[Darkstar416]

My bad, there is an official thread here:

p083.ezboard.com/ftorontoskyscraperforumfrm4.showMessage?topicID=5091.topic

 

[MetroMan1000]

I've been told through a friend involved in engineering the Dundas St. canopy that when producing the detailed drawings for parts to be manufactured for the canopy, Frank Gehry has added "subtle touches of beauty".
My friend doesn't think they'll make another model or rendering since construction is under way, but told me to expect a few more Gehryesque twists to the glass canopy along its length.

Does anybody have photos of the models that were displayed at the AGO when the project was announced? I recall seeing one with ribbons along the length of the canopy. I don't expect a radical shift from what the rendering shows, but some ribbony glass along the front of the canopy would add interest.

 

[SD2]

I've been told through a friend involved in engineering the Dundas St. canopy that when producing the detailed drawings for parts to be manufactured for the canopy, Frank Gehry has added "subtle touches of beauty".
My friend doesn't think they'll make another model or rendering since construction is under way, but told me to expect a few more Gehryesque twists to the glass canopy along its length.

Sounds good but I'm definitely not holding my breath. I remember when the second iteration was about to be released there were reports of a huge improvement to the design, that it was finally incredible, Gehry-like, etc. and it ended up being pretty much what they had before.

 

[building babel]

Gehry cut back on the metal canopy along Dundas, opened up the second floor sculpture gallery more to views from the street, and added visible wooden beams. I think it was a successful refinement of the original design that gave an identity to the Dundas front of the building that differentiated it from the rest, especially the big tower for the contemporary collection to the south.

 

[CanadianNational]

Could we add this to the 'Live Cams' section? it's the camera with the North view of the renovation.

www.ago.net/transformatio...th-cam.cfm

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Done.

AoD

 

[adma]

You ought to see it looking north on John now--the steel superstructure's not only going up, but it really leaves a YI YI YI impression on the uninitiated, not unlike Montreal's Big O at the end of whatever vista.

Ceta Ramalamadingdong must have smoke coming out of her ears and whatever other available orifices...

 

[CanadianNational]

Not just the steel at the back that's impressive, as adma notes - issue inducing as it may be - but the steelwork at the front is also beginning to look good. For the first time since the tearing down of the former building began, the new construction is presenting an early unified roofline, and a faint hint of how powerful the horizontal sweep of the front along Dundas might be.

 

[MetroMan1000]

What I'm looking forward to is the jewel that Grange Park will become once AGO is finished. OCAD hovering over the park on the East, the silver fish scales cladding shining in the North and the CN Tower and city skyscrapers jutting into the clouds in the south.

The great news is that the AGO committed to upgrading the park in exchange for community support on the project. If Gehry is given the task of redeveloping Grange Park, we might have a "mini Millenium Park" on our hands.
I'm not quite sure what Gehry would do to Grange, but I'm sure he'd want to preserve the intimate quiet feeling it has today. That's not to say that he can't add touches of his to create a clean, concise layout with Gehryesque elements throughout.

 

[alklay]

Gehry is not doing anything to Grange park as the city ownes it. If anything, the AGO is simply providing funds for the city to use in the park.

 

[building babel]

Even if nothing is done, OCAD and the AGO will redefine the park as an architectural viewing platform. However, the new AGO will be partly obscured from view from within much of the park during the summer months, behind a canopy of elderly trees at the north end.

The challenge it to create a park worthy of the buildings that surround it.

If the next, final, phase of the AGO expansion takes place beneath the park, then views down into the galleries may be a future solution - in which case the $500,000 paid to the City for improvements only buys us an interim redesign.

 

[allabootmatt]

Babel--have you heard any rumblings from AGO folk that that might be the next direction they go in? I have no recent evidence to back this up...but judging by the split on the board during the planning for this expansion between building a satellite structure off-site and the current reno, I wouldn't be surprised if their next project after this is an entirely new structure, likely on the waterfront.

But either is a long way off, in any case.

 

[adma]

The great news is that the AGO committed to upgrading the park in exchange for community support on the project. If Gehry is given the task of redeveloping Grange Park, we might have a "mini Millenium Park" on our hands.
I'm not quite sure what Gehry would do to Grange, but I'm sure he'd want to preserve the intimate quiet feeling it has today. That's not to say that he can't add touches of his to create a clean, concise layout with Gehryesque elements throughout.

If not Gehry, why not Alsop?

 

[building babel]

I heard that the AGO actually turned down an offer of a second site, but I'm not supposed to say.

The under-the-park scenario is pure idea theft, from a newspaper article some time back.

 

[MetroMan1000]

^^we already knew that. It's no secret that the city had offered a waterfront location but the AGO didn't want to fragment their presence.

Alsop would be a nice idea for the park, but somehow I feel that we'd get a better design from Gehry. He has experience in designing beautiful parks and has a personal connection with this one.