Hatchet job.
It was not a kind review of either the architecture or the current state of the museum. It even goes after the displays. The piece is unfortunately not online:
"The Curse of the Aluminum Crystal
The Libeskind addition was supposed to save the ROM and put Toronto on the map. The good news: it’s finally, officially finished. The bad: it caused nasty infighting, came in fabulously over budget, and is a box-office flop. Inside a $320-million reno from hell By Chris Nuttall-Smith"
What is it with Toronto Life these days? Why are they sticking knives in everyone/anyone? I was less than impressed.
A few random things that pissed me & my wife off:
1. Defending the old, unbelievably tired dioramas from the old dino display. Those were so cheesy it was ridiculous. The new dino display is much, much better -- particularly the fact that you can see the skeletons from Bloor as you walk up -- majestic!
2. Not mentioning, or trying desperately hard not to compliment, the good parts of the reno: The new First Nations gallery. The expanded Asian galleries, and the fact they opened up the windows to Philosopher's Walk. The new 'floating glass' vitrines, which allow you to see all the artifacts from wherever you are in the halls.
3. Pointing out the expensive apple juice, without mentioning that C-5 is an absolute jewel of a restaurant, and that the cafeteria is actually quite a nice space -- although our trips to the ROM tend to conclude at Gabby's, so Dad can have a beer...
I think they had some good points, and I think the ROM still needs more re-thinking of the new display spaces: The 'Stair of Wonders' needs a LOT more 'Wonders'. The 'Spirit Gallery' makes no sense without much, much more evocative sonic work -- whether they go with music, archival recordings, or bird songs, I don't care. But more, and louder. And, yes, they need to get a lot more of the display areas back online. It's way, way better than it was, but there's still a lot more to do before it's the museum it could be. This review sure as hell doesn't do the place justice, however.