Monthly archives of “May 2014

COLLECTING CONCRETE

“It is truly bizarre. For a start it is almost uniformly grey.” Guardian reporter Sean Thomas’s description of Le Corbusier’s Couvent de la Tourette is a notably unsympathetic one*, but not an entirely uncommon one.  Concrete is quite often dismissed as simply dull, bland, and grey.  And […]

ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE | Toronto

LOCATION: 770 Don Mills Rd, Toronto, ON M3C 1T3, Canada ARCHITECT: Raymond Moriyama // Eberhard Zeidler // Diamond & Schmitt Architects DATES: 1964-1967 // 1996 // 2006 NOTES: Some fairly significant changes have been made to the building; most notable is a late 90s addition […]

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCARBOROUGH | Toronto

LOCATION: 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada ARCHITECT: John Andrews DATES: 1963-65 NOTES: Originally founded as Scarborough College, the campus was rapidly built – designed and constructed in a “Critical Path” fashion – which, according to John Andrews, contributed to concrete’s selection as the primary construction […]

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING | Toronto

LOCATION: 1 King’s College Cir, University of Toronto – St. George Campus, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada ARCHITECT: Peter Goering DATES: 1966-1969 NOTES: Building’s art budget was dedicated to precast panels on facade designed by artists Ted Bieler and Robert Downing. Site Visit: Fri May […]

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PLAZA | Boston

LOCATION: 210 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA USA ARCHITECT: I.M. Pei & Associates DATES: 1968-1973 NOTES: Landmarked by Boston Landmark Commission (2011). Due to lagging church attendance, the complex is currently under redevelopment. In the past six years, the Church has consolidated all of its operations […]

UMASS DARTMOUTH | Dartmouth

LOCATION: 285 Old Westport Rd, North Dartmouth, MA 02747 United States ARCHITECT: Paul Rudolph // DesignLAB Architects (Claire T. Carney Library Renovation) DATES: 1964-1971 // 2013 NOTES: Originally constructed as Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute, the school became affiliated with University of Massachusetts in 1991.  The […]