Video
February 11th, 2010
Ryerson University announced Wednesday that architectural firms Zeidler Partnership Group of Toronto and Snohetta of Oslo, Norway have been hired to design the school’s new Student Learning Centre at the corner of Yonge and Gould. The hiring represents a significant step forward in the university’s marquee plans to redevelop the Sam the Record Man site.
While a complete plan for the site is still at least a year away, the architects were on hand to talk about their previous experiences and their initial ideas around the project. Their collective resumes are very impressive. Snohetta’s CV includes the new Library of Alexandria and Oslo’s National Opera. The firm is currently working on the September 11th memorial museum in lower Manhattan, the King Abdulaziz Centre for Knowledge and Culture in Mecca and new university libraries in Ohio and North Carolina. Toronto’s Zeidler architects have been involved in international projects in Tel-Aviv, London’s Canary Wharf and Seoul. Right now, they’re working on the revitalization of the Union Station rail shed.
It is clear from this selection that Ryerson views the site as an opportunity to do something special both for the school and for the city as a whole. Lead architects Tarek El-Khatib and Craig Dykers made clear that they too understand the potential for the site and the intricate role it will play in linking the campus with the city, while further enhancing the vibrancy of Yonge Street. To this end, the architects acknowledged that the building will have retail along Yonge Street and will attempt to keep up with the round-the-clock liveliness of the area. “The context is extremely important…there’s a great movement to create this public environment around Dundas and the whole force of it is creeping up the street,” said El Khatib. “There has been also some great efforts at changing the character of Gould Street so that is going to become a very important players in how the ground floor works.”
The architects created a video of a visit to the site and their consultation with students on what the new centre should be:
January 28th, 2010
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvzkjxSf9gg[/youtube]
Earlier this week, the local media jumped on the news that councillor Adam Giambrone is set to launch a mayoral bid after he sent out invitations to an event to “celebrate Toronto” on Monday, Feb. 1st.
Spacing just caught wind …
December 21st, 2009
Last week film artist Hye Yeon Nam produced a charming video of herself walking backwards through the Times Square area. Well, in …
October 20th, 2009
Editor: Spacing is pleased to showcase films from the NFB’s online screening room. The NFB will be occasionally posting films here that explore our public spaces, Canadian or international cities and anything urban. The NFB is one of Canada’s greatest …
October 17th, 2009
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw[/youtube]
I’m one of those annoying people who you find walking up the stairs of a subway station bumping into the great flow of people pouring downstairs. Its not that I want to be annoying — I just prefer to take …
August 13th, 2009
Toronto Lightning Storm from Sam Javanrouh on Vimeo.
Spacing photo contributor Sam Javanrouh captured a recent lightning storm in a …
June 28th, 2009
Moonwalkers from Sam Javanrouh on Vimeo.
When Michael Jackson’s death was announced, I never gave any thought to the possibility that Spacing would somehow be …
June 5th, 2009
One of Spacing’s main photo contributors is Sam Javanrouh of Daily Dose of Imagery (he’s responsible for three Spacing covers: Fall 2006, Fall …
May 20th, 2009
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTlAC_DNG5U[/youtube]
Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues in Toronto.
With their aim to capture the spontaneity of live music in a new and exciting way, French directors Chryde and Vincent Moon have transformed cities across the globe into public stages. I first discovered The Take Away Shows — their videocasts on La Blogotheque — two years ago, where they have posted videos of almost one hundred musicians and bands playing in bars, parks, flats, elevators and city streets all over the world.
Largely unedited, Moon and Chryde attempt to highlight “the little incidents, hesitations and crazy stuff happening unexpectingly†in live performances by filming an international cast of musicians playing in non-traditional urban venues.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVaneTEaUKM[/youtube]
Montreal’s Malajube on Le Metro in Paris
Toronto’s own Owen Pallett (also known as Final Fantasy) is filmed running through the streets of Paris playing away on his violin (the first video). Although most of the Take Away Show venues are set in Paris, other cities such as New York, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Seattle, Los Angeles and Jerusalem to name only a few have provided the setting for these performances.
Sadly, there are no videos filmed in Toronto or the rest of Canada, yet there are several other Canadian bands besides Final Fantasy and Malajube that have been featured by Blogotheque playing multiple sets in cities all over the world, including Arcade Fire, Islands, and Caribou.
