The Royal Ontario Museum project set out to renovate ten new galleries in the existing historical building and creating an extension to the museum, now called the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. This new extension provides innovative new architecture and the creation of a grand public attraction with 100,000 sq. ft. of new exhibition space. Situated at one of the most prominent intersections in downtown Toronto, the Museum has become a dynamic center for the city. SDL is working on this project with Vanbots Construction. The Extension opened in June 2007.
The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal derives its name from the building’s five intersecting volumes, which are reminiscent of crystals. The intersection of two of the crystals, each of which is dedicated to new galleries, creates a void, known as the Spirit House. Essentially a large atrium rising from below ground level to the fourth floor, and containing a number of criss-crossing bridges at various levels, the Spirit House is intended to be a place for visitors to reflect upon the exhibitions they have experienced in one of the gallery spaces before moving on to the next. A fourth crystal, known as the Stair of Wonders, is dedicated to vertical circulation but also features exhibition vitrines at the landings. A fifth crystal houses the major new restaurant.
"The program of the Royal Ontario Museum provides a wonderful opportunity for dramatic new architecture and the creation of a great public attraction. The centrality of the site intensifies the profound relationship between history and the new, between tradition and innovation. The historical buildings, complemented by forward-looking and bold architecture, form an ensemble which regenerates the urban significance of the Museum, solves the complex functional issues, and dramatically improves exhibitions, facilities, programming and amenities. The Crystal is an interlocking form which turns this important corner of Toronto into a luminous beacon--a veritable showcase of people, events and objects, transforming the entire museum complex into a world-class destination.
(source: http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/projects/show-all/royal-ontario-museum/ , accessed 1214h, 10 March 09)
10 comments:
one of our students did something like this 2 sems ago...will be in my lecture tmr. this is v exciting architecture.
Hey..you have to insert the link to give credit to the source of your extract. And try to be selective with the text you copy.
like this: (source: -give the link-, accessed 'date and time')
thanks ian.. i changed already.. tomorrow will be fun! =)
this musuem is so cool when i saw it.. it combine the new modern architecture and the old historical architecture.. for our studio 3, those who doing something next to old historical building, they can have a look on it...
not really "combined"..haha
more like "fused" and "collided"
nice post!
careful not to fall into "taylorism".. this is a sickness that we seniors try to avoid nowadays.. trust me, you wouldn't want to graduate labeled as indifferent and same same. you gotta have your own style.. if you truly believe in this then go ahead.. have your own philosophy and back it up with research. otherwise, don do it just because its easy and because it is the magic of sketch-up...breakaway from the bondage of sketch-up and the one-sided mindset of "libeskind is kool"...no, he is not...neither is frank gehry... taylorians tend to overuse them till they looses its meaning.. and often we copy and make the concept a after thought..
just something to think about... there are many other individualistic architects out there that is worth looking into..
for starters: coop himmelblau and tom wiscombe
=)
strongly agree with Richard.
read & see more, think as critically as possible. Having your own stance and following your very own belief will make your architecture more powerful, not just once but always.
Don't rely on sketchup for designing, it is just a visualization tool to confirm your design at the very end.
Starchitects are not examples for us to copy, but to critique & then learn.
p/s: coop himmelblau can fall under the pure stylistic group, almost?
anyway, good effort n good sharing..thanks
need more of these in this blog!
"fused" and collided" ? lolz... combine also quite a close meaning what... =) (ian)
oh... thanks for your advice... =)i agree too.. and i learning too.. (richard)
thanks ur advise last week.. im stil thinking of wat u told me.. (ks)
lalalala. i like all the architects mentioned. =)
junhoe, read their books more than looking at their pictures. then u won't be copying once u see it from where they stand. studio3 = starting to see all that.
for a quickie go to their websites and hope to find written content..esp content on design philosophy.
sites like zaha hadid's and tom wiscombe's have them. coop...not sure. just check it out.
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