Comment 66938

By stanley (anonymous) | Posted July 26, 2011 at 19:46:52

I love this building just like I love all the buildings Hammer mentioned. It's a rare case of a building from this time combining modern materials and spare design with lightness and elegance. The round house at the front, the murals and statue, the windows all create a very unique mix of classical and modern, and befit the space, which should be civic - next to the AGH and across from city hall. You won't get pedestrian traffic there like you will on King or Main and John. It should stay a government building - really it should have taken the overflow from city hall. The Mac campus design totally dominates the space, looming both over the art gallery and city hall. It would be perfect in a busier place with transit stops. There are lots of these lots in the Hammer.

The other thing is that I really hate the argument that we need to tear this down because if not we won't get the building. Mac needs the downtown centre just like we need it. It's a condition of Braley's cash. They're just trying to leverage the most out of their funding. If they get the site they'll pat themselves on the back and hand out bonuses for saving so much money. But just like the stadium people immediately turn to hysteria when confronted with a big corporation telling them there's only one option. If we were proud of our city we'd say if you want to build here then there are restrictions. Or we'd work with them to find a place that suits all parties. For instance we would not incentivize the creation and maintenance of brownfields but encourage their development, and make parking lots unaffordable. We'd actually enforce and build up our heritage legislation.

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds