archives: Moriyama and Teshima

Goldring Student Centre enhances streetscape on U of T’s Victoria University campus

Golding Student Centre

August 14 2011: Excavation was still in early stages when I shot this photo just two and a half months after the official groundbreaking for the Goldring Student Centre at Victoria University on the University of Toronto campus …

 

Goldring Student Centre

… today, 1.5 years later, construction crews have nearly finished applying stone cladding to the exterior of the 3-storey structure on Charles Street West

 

Goldring Student Centre

Architectural illustrations on a billboard at the construction site show how the new Goldring Student Centre and its landscaped quad will look when complete. The building was designed by Toronto’s Moriyama & Teshima Architects. 

 

Looking good: A new student social centre and meeting facility is shaping into a handsome addition to the Charles Street landscape on the Victoria University campus at U of T.

As installation of exterior stone cladding nears completion at the Goldring Student Centre, the 3-storey building already looks completely at home in its surroundings, fitting in well with the McKinsey and Company building next door and the Isabel Bader Theatre across the street — both of which also boast attractive stone finishes. I love the look of both those buildings, and think the new Goldring Student Centre nicely complements its neighbours and enhances the streetscape along Charles West.

 

 

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Airy and bright entrance cube welcomes visitors to freshly revitalized Toronto Reference Library

Toronto Reference Library

January 11 2012: The new entrance to the Toronto Reference Library, at the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue, opened in December …

 

Toronto Reference Library

… well over a year after construction of the3-storey glass and steel cube structure commenced. The entrance area is seen here on November 11 2010, several weeks after work started as part of a $34-million building revitalization project.

 

Toronto Reference Library

Entrance seen from west side of Yonge Street on January 11 2012 …

 

Toronto Reference Library

… and from Asquith Avenue on January 21 2012

 

Toronto Reference Library

The large rectangular windows on the north and west sides of the cube …

 

Toronto Reference Library

… ensure that the spacious entrance area is airy and bright …

 

Toronto Reference Library

… but some work remains to be completed on the interior

 

Toronto Reference Library

A crescent-shaped window brightens a reading room located at the library’s northwest corner, overlooking Yonge and Collier Streets

 

Toronto Reference Library

As of last week, however, the library’s sidewalk-level facade along Yonge Street was still under construction. Windows running the length of the building will eventually provide a visual connection between the interior and the street.

 

Doors open: They had to wait well over a year, but visitors can now enter the Toronto Reference Library in Yorkville through a bright and airy new entrance at the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue.

The 3-storey glass and steel entrance cube, designed by Toronto’s Moriyama & Teshima architects, opened for public use in December, though some finishing touches remain to be done on its interior.

As I reported in a January 27 2011 post, the new entrance was created as part of ambitious $34-million, 5-year revitalization project intended to create “a dynamic interface between the library and its community, connecting the library’s interior more directly to the street, and the public to the services inside.”

The spacious, sunny cube certainly achieves that goal, as does a curved row of windows that brightens a reading lounge situated at the northwest corner of the building, overlooking Yonge and Collier Streets.

As of last weekend, which was the last time I passed by the library, construction work still had not been completed on a stretch of new street-level windows along the building’s Yonge Street facade. Once they’re installed and the hoarding along the sidewalk has been removed, passersby should notice an immense improvement to the library’s look as well as the streetscape.

Designed by Raymond Moriyama, the reference library opened on November 2, 1977. The revitalization design is the work of Raymond’s son, Ajon.

Below is a photo from the library website, showing how the entrance looked prior to the commencement of the revitalization project. It’s followed by a Moriyama & Teshima rendering that shows the new cube entry and glass-walled facade next to the Yonge Street sidewalk.

 

Toronto Reference Library

This image from the Toronto Reference Library webpage shows how the building entrance looked before the new entrance cube was added

 

Toronto Reference Library

Architectural illustration by Moriyama & Teshima architects of the Toronto Reference Library building revitalization enhancements

 

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Reference library’s new entrance taking shape

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

The frame for the Toronto Reference Library’s new entrance cube takes shape at the corner of Yonge St. and Asquith Ave. on March 24 2011

 

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

Steel frame installation for the library’s dramatic new glass cube entrance

 

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

Architectural rendering by Toronto’s Moriyama and Teshima shows how the new glass cube entrance and improvements to the building’sYonge Street facade will enhance the library’s look and streetscape presence.

 

Cube construction: External work on the Toronto Reference Library’s $34 million revitalization program has become a lot more noticeable now that the building’s new entrance is taking shape. Most of the renovation work has been hidden by hoarding for months, and progress on the library’s dramatic glass entrance cube at the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace during the winter. But this week crews have been busy building the steel frame for the cube; today, Asquith was closed to vehicular traffic while a crane hoisted steel beams into place. More details about the renovations can be found in my January 17 post about the library’s renewal and expansion project. Below are photos from February and from this afternoon showing the ongoing renovation work on the Yonge Street side of the library building.

 

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

February 23 2011: No sign of progress yet on construction of the new entrance

Toronto reference library revitalization

February 23 2011: A three-storey glass cube entrance at this corner will be the star attraction of the library’s five-year renewal and expansion project

 

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

February 23 2011: Hoarding blocks views of street-level renovations to the facade, but work on the3rd-floor roof above Yonge Street is more apparent.

 

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

February 23 2011: Renovation activity is taking place along the full length of the narrow third-floor roof on the Reference Library’s Yonge Street facade

 

Toronto Reference Library revitalization

February 23 2011: Yorkville Avenue view of the Toronto Reference Library.

 

Toronto Reference Library entrance construction

March 24 2011: A crane lifts long steel bars being used to construct the frame for the three-storey entrance cube

 

Toronto Reference Library entrance construction

March 24 2011: The new glass entrance and windows along the Yonge Street facade will improve the building’s appearance as well as its relation to the streetscape

 

Toronto Reference Library entrance  construction

March 24 2011: Sections of the entrance cube’s frame are hoisted into place

 

Toronto Reference Library entrance construction

March 24 2011: The steel frames are lowered behind a rendering of the entrance


31-storey copper-toned condo tower aims to draw Yorkville district’s golden glow to Davenport Road

The Yorkville Condominiums

Artistic rendering of The Yorkville Condominiums, a 31-storey luxury tower proposed for the corner of Davenport Road and McMurrich Street.


More new digs for Dav: The drab two-block stretch of Davenport Road between Yonge and Bay Streets keeps improving, slowly but surely.

At Yonge, the wedge-shaped parcel of land dividing Davenport from Scollard Street brightened up a bit when the Lotus condominium opened in 2008. Sadly, it took more than two years before work finally finished on a new public square in the awkward triangle at the front of the condo highrise. Paving stones, landscaping, lighting and benches weren’t installed until late summer 2010, but the narrow, long parkette instantly became a huge hit with the local pigeon population.

Meanwhile, The Florian luxury condo has been under construction just a short distance away, where Davenport twists to the northwest at its intersection with Bay. Once the location of an Infinity dealership and a Premier fitness club, the elegant 90-suite Florian promises to class up the corner with its gracefully curved brick and glass facade. 

Now, Lifetime Developments has proposed a new neighbour for the site immediately east of The Florian, currently the offices of Moriyama and Teshima Architects. Lifetime’s latest venture, The Yorkville Condominiums, will be a 31-storey glass condo tower with six “executive” townhouses at the corner of Davenport and McMurrich Street. The project is being designed by Rudy Wallman of Wallman Architects, who also designed the Victory Condos development on King Street West that I profiled in a post several days ago.

So far, I’m ambivalent about his design for The Yorkville, though I admit the only drawing I’ve seen is the one displayed on its website and marketing materials (and shown at the top of this post).  First time I saw it, I loved the building … but the more I look at it, the more I wonder if it’s just the artist’s choice of colours that appeal to me. At times, I think some elements of the tower — particularly the roof, the five floors that angle out from the south face of the tower, and the long rectangular gold stripe of glass down the east wall — are merely bold, attention-seeking design gimmicks that scream “Look at me!” Other times, I think those very same features look cool, and give the tower a distinctive appearance.

Maybe I’ll make up my mind once I see more renderings or models. Most likely, this is a building I’ll have to see in finished form before I can tell if I truly like it or not. Either way, I do think The Yorkville will improve this part of Davenport Road and enhance the neighbourhood, so I’ll be happy to see it go up.

Below are some photos I snapped of the proposed development site recently, along with a pic of the pigeon parkette at Lotus.

 

development proposal sign

Development proposal sign outside the Moriyama and Teshima building


32 Davenport Road

November 1 2010 view of The Yorkville Condominiums project site


32 Davenport Road at McMurrich Street

November 1 2010 view of the corner of Davenport Road & McMurrich Street


32 Davenport Road

January 9 2011 view of The Yorkville Condominiums proposed site


32 Davenport Road

January 9 2011 view of The Yorkville Condominiums proposed site


32 Davenport Road

January 9 2011 view of The Yorkville Condominiums proposed site


32 Davenport Road

January 9 2011 view of The Yorkville Condominiums proposed site


The Florian

The Florian under construction next to The Yorkville site on Davenport Road


Lotus condominium parkette

Pigeons enjoying the new parkette at Lotus condominium