I had to withstand a dreadful opening concert, but just past midnight on the morning of June 3, I finally got my chance to experience the “Dawn of the Crystal Age” at the Royal Ontario Museum. Prior to the architectural opening of the Lee-Chin Crystal, I had some preconceptions of the new structure.
The extension follows the current international fad in museum design; sharp corners, obscure angles, and intersecting and punctured planes in the deconstructivist style. Besides the fact that numerous other cities have similar museum designs, the architect himself, Daniel Libeskind, has designed several other crystals with uncanny resemblance, such as the Denver Art Museum, and the Creative Media Center in Hong Kong.
With this in mind, one is forced to question the originality and uniqueness of the building. It seems rather than constructing a building which truly takes the city into consideration, Toronto has received a pre-designed piece adapted to fit over the old ROM.
The interior of the building is more striking than I imagined, especially the windows. Unlike the exterior, the windows on the inside are unframed and seamless with the rest of the walls, creating a “cut-out” effect that is lost on the outside.
By far the most intriguing part of the crystal is the peak. On the lower levels, the sense of being inside a giant crystal form is not apparent because you are still safely situated between a parallel ceiling and floor, but once in the upper level with its jagged roof, the feeling of capsulation within the crystal is powerful.
Throughout the structure, the intersection of the wall planes at uncommon angles creates some interesting niches and lively spaces (it is said that there is not a single 90 degree angle in the building). It will be interesting to see how the museum’s curators put such obscure intersections to use.
The crowd of opening night visitors had their own ideas on how to use the space, and playfully explored the building’s corners, poking heads in small crevasses, and leaning against and even climbing the slanted walls. Although such investigation of the space will likely not happen once the exhibits are up, it was inspiring to see the excitement and enthusiasm of the thousands of Torontonians who showed up in the single-digit hours of the night to see the new and trendy design.
The Lee-Chin Crystal is the first large scale deconstructivist building in Toronto, and even if the uniqueness of the design is questionable, it is still encouraging to see such a structure in the city. Architecturally, Toronto seems always to have played it safe and only built structures that are “tired-tested-and-true.” The Crystal itself is one such example, yet it seems to be a step in the right direction. Toronto may not yet be setting the trends, but at least we’re keeping up with them.
Mahan Javani is a 3rd year architecture and visual studies student at U of T.
