[alklay]

This will continue the push for design excellence for the waterfront. As such, I am all for this building. And yes, naming rights will no doubt be used to help pay the bills (and there is little doubt that they will try to get a revenue stream that will justify the higher costs).

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Post:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/07/14/final-cost-of-stacked-rinks-is-unknown/

AoD

 

[syn]

This seems like a really good solution (Greenberg seems fond of it too). I think the glowy nature of the rendering is making it look a lot more ice-cube like than it'll probably be though.

 

[Redroom Studios]

BOX. Welcome to Toronto, box capital of the world....

its unclear to me whether there is anymore than just the actual ice rinks on each level - I mean is there room for stands? Shouldnt there be room for stands?

and for those that think it would be "cool" to have a view of the city while skating - ever heard of NPS?

 

[khris]

BOX. Welcome to Toronto, box capital of the world....

its unclear to me whether there is anymore than just the actual ice rinks on each level - I mean is there room for stands? Shouldnt there be room for stands?

and for those that think it would be "cool" to have a view of the city while skating - ever heard of NPS?

Wow cranky!
This would be a "skyline" view of the city, vs the middle of the city like NPS.

 

[insertrealname]

I guess the Behnisch/Transsolar Hearn Power Station reuse project is dead in the water. What a pity: putting a sports centre inside that huge building seems like such a good idea (what other uses can fit inside such an immense envelope?), and making it into a kind of example of people- and energy-friendly architectural reuse a no-brainer for Toronto, adding some reality to the "green Toronto" rhetoric.

Oh well, yet another distinguished Toronto failure of planning ambition... You can still see the renderings at the Behnisch/Transsolar exhibition MaRS center (College/University) until 16 July (24/7 access), and Stefan Behnisch probably discusses it in his half-hour talk at MaRS (I haven't viewed it yet, but he starts at 06.45).

 

[cassius]

As for this being a box, if there's every any building that can get by with "just being a box" it'd probably be a multi-storey icerink. Frankly, I'm amazed that such an ingenious concept has come from Toronto and I'm all for it. Especially considering how much space is currently available down there. Traditionally, this city would probably say "screw it" to the existing masterplan and just build the original. And as for the previous proposal... well, let's just hope this one gets the funding it needs

 

[EnviroTO]

I hope this isn't a proposal that collects dust. I was disappointed to hear a warehouse style arena complex was going to be build in the Port Lands. Thankfully there are some people a little more serious about the transformation from an industrial use to a vibrant community. This is the best looking public arena complex I have ever seen so comments of "a box" really don't matter. I wouldn't have minded the Hearn sports complex plan but it sounds like there was a private company involved in that property which was going to need payments they city was unwilling to pay.

 

[maestro]

Yeah, It's nice to dream however, the fact remains a film studio company has a thirty year lease on the Hearn. It you want someone to blame that the building now sits empty and rotting well ... it ain't Toronto.

 

[TonyV]

Will someone please pinch me, I think I am dreaming.

This solution is so beautiful looking.

The design is transcendent, using the true meaning of the word.

 

[insertrealname]

Sure, the stacked rink proposal looks really nice, but it is a night-time view! Of course it will look luminous, ethereal, magic, etc. Day-time views are the real test: will it retain some of the glass lightness, or will it look like any old tinted glass cubic suburban office building? Questions about the quality of materials and work, etc.

As for the Hearn Plant, no, I'm not blaming toronto planning in the least, but the fact remains that the private company has approached the city with a plan that is worth considering on its functional, architectural and planning merits, eventhough submitted as a reaction to the decisions being made elsewhere. Even if the private company really just wants to get out of the no longer wanted leasing agreement, the city + planners should not ignore it just because the proposal originates from a private company! Especially since the stacked proposal still significantly changes the Lower Don Lands planning, though of course much less than the original flat one.

The Hearn proposal would not have interfered in the Lower Don plans, in fact it would have acted as a kind of nucleus for further repurposing of the port lands and gradual opening to public uses.

We spend large sums of money & hire good private sector planning consultants to develop coherent plans for Toronto, only to dump them at the first expedient opportunity and build, bit by bit, in another direction.

 

[Tulse]

Sure, the stacked rink proposal looks really nice, but it is a night-time view! Of course it will look luminous, ethereal, magic, etc. Day-time views are the real test: will it retain some of the glass lightness, or will it look like any old tinted glass cubic suburban office building?

If I understand the presented design, it should retain a lot of that lightness, since each rink level will be two stories of mostly empty space -- the light should shine through from one side to the other. And frankly, even if it does just look like a suburban office building in the end, this design is a huge improvement over a sprawling single-level building.

The Hearn proposal would not have interfered in the Lower Don plans, in fact it would have acted as a kind of nucleus for further repurposing of the port lands and gradual opening to public uses.

I don't disagree, but I also think that the Hearn building is actually far too interesting to use merely as a huge hockey rink. My preference would be to see it repurposed like the Tate Modern, either as a museum or some other cultural purpose, something truly impressive and unique (a big brother to the Power Plant). To me, that would be genuine forward thinking and creativity.

 

[Mongo]

I don't disagree, but I also think that the Hearn building is actually far too interesting to use merely as a huge hockey rink. My preference would be to see it repurposed like the Tate Modern, either as a museum or some other cultural purpose, something truly impressive and unique (a big brother to the Power Plant). To me, that would be genuine forward thinking and creativity.

Agreed +1

The Hearn building definitely needs to be reused, it has huge potential, but it does not necessarily need to house hockey rinks. There must be numerous possible uses for it. How about the much-discussed Museum of Toronto?

 

[Torontovibe]

Agreed +1

The Hearn building definitely needs to be reused, it has huge potential, but it does not necessarily need to house hockey rinks. There must be numerous possible uses for it. How about the much-discussed Museum of Toronto?

I also agree! The Hearn building is much too interesting to waste on a few ice rinks, that only people in sports leagues will be able to use. Let's face it, most jocks wouldn't give a crap what the building looked like, inside or out. There are a lot more options that will have a greater impact than a few hockey rinks. What a wasted opportunity that would be.

 

[Tulse]

The suggestion for the Museum of Toronto is a good one. I'd add that it could also include a Maritime Museum, since we lost the prior version (I believes it was where PawsWay is now). A huge space like Hearn would allow full-sized boats and small ships inside. Or alternatively a Museum of Aviation would also nicely work in that space, as again that would require large open spaces. I think my ideal would be an art museum, but given how terrible the AGO is, I doubt we actually have enough worthy pieces in the city to make it worth it.

(My apologies if this is derailing the main topic of the thread.)