We had a lot of fun putting together our Spring 2005 issue called “The History of Our Future:” all about grand plans that didn’t make it to groundbreaking, but could of have transformed Toronto dramatically. And though not built, many of these plans did shape the city we know it today. Anticipation of something is often as strong a design influence as a built object. Going much further than we did, the Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) is presenting an exhibit at the ROM called Unbuilt Toronto that lets us see the Toronto that could have been, and also understand that Toronto that is. A book of the same name is launching tonight as well. While waiting for election results to trickle in from down south, stop by the ROM tonight and check it out.
The Toronto Society of Architects invited architects and designers to submit projects for a curated exhibition that would become part of a developing dialogue on unrealized architectural, landscape or urban design schemes for the Greater Toronto Area.
The exhibit showcases juried images of significant unbuilt projects submitted by practicing architects and designers in a competition organized by the TSA. These projects are juxtaposed with historical unrealized building proposals drawn from Mark Osbaldeston’s new book, Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City That Might Have Been, which will also be launched at the opening event. More information about the event is available on the exhibit website.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 4th, 6:30 – 9:30 pm FREE Admission
WHERE: Second Floor Gallery, Royal Ontario Museum
Mark Osbaldeston will also present an illustrated lecture at the ROM on December 4 at 7p.m. on the topic of “Unbuilt Toronto.” Admission for that event is free as well.
4 comments
The second link seems broken. Here is the site:
http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/special/unbuilt_toronto.php
Hope it includes the Eglinton subway… truly a major loss in citybuilding.
Fixed — copy and paste issue.
Yeah, funny — the most hidden of unbuilt Toronto could have had the most effect.
So they will let me into the R.O.M. to see this without paying admission?
Great book. Not so great exhibition.
If ever there was an advertisement for a new Toronto urban design museum, last night was it.
In a pocket gallery, maybe 30′ by 30′, over 200 opening night/book launch (free) guests tried to see this exhibition. I joked that I had seen bigger living rooms. The crowds were so tight that it was all but impossible to see the blow-ups from the book on the walls. Downstairs another 100 guests waited as security guards permitted new arrivals to enter only as exhibition guests upstairs gave up and went home early.
I had been anticipating a large gallery (Come on ROM) with architectural models and timelines displays, and text and…..
I thought about this for a long time on the way home and realized that the opportunity afforded by even a micro ROM exhibition for the “Unbuilt City” meme and book was too great to pass up for larger venues (Distillery?) and promotion eleswhere. At the end of the day the publicity afforded by the exhibition was no doubt too great to pass up.
However, if there were an urban design museum like in San Fran…..
PS – Buy the book. It’s great. I’m guessing it’s in the ROM gift shop.