Earlier this year, Mayor Rob Ford re-dedicated the interstitial space next to Metro Hall as David Pecaut Square — a classy tribute to a classy guy, whose contribution to the city is both keenly felt and missed during this week’s Luminato Festival. Appropriately enough, Luminato’s organizers quickly colonized Pecaut Square as its main stage, giving the event a much needed pied de terre.
Pecaut was an American expat consultant who founded the Toronto City Summit Alliance and died in late 2009 after a two-year fight with colon cancer (see the Eye Weekly obituary — “Torontopia’s Suit” — written by Spacing‘s Shawn Micallef here). Pecaut Square (which sits on real estate that used to be a marshalling yard) physically abuts much of what he valued in this city: the public sector (Metro Hall), the arts (the Mirvish theatres, Roy Thomson Hall, the CBC); Toronto’s financial services heft (the sleek RBC Dexia tower), and the role tourism can plays in urban development (the impressive Ritz-Carlton Hotel next door). Luminato, like Nuit Blanche, also provides a vivid illustration of the productive interplay between the arts, corporate philanthropy, and public space — something Pecaut certainly understood.
Even without the festival, the new development along Wellington has rapidly transformed that square, creating the all-important sense of enclosure that marks great urban spaces like New York’s Union Square. As the Montreal International Jazz Festival did for the area around the Place des Arts, Luminato should inspire the city to reimagine the design of that space and the way it relates to its surroundings.
The Square’s muddy layout came up last week when the members of 2010 Toronto Urban Design Awards jury (I’m a member this year) visited a couple of nominated projects in the immediate vicinity.
The space features four stairwells protruding gracelessly from the food court below, a perplexing fountain, a bit of grass and a jumble of landscaping that serves as a kind of visual blockade along the south side, off Wellington. Worst of all is a garage exit, the maw of which now stares directly at the lobby of a four-star hotel.
Consequently, the sightlines and elevations between King and Wellington are a mess. The cockeyed configuration of Wellington, a street now lined with offices, condos, and boutique hotels, remains a mystery to all but the worker bees in the transportation department. And the open space around Roy Thomson Hall is totally wasted thanks to a pointless sunken parking lot on the south side and an equally purposeless sunken reflecting pond/terrace on the north.
With the RBC Dexia and Trump towers now finished, the precinct around Pecaut Square is almost completely built out. In the foreseeable future, a highrise condo is set to sprout next to the Royal Alex, and something large will land on the parking lot on the east side of Simcoe, just south of Wellington. Then, it’s done.
In other words, now that the private development has transformed Pecaut Square into an outdoor room, the City must begin thinking about a transformative redesign of the space itself. The potential is enormous, because these opportunities don’t come along very often in dense urban cores where real estate is at a premium.
It’s not the only such park downtown to face this kind of pivot point. The forlorn square behind College Park — tucked into the middle of the block bounded by Bay, College, Yonge, and Gerrard — is surely another candidate for a public realm makeover. Once Aura, the immense tower at the corner of Yonge and Gerrard, is complete, that surprisingly spacious parkette (it sits atop a parking garage) will be surrounded on all four sides by looming residential and commercial buildings. As such, it becomes the natural focal point for a 24/7 highrise neighbourhood. Right now, however, that open space is a sorry clutter of ill-fitting elements, fractured sightlines, confusing terraces, and parks department neglect.
In both cases, the City should focus on reimagining these spaces with an eye to transforming them into highly urban squares that serve the people who have poured into the core of Toronto. But such a process requires imagination, public engagement, and leadership (i.e., resources) on the part of the municipality.
Strangely, Ford has a chance to position himself at the start of this process with the re-naming of Pecaut Square. In case he is wondering about the return on investment associated with such urban design projects, I’d point out that Montreal’s jazz festival precinct — which the municipality has continued to improve and expand — has attracted millions of visitors and hundreds of millions of dollars to that city.
Sounds like respect for taxpayers to me.
Photo by Sookie
18 comments
Actually, the parkette behind College Park contains the Barbara Ann Scott skating rink which is a fountain during the summer.
What I find interesting here is that Roy Thomson Hall (and less so, Pecaut Square) are classic Arthur Erickson style. Perhaps Erickson’s most (in)famous creation, Robson Square in Vancouver, was built in a similar sunken/elevated style and was recently updated: http://www.gov.bc.ca/citz/robson_square/index.html
Also, the sunken pond, IIRC, was supposed to be used as a skating rink in the winter.
I am a fan of the sunken pond — it has been neglected though. It is nice to see from the glassed in PATH path on the north side.
@Shawn — The point about that neglect is that it’s an indication of something not working. RTH doesn’t spend money to maintain it, you can’t get down there, and the natural circulation patterns of the venue don’t seem to include that space. If it didn’t exist, however, the `panhandle’ to Pecaut Square — the south side of King just west of Simcoe — becomes a natural and much more spacious point of entry into the Square. It poses some interesting questions about what the city could do with that extra space.
This is true. Why RTH doesn’t use it, I dunno. Could be nice.
Toronto needs more panhandles though. Golden Gate Park’s is like this tentacle into the Haight.
Great article. I have my lunch most summer afternoons leaning against a tree on the grass in Pecaut Square. While the surrounding urbaness is something to behold, the square itself is drab and not well thought out at all.
Just south of Peacaut Square in what (I think) is called Simcoe Park is a similar built-out situation with CBC on the west, Ritz-Carlton / RBC Dexia on the north, Simcoe Place (WSIB) on the east and the MTCC on the south. While it has a great Amish Kapoor mountain, the park seems to mostly fail as well. The mountain isn’t lit at night anymore (which I’m sure the guests on the patio of the Ritz would love) and is actually one of the most garbage-strewn public spaces in Toronto. The grass is in horrible shape and there are strangely milk crates often sitting around the Kapoor work and the city never takes them away or throws them out!
I think we’ve reached a moment when we should step back and say, okay, we’ve got these buildings and uses surrounding this space, so what should that space do now in order to respond to its context? Begin with a tabula rasa approach. Maybe some of the features remain. Maybe there’s a better way to integrate the sunken pond into the life of the square. It’s a good time to ask the question.
Great piece John…. and there are plans. The BIA for the area recently ran a design competition for the “panhandle” you mention which connects Pecaut Sq to John Street.
John St’s EA is in its final stage. Plans call for a cultural corridor that will link the waterfront (Queens Quay and Harbourfront Centre) to the AGO and OCAD at the top of John. Besides Pecaut Sq., Six Parks or Squares touch the corridor ( four of which are new), and a re-purposed Pecaut Sq plus a new park on Adelaide around the corner (also home to a new performance space for Artscape) are all part of the design and opportunity that John St presents. The new squares and parks are all be designed to facilitate concerts, performances, festivals and screenings. The road itself will also be wired to host these events as well. Pecaut Sq is the only piece of the puzzle with out a new design so far. The building sites and the changes being contemplated for Metro Hall and RTH need work before a redesign makes sense. When it does come up for reviatlization, it will go through the same community led process all Ward 20 parks go through (check the Grange Community process for Grange Park as an example). The mayors office and the mayor’s brother are aware of the activities planned and so far are supportive. A public preview of where John St is headed is set for later this month. The proposal calls for John to be converted into a Woonerf. Stay tuned for details.
av
@Jason — Good point. In fact, the Urban Design awards jury had a look at the park you mentioned as well — agreed that it’s cluttered with all sorts of things that don’t necessarily make sense, as well as the obligatory Parks Dept neglect. Maybe the thing to do is to look at the two spaces in a holistic way, with an eye to developing an integrated public space design concept that links them together — they are, after all, connected by a decent walk-way from the south side of Wellington.
I very much lilke the parkette behind College Park. The circular pond/skating rink is an excellent focal point, and the oasis of trees with the concrete jungle is refreshing. But I must agree, the sunken patio that abutts College Park itself is dismal.
Thanks John for bringing this subject to everyone’s attention. Personally, I always felt there something underwhelming about Metro/Pecaut Square. It always felt very cluttered and confusing. As is, its not particularly inviting either. Conceptually, it seems caught between a park and a public square while being an efficient example of neither. You’re also right to point out that it hasn’t really evolved with its surroundings. King Street has always been particularly lively but so too now is Wellington. John and Simcoe will also become increasingly more lively and built-up in the near future. Therefore, something which better interacts with its adjoining streets is definitely in order. Although it might not being the most appropriate model, I admire what Daoust Lestage did for Quarter des Spectacles in Montreal. Seems to me that with Luminato, TIFF and Nuit Blanche all having staged events in Pecaut Square recently, what is necessary is a space which can better accommodate both high profile events and large volumes of people.
I agree with those who actually like the RTH sunken pool (both from the sidewalks above and the PATH along-side) but certainly agree it could/should be better integrated. Could RTH have some public space (coffee shop?) adjacent and open to it?
Metro Square /Pecaut Square is certainly rather a mess – maybe ‘someone” could run a design competition or charette on how best to fix it and make it the central place it should be. Probably no point in expecting the City to do this with Mayor Ford(s) in charge but …
@ Adam Vaughan — The panhandle I’m thinking of is at King and Simcoe. But they’re both important. My question to you is whether the John Street plan could or should connect to the Pecaut Square precinct? Seems like it should be of a piece, and if you’re already thinking about a cultural corridor, this space seems like an obvious southern anchor (w/ AGO/OCAD at the other end)…
The case study of Bryant Park in Manhattan, 1988-2011, should be closely studied by anyone involved with a rehab of a space like Pecaut Square. The lessons learned there are universal and the issues facing that square in 1988 were very similar to ones facing tired, ill-functioning Toronto urban squares today.
Even better than trying to get Toronto eyes to focus on the story of a NYC square, just drag Dan Biederman himself up to the Big Smoke. (His private firm does consulting work). As much as Torontonians hate the idea of paying consultants, any such fee for Biederman would be a wise investment compared to re-inventing the wheel in some failed fashion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Biederman
You are right John, the design competition described and posted earlier was to connect Pecaut Sq and the John St corridor along King. As for the Simcoe entrance to the park, it too should be considered for improvements. I agree that opening up the pond on the north side of RTH is needed, the doors appear to swing or slide open and RTH could animate the sunken courtyard perhaps with stepping stones to get across the water!
As for Bryant Sq in NYC staff from my office toured the site with staff from the square and also took in Battery Park as well. Getting the city’s festivals rooted to John St, and tapping into the the design community are all ways to let new programming and local talent engage and change the space. The local BIA is also starting to play a role in animating the space.
A new name deserves a new vision, John St is the catalyst… My office will make sure Spacing is kept abreast of public meetings.
av
Rather than monkeying with RTH’s sunken forecourt, I’d suggest “opening up”, in some way or another, RTH’s Pecaut Square face.
Wasn’t there a plan to move Canada’s Walk of Fame off of King and Simcoe Streets and into the Square? I’m not really sure it’s a great idea, but I think something was recently in the works involving that move.
I love how much discussion the topic has generated. It’s great to hear ambitious appraisals of emerging public spaces in the city, with a desire for action. Yet it’s strange and disturbing that of the several public spaces discussed in the article and comments thus far, little if anyone wants to identify the strengths of these places first and foremost. John Lorinc is so focused on portraying these spaces in negative terms. Every aspect of Pecaut Square is portrayed overly negatively. The square is “muddy” (?), the sophisticated sculpture fountain is “perplexing”, and the underground pavilions are ‘graceless’. I guess he felt bad about criticizing the eternal flame paying tribute to inclusiveness and the perseverance of the disabled. He also hoists a vision of the Montreal Jazz Festival’s use of space without acknowledging the many cultural and social events that already take place in the square: TIFF events, film screenings, and charity fundraisers.
While it’s understandable that improvements should be made to the likes of Pecaut Square as the area improves and to address some original design flaws, to neglect the strengths is shortsighted because the square does provide some sophisticated. The first part of any appraisal should be to identify the good enthusiastically with the ambition of moving forward, rather than suddenly coming up with a tabula rasa plan and presuming the status quo to be a failure.
When I see Pecaut Square, I see the configuration that emphasizes Metro Hall’s beautiful Art Deco-inspired symmetrical massing with the most prominent tower in the centre, the interesting collection of public art including Bernie Miller’s sculpture fountain, and the reflecting pool and eternal fame. The underground food court and PATH connection pavilions could be altered, but let’s acknowledge that do enhance the functionality of the square. Some of the landscaping is in fact attractive, though changes could be made too. I’d also like to suggest that Pecaut Square could be made more vibrant with cafes or a pub at the square itself, something that could draw more people after 9-5 business hours and festivals, the people who are already there on King and John.
I imagine that Roy Thomson Hall’s sunken spaces have their strengths too, being designed by the late Arthur Erickson. I’d hesitate to recommend full destruction and redesign without understanding what works, or at least how it was meant to work.