March 31, 2006 - The media has been buzzing the past couple of days over news of the latest waterfront development: the West Don Lands community. The West Don Lands is a 32 hectares site located east of downtown Toronto, in between Parliament Street and the Don River, and King Street and the rail corridor. Currently, the site consists of abandoned factories, derelict buildings, and open land that people seem to use as dump sites. The Province, along with its federal and municipal counterpart, recently pledged $230M to clean up the West Don Lands and create a new mixed-use community for about 11,000 people.
Highlights of this new community include:
- 6000 new residences, including 1500 units of affordable rental housing
- 25% of community to be parks and public space including the eight-hectare Don River Park
- A new light rail transit line (LRT) within a five-minute walk of all homes
- Two childcare centres
- Community centre and pool
- Elementary school
The West Don Lands is just one of Toronto's key Waterfront Projects (others include Lake Ontario Park, the Portlands, Union Station expansion, etc). But despite having established the Waterfront Revitalization Corporation in 2001 to carry out Waterfront projects, to date, little has been done. Spiraling costs and disagreements between different levels of government and citizen groups have caused delays and frustrations among those who are eager to see something (anything!) happen on the waterfront.
The new West Don Lands will incorporate all of the latest sustainable planning principles: mixed-use, high density, a new streetcar line, parks (yay!), and different types of housing. Politicians are already calling it the second St. Lawrence - the award winning neighbourhood that wowed planners around the world just 30 years ago.
Some critics have argued that given the government's previous failure to revitalize the waterfront (the previous Ataratiri neighbourhood project cost the government $350M before the Province finally pulled the plug), the entire waterfront should be sold to developers and let the private sector develop it. While this approach will definitely speed up the development process, turning such valuable waterfront land to developers will likely recreate what we are already seeing in harbourfront west: a wall of condos, with little diversity in landscape or in public space. Now that we have a second change to develop a water-class front, we should take advantage of this opportunity and develop something we can all be proud of.
March 29, 2006 - Who says living in the suburbs has to be boring?
The City of Mississauga recently held an international architectural contest for its Absolute Downtown landmark near the city's civic square and Square One shopping centre. The competition attracted architects from around the world, with submissions that look more like sculptures than buildings. Click here to see all the submissions.
Yesterday, the City announced the winning design - Chinese Architect Yansong Ma won the competition with his "Marilyn Monroe" condo tower - nicknamed so because of the building's curves. It wasn't the design that I voted for - I voted for the design by Tarek El-Khatib (the last finalist), but I'm not complaining. The condo tower will definitely bring a new sense of architectural uniqueness to the otherwise bland landscape of the city. It's also interesting that it's the private developers who are leading the way towards this new architectural renaissance in Mississauga (and not the City's planning department).
Speaking of Mississauga, the City also recently commissioned Projects for Public Spaces (PPS) for help in revitalization the public spaces in around the downtown area, with a particular focus on creating new parks and open spaces in the city centre. PPS held a series of workshops with city planners and citizens on ideas and strategies to place making. PPS made a series of recommendations, including creating a permanent farmers market on the Square One parking lot, turning Burnhamthorpe Road into a grand boulevard, and improving access to public transit in the downtown core. Click here for PPS's full report.
March 27, 2006 - Just days after the Spadina Subway extension announcement, today's Toronto Star featured an article on "Vaughan's Downtown Dream". Planners and politicians in Vaughan, which has long declared itself as "the city above Toronto", have been hoping to create a 600 acre downtown called Vaughan Corporate Centre near the Highway 7-Jane Street area for almost a decade. With the subway extension, it looks like the dream will now become a reality.
As the City is building the Corporate Centre from scratch, downtown Vaughan has the potential to become a true walkable, mixed-use, transit-friendly city centre. Plans call for a 6.1 million square feet of both residential and commercial development, including hotels, office towers, cultural facilities, restaurants, and entertainment venues, along with medium and high density mixed types of housing (no word on whether there will be affordable housing though). Early estimates are that 30,000 people will work there and at least 5,000 will live there. Currently, the Corporate Centre is nothing more than open fields, big box stores (i.e. IKEA, AMC, Vaughan Mills), and light industries.
Now this development plan sounds great on paper, but I still have my doubts as to whether it could truly become what it wants to be. For one thing, Vaughan is still a predominately suburban community (even more so than Markham I would say). Cars rule in Vaughan - both Highway 7 and Jane Street today are 8 wide lanes of traffic. Getting to Vaughan is also quite difficult - public transit, even with the new Viva Line continues to be poor. Would the subway help? While the subway will improve access, it will take almost 6 times as long for downtown Vaughan to be completely built than the subway. Ridership on the new line will be extremely low for years and may not even be economically sustainable (note: the Vaughan Orange Viva Line has the lowest ridership among all the lines). Not to mention, will downtown Vaughan be able to attract enough businesses so that residents can "live and work" in the area? or will the city centre but nothing more than a commuters hub? Also, with multiple developers eager to build in the Corporate Centre (unlike Downtown Markham, which only has 1 developer), will there be a consistency in terms of urban design?
Well I guess time will tell. I think I have my doubts because Vaughan isn't exactly known for its good planning (Vaughan Mills anyone?). So I guess until I actually see the draft plans, I will have some reservations...
March 24, 2006 - The Province of Ontario announced yesterday that they will offer $670M to extend the Spadina subway north to Vaughan as part of a $1.2B program called Move Ontario, which is designed to help fund public transit, roads and bridges throughout the province. The subway extension marks the first time that the subway will cross the city limit to the 905 region, and it also marks the first subway expansion since the Sheppard subway opened in 2002.
The subway will help fight congestion in the 905 region and will also serve York University, which currently is one of the busiest transit hubs in the city. With the extension, passengers in the 905 can begin and end their commute at the new Vaughan Corporate Centre station, thereby relieving traffic at Finch Station (currently the northern most station on the subway).
Now as a planner, any subway expansion should be regarded as good news. The City definitely needs new transit infrastructure and expanding the Spadina subway to Vaughan represents a new Region-wide vision that is strongly needed in managing traffic gridlock in the GTA. Not to mention any government funding in public transit should call for celebration!
But at a deeper level, one have to wonder whether expanding the subway to a low-density suburb is the best way to spend nearly $2B (the total cost of project) of transit funding. Already, critics have argued that the under-utilized Spadina subway will not meet the passenger projections stated in the subway expansion proposals. Vaughan Corporate Centre is currently nothing but open space, big box stores (Vaughan Mills and IKEA), and low density communities - it would take over 30 years for Vaughan to develop into the minimum level required to successfully support public transit. Having learned from the mistakes made with the Sheppard subway (which till this day, continues to be only half-full even at rush hour), why weren't other options more seriously considered? For example, wouldn't a LRT line would cheaper, more efficient, and still achieve the goals of creating transit-friendly sustainable communities?
Not to mention, at a time when the TTC barely have enough money to maintain the service it provides, shouldn't the money be put back into the existing system first? How about more funds to improve subway efficiency, or more buses on the busiest routes, or perhaps, maybe tearing down the old and crumbling Scarborough LRT?
We all know that this subway expansion is more political than sensible. While there certainly are advantages to expanding the Spadina Subway to Vaughan, I don't know if it's the best way to spend precious transit funding, particularly when so many other initiatives require our attention now.
March 11, 2006 - I took a day off yesterday from work to check out the Frank Gehry Art and Architecture exhibit at the AGO. Call me a nerd but I have actually been looking forward to it (well to both the exhibit and to the fact that I'll get to take a day off!). The exhibit takes a look at four recent projects that Gehry recently completed in Los Angeles (Disney Concert Hall- see right picture), Boston (the Stata Centre), Chicago (Millennium Park), and Berlin (DZ Bank headquarters). The exhibit also provides a preview of the AGO Transformation Project, headlined by Gehry, which will completely transform the AGO facade and add new galleries to the other wise bland building.
The exhibit features Gehry's sketches and scale models. Some of the models are truly amazing - with my favourite being the interior model for the Disney Concert Hall, which includes every minor detail, including the performers and their instruments. The models for the Stata Centre at the MIT campus in Boston (see below) are equally impressive - the creativity and the ingenuity (with the different use of material, the bright colours, the infamous Gehry random curves and angles) that went into designing the complex (both inside and out) illustrate just how Gehry is no ordinary architect. When I visited the MIT campus back in 2004, the Stata Centre stood out because it showed so much more energy, creativity, and spontaneity compare to the other wise traditional yet dull buildings.
As for the new AGO, while it definitely lacks the "wow" factor of the nearby ROM crystals, it definitely is an improvement over the the current facade. Unlike the ROM or the nearby OCAD building, Gehry has decided not to use the airspace above the current building, which I think in a way is a missed opportunity to expand the gallery, but equally understandable given Gehry had mentioned that the new building needs to find a right balance between the AGO's needs and the neighbourhood just north the gallery (hmm, a lesson learned from Bilbao?). Gehry talked about how the new AGO will still have the intimacy of the museum going experience - an antithesis to larger museums, such as the MET in New York.
Anyway, the exhibit is definitely worthy to check out. I personally wished it had included more of Gehry's other works, including his most famous piece - the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The fact that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the exhibit also sucked big time, though we tried to sneak our cameras in and managed to take a few shots (which reminds me, Jason, you still have the pictures!). Anyway, you can click on the links below to see pictures of the exhibit from media day - you will be impressed!
Pictures from Media Day: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ago/pool/
AGO Transformation Project: http://www.ago.net/transformation/home.cfm
March 8, 2006 - It's funny how sometimes, it really takes something tragic to shake up your system. Unfortunately, the tragedy is often painful and shocking - and often, at great costs. For the past several weeks, I guess I have been ranting and complaining about all parts of my life - work, school, relationships, friendship, etc. Those who know me well know that I really don't complain all that much - so all this ranting and complaining is definitely not an everyday thing. Anyway I must admit that it's easy to forget that life really isn't that bad - until you learn that worst things happen to other people.
Tonight, I got a call from a friend telling me that a mutual friend of ours from planning school has passed away. It was a shock, mainly because he was only 27 and we had no idea that he was sick. Apparently he had a seizure and died in his sleep. He was a really great guy: smart, funny, tall, really cute - we did undergrad together (we even shared the same majors: we were both in life sciences and geography) and he was also my TA for one year. We had the same undergrad thesis supervisor too - so in many ways, we were linked.
When I heard the news, it was shocking and depressing. To think that someone around my age, so full of potential and so full of life, could be gone, just like that, is really saddening. It also made me wonder why I'm complaining about getting out of bed when a colleague of mine would never get to experience the same things that I will get to enjoy in life. It also reminded me how short really life is and that not only do I really need to take better advantage of life's opportunities, but I also need to value and cherish the people and things around me.
I might be getting a little too sentimental, but hey, if I can't be sentimental at a time like this, then I don't know if there ever will be a better time.
Matt, you will be missed by all of us. Rest in peace.
March 6, 2006 - Have you ever had days when you wish you could just stay in bed, maybe forever?
Today was definitely was one of those days. It was hard enough to just lift my head off my pillow, let alone physically get out of bed. Each time my alarm clock rang, I felt like smashing it into pieces (needless to say, I have broken quite a few in my lifetime). It was just one of those days when I wish I could just skip and stay in bed.
If only I could do that. At least when I was in school, I could always skip class and sleep in whenever I feel like it. With work, you can't do that anymore. There are responsibilities, deadlines, reports to managers. No matter how much you want to pick up the phone and pretend you have a cough while talking to the secretary, the thought of losing yet another of your sick days (or worst yet, your vacation days) is enough to put that thought quickly behind you.
I'm probably just ranting about nothing. Going to work, even when you don't feel like (and really, who feels like going to work all the time? even if you have a cool job that you like, there are still days when you just don't feel like going...) is part of growing up, part of being responsible, part of being an adult.
So yet another long Monday and seriously, I'm starting to feel a little burned out. Maybe I'm just getting a little restless at work (or maybe it's because I'm tired of dealing with other people's crisis and issues when I already have so much of my own stuff to deal with). I think I will take Friday off and just enjoy a long weekend. At least I can look forward to going to the AGO with Jason =)
So 3 more days to go. I can do it.
March 2, 2006 - Today went by pretty slowly. Work was awfully slow and then my friend Jerry called and I had to deal with his latest crisis. Initially there were plans for him to come over so we could talk, but he ended up being a no-show. No big deal I guess - so what did I do? I watched tv of course!
Thursday nights used to be the best night of the week for tv (remember those Must-See-TV days with Friends and Will and Grace, etc?). Now, Thursday nights suck. I don't care for Survivor; I would rather watch CSI on dvd; and I just can't sit through the entire hour of Skating with the Stars. So I was actually quite happy when I found the movie Sweet Home Alabama on! It was one of those movies that I've always wanted to see, but never got to.
The movie was quite funny (Reese Witherspoon was really good - but then again, I've always liked her). It was a total chick flick - and sadly, these days, I seem to watch more and more of them. Now I don't think it's pathetic that guys watch chick flicks, what is kinda pathetic was the fact that I started tearing up at the end of the movie. Out of nowhere, my eyes got watery and I felt like crying. I think it started right at the part where Reese's character, Melanie, told her fiance at her wedding that she couldn't marry him because "The truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back." And then Melanie ran to find her still-not-yet-divorced husband, Jake, and told him "You're the first boy I ever kissed, Jake, and I want you to be the last."
Awww...
There's more: Jake asked why Melanie she would want to be with him, to which Melanie replied: "So I could kiss you anytime I want..." (to which Jake had replied when Melanie asked him the same question when they were 10 years old).
Pass me the Kleenex box right there...
It was totally sappy - but for some reason it got to me. It's kinda..well...sad. I don't know what's wrong with me! I never used to get this sappy (this is the guy who wanted Dakota Fanning's character in War of the World to die so she would shut up). But lately, I don't know, the littlest thing would get to me: I teared up watching Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen on the podium at the Olympics with the national anthem playing; I teared up reading this article about this kid who was abused by his grandparents and died in his cage; I even teared up watching those World Vision infomercials. Seriously, I need to get a grip.
Having said all this though, I have this urge to go out there and buy the "A Walk to Remember" dvd. I could re-read the book, but I think watching the dvd might help in satisfying this stupid pathetic need to watch sappy sad movies...
