Workend

On Friday night I made dinner and then biked to the ROM for the kickoff of this year's Doors Open. I wanted to a) see the ROM for free, and b) see the Pecha Kucha presentations.

The new ROM addition, for those who don't know, is Toronto's version of a Daniel Liebeskind building... which, for those who don't know, means a bunch of jagged forms smashed together to make architecture. This building was supposedly inspired by the ROM's crystal collection, which is a joke because it looks pretty much like all of his other buildings. From my perspective within the architecture industry, Toronto's local architects don't think much of this building. This could be for a number of reasons: a) they didn't get to design it, b) they have conservative Canadian taste, c) the building is actually kinda crappy.

I actually like the thing from the outside, which is the only view I had ever seen. From what I had heard, the interior is where the thing doesn't hold up. Having finally made it inside, I have to say I sort of agree. The interior is pretty underwhelming. Also, the place was filled with one million people which, to be fair, is probably not the best scenario for evaluating the space.

Anyway - for such a crazy building, the inside is a little boring. The walls are mostly large expanses of white drywall and aluminum, which at times seem somehow unfinished. Worst of all (in my opinion) is the lack of grandness. The huge crazy shards don't really translate into any huge crazy interior spaces, and when I found my way into the old entryway (which is now just an emergency exit, I guess), I couldn't help but prefer the scale (and richness) of it. (I also like that quote in the ceiling.)

I also way preferred the old dark dinosaur hallway, with the fake environments and dramatic lighting. Now the dinos all hang from oddly inclined white surfaces, like pieces of art in a 'neutral' (although not neutral, 'cause there are no right angles anywhere) field. I realize this is probably not a 'new ROM' thing, and likely reflects the latest in Museum Curatorial Theory - but I liked the drama of the old setup.

Anyway - the Pecha Kucha. The theme was Sacred Spaces, which I thought would be interesting. Most of the presenters were architects, and most took the opportunity to just show their own work, with a brief introduction to shoe-horn it into the theme of the night... 'Sustainability is the new religion', 'Healthcare (architecture) is sacred', 'Here's some of my (sacred) work!'. To be fair, some of these presentations (like the healthcare one) were pretty cool... but I was hoping for a bit more creativity, and a deeper exploration of the idea of the sacred.

My favorites were maybe this guy (his presentation was kinda terrible - but I just like his paintings!)... and this church, by Larkin (the coloured light on the concrete is amazing - like modern stained glass)


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And on with the weekend...

Saturday, I cleaned up the front yard and scattered some wild-flower seeds. I hope they can grow in gravelly dirt and bus fumes...
We also went to the Dufferin Mall and Leah bought a dress. We ran into the Cumby's and friends in a random alley on the way home, so we hung out with them briefly on a rooftop deck.

Sunday - I did laundry. That afternoon we went down to Queen street to find shoes to go with Leah's dress. After looking at a LOT of shoes, Leah bought some crazy nice Camper shoes...

We skipped church and watched Shaun of the Dead!