Sky park

BY SEAN PEARCE

In the depths of the urban jungle it can be difficult to find a tranquil piece of green space amid the sprawl sometimes, but at one downtown location nature abounds. In the spring and summer green plants flourish, flowers blossom and weary urbanites happily eat their lunches on wooden picnic tables free from the hustle and bustle below. Welcome to 401 Richmond’s rooftop garden.

Erin MacKeen, communications representative for 401 Richmond Ltd., says that her building’s green roof has been a great attraction for both tenants and the community.

“401 Richmond’s green roof is open to the public during business hours,” MacKeen said. “It’s used primarily by tenants, but people in the surrounding neighbourhood also go up there to eat lunch and congregate.”

MacKeen said that many of the businesses housed within 401 Richmond use the green roof for events also.

“Some of our tenants hold meetings and special functions up there,” she said. “And it’s not just great in terms of a public space improvement or as a place for people to meet, but there also a variety of environmental applications we support as well.”

The green roof located at 401 Richmond could only be the beginning of a new trend. Steven Peck is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an organization committed to advancing green roof programs around the world. Peck believes that green roofs enhance the quality of life for urban dwellers.

“There’s a lot of opportunity to generate a higher quality of life in Toronto by using roof space as both publicly accessible and privately accessible recreational space,” Peck said.

Peck explains that not all green roofs need to be accessible either. Those that are inaccessible can be host to wildlife and just help to add some colourful contrast.

“There can be green roofs that are not accessible, but provide a lot of amenity value for those looking down upon them,” he said. “There are different dimensions to this thing in terms of the values; there’s an aesthetic dimension and an accessibility dimension.”

One of the numerous other buildings around the city now sporting the green roof look is Jackman Avenue Public School. The school’s principal, Terry Walsh, says although the rooftop is inaccessible it’s still a popular sight for students, staff and parents.

“(The green roof) was something championed by a community group of parents and the kids, too,” Walsh said. “It was nothing, but a black asphalt roof before.”

Walsh says that in general people really enjoy being able to look down from the third floor of the school and see a lush carpet of green.

Still, Toronto’s experience with green roofs is in its infancy. Some green roofs in other cities are already host to a whole assortment of different activities. Chicago’s award-winning Millennium Park, which sits atop an underground parking garage, boasts acres of trees, trails and numerous cultural attractions. Peck says the possibilities are endless.

“We’ve got green roofs that are everything from lawn bowling fields to product showrooms,” Peck said. “There’s a huge spectrum out there and so there’s a great opportunity to intensify (green roofs) in Toronto.”

Despite the benefits, Toronto has a long way to go before it sees a Millennium Park of its own.
Jane Welsh, project manager in the city planning department, identified some important obstacles to be overcome before sky-high parks become feasible.

“Toronto’s parks and recreation department doesn’t want to take them on as park land when they’re up in the air like on top of a building and the reason is many are not publicly accessible,” Welsh said.

Welsh cited another problem, there is seldom enough growing medium to allow for tree growth. Toronto has, however, been very encouraging of green roofs, because they still enhance the public space in visible ways.

“If you think of a park as an opportunity for a view of green then it’s wide open, because everyone in surrounding buildings can see it,” she said. “In other word’s it’s a chance to see a park in the sky.”

Even if it isn’t exactly possible to play softball on the top of a high-rise just yet Welsh doesn’t rule out anything in the future.

Peck likes what he sees, so far, but he is also looking ahead to the future.

“Green space becomes a real premium as more people live in the city,” Peck says. “Why not have a plan to create the equivalent of a High Park on the roofs of the city over the next 10 to 15 years?”

Crystal carbuncle

BY SEAN PEARCE

Toronto is constantly evolving as a city and a prime example of this evolution is the Royal Ontario Museum. At the end of construction, the old architecture of the ROM will be melded with a new crystalline structure designed by Daniel Libeskind, who designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin. In the urban jungle our buildings make up most of the public viewing experience and Toronto takes great pride in this area. But not everyone is pleased with how things are changing.

Robert Brown, membership chair of The Annex Residents’ Association, isn’t impressed with the construction happening at the ROM. According to Brown, Annex residents were told the renovations would be in the same vein as I. M. Pei’s Pyramide du Louvre in Paris. The reality has been quite different.

“My personal view is that it is not what we were told it was originally going to look like,” Brown said. “It’s a much heavier construct than what was originally communicated to the public; this thing looks like a carbuncle.”

Brown also complains that, in his opinion, the more recent additions to Toronto’s architectural landscape, in areas such as the Annex, add little and often completely contradict what is already there.

“There’s no sense of consistency and they’re adding their own architectural vocabulary,” Brown said. “Look at the buildings that have been built in the last 10 years, they’re all just big glass buildings.”

Brown says beyond the fact that some new projects don’t fit the area they’re constructed in, building uniform glass towers across the city leads to a loss of identity for Toronto.

“If you just saw pictures of them and you were asked to identify where they were located you would say, ‘Those could be from anywhere in the city or Hong Kong or Minneapolis or wherever,’” he said. “You’ve got to add something to the overall architectural texture of the city rather than another glass tower.”

In Brown’s opinion, more must be done to preserve the look of an area, such as the Annex, even if that only means keeping a building’s street level face familiar.

James Brown is an architect with the firm Brown and Storey. He sees a real lack of vision in the city and believes the things that are changing are happening too minutely to really matter.

“I don’t think (the city is) doing enough planning and I don’t think they are taking it seriously enough,” Brown said. “You have to do it on a large scale.”

Brown said that many European cities are vastly outpacing Toronto in terms of architectural achievement and cited two examples in particular.

“We just came back from Portugal and Spain and these places are reinventing themselves,” he said. “They’re really thinking long-term.”

Another issue that Brown mentions is the increasing inconsistency in new buildings across the city.

“I don’t think there are any rules anymore,” Brown said. “When you look at the city it’s built kind of like a big fractal puzzle.”

Architect James Brown agrees with Robert Brown that balancing the past and the future is important. He says that buildings are extremely important in the creation of an urban environment.

“You have to try to find a balance and a total overall environment solution when you’re designing these things,” Brown said. “It’s not just about how the buildings look.”

Myron Boyko, senior urban designer with the City of Toronto, said that deciding what does or doesn’t fit architecturally in a certain area is difficult because tastes are so subjective. Still, he thinks the city does its best to keep some uniformity where possible.

“It’s a very subjective issue first of all, as it really depends who the observer is,” Boyko said.
Boyko says that a good example of consistency in architecture is in the area around King Street and Spadina Avenue. In that case an actual plan was adopted.

“(The plan) was to try to preserve the character of that area so that when a developer goes in there, he can’t just tear things down and put in whatever he or she thinks is appropriate,” he said. “Generally we try to work with what’s there.”

As for the ROM, Boyko likes it, but he concedes it might not be for everyone.

“If you look at that building it’s like a clash of cultures and styles, yet I think that’s going to be a very great experience just walking around that building,” he said. “It’s not something you’d expect because it is totally off the wall.”

He adds that the Official Plan, the Toronto of the future, is almost completely uncharted in terms of its architecture. Boyko said the city isn’t sure how it will look.

“(The Official Plan) gives you an idea for where the city might be going, but there’s no real image of what the city is going to look like,” Boyko said. “You can get an impression of what it might be, but that will be based on a site-by-site basis.”

Bridging Toronto's Gardiner complex

BY SEAN PEARCE

The fate of Toronto’s venerable Gardiner Expressway has been the subject of many debates in city council over the last few years. Bold proposals have been presented as to what to do with Toronto’s grey concrete freeway and the engineer behind one of these proposals says that Toronto is finally ready to take the risk and decide.

Jose Gutierrez is a civil engineer who is trying to make his vision, the Toronto Waterfront Viaduct, a reality. The proposal calls for the Gardiner Expressway to be retro-fitted with a series of cables and an elevated sky-path that will feature a nice view, plant life and a pedestrian friendly walkway. Gutierrez hopes the Gardiner will therefore become less of a barrier to the waterfront and more of a gateway.

“Toronto used to be (cautious),” Gutierrez said. “Toronto in the new millennium is a lot more bold and ready for something more dramatic.”

Kristen Jenkins, communications representative for the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC), says that transforming the way the Gardiner looks doesn’t change the fact that it remains a physical and psychological divider between the city and its waterfront. Jenkins says the TWRC’s preferred proposal, to take down the section between Spadina Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway, will remove that obstacle from the public psyche.

“This option… is a much more practical solution to addressing the barrier effect of the Gardiner,” Jenkins said. “We’ve got this opportunity to do something with the Gardiner because the waterfront is going to happen and it’s going to be great.”

Jenkins expressed doubts that Toronto City Council would choose to transform the Gardiner. She said the plan the TWRC is favouring will likely prove a less costly venture. Jenkins also said that whatever is done with the expressway money will be the deciding factor, as is always the case.

“Council can’t be asked to decide on something where there are no options for funding,” Jenkins said. “I don’t think (the numerous Gardiner proposals) have ever gotten past the urban design and engineering stage and that’s what is happening now, but the city is looking at potential financing options.”

Gutierrez says that money needn’t determine the matter because, if Toronto is willing to make a daring choice, money will come from private sources.

“I envision a lot of private investments in this project and I foresee a big chunk, more than 50 per cent, of the money will come from the private sector,” he said.

Gutierrez adds that the first step will not be funding, but getting the politicians to realize they need a freeway along the lakeshore.

“The councillors first need to realize that the waterfront needs and expressway,” Gutierrez said. “Putting traffic on the surface routes with street lights is just going to choke the whole area up.”

William Allen lives in Toronto’s east end and often walks his dog along Lake Shore Boulevard East where the pillars of the Gardiner Expressway’s demolished eastern section still stand. He says the city should keep the freeway and that its uglier features can be transformed.

“If it’s safe to leave it up and it’s working the way it is why change it?” Allen said. “It is a little dirty underneath… but that can be brightened up in areas for pedestrians to cross under it.”

Allen also says that despite the demise of the Gardiner’s eastern section, he still feels separated from the waterfront because of the wide roadway and the noise.

“I don’t like crossing a huge, wide expanse of roads,” he said.

Allen said he likes the concept of the Toronto Waterfront Viaduct and doesn’t mind having the old Gardiner there, as long as an effort is made to beautify the Gardiner. In his opinion, improving the Gardiner doesn’t need to be a difficult or costly venture.

“(The Gardiner) needs lots of green space; it doesn’t have to be fancy green space, just lots of nice trees,” Allen said.

Pleasant dreams

BY SEAN PEARCE

Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto is the tranquil final resting place of many famous Canadians. Amid the tall, ancient trees and quiet marble slabs lie former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, department store magnate Timothy Eaton and insulin discoverers Frederick Banting and Charles Best just to name a few. Yet, Mount Pleasant Cemetery is not just another graveyard. Its aged trees, spacious fields and many paths are also used by the living for jogging, cycling and appreciating the little bit of serene green amid so much grey. For a naturalist the cemetery is indeed a little slice of heaven.

Roger Powley is a member of the Toronto Field Naturalists. A few times each year his group organizes a trip to visit Mount Pleasant Cemetery and take in a little bit of the natural setting it provides. A big part of that is the arboretum located on the cemetery grounds.

“One of the reasons (we go there) is the arboretum,” Powley said. “They have trees from all over the world there, so if you want to learn about trees that’s the best place in the city to learn; it’s almost the best place in the country.”

According to Powley, another draw for the nature seeker is the possibility of spotting some wild animals. The cemetery itself is 200 acres and connects to other parks and natural areas as well. This gives wildlife plenty of space to roam and hide.

“I’ve seen coyotes and deer,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to find.”
When asked if any of the participants have been too scared to enter the cemetery Powley laughs.

“I know there’s some superstitious people who don’t like going into cemeteries, but it’s not that common,” Powley said.

Fear of the cemetery doesn’t seem to be keeping anyone away. The site has proven popular with hikers, runners and others who want a little taste of the outdoors. Several travel guides and websites list Mount Pleasant Cemetery as an ideal spot for avid cyclists. David Dunn, an engineer with Toronto’s Transportation Services Department, says, in the case of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, making it part of the city’s bike network just seemed to make sense.

“The bike plan was (initiated) by looking at existing routes and seeing how they would fit in with our grid network,” Dunn said. “In this case we saw trails already in use and made a logical connection.”

It might seem likely that given Mount Pleasant Cemetery’s primary role as a resting place for the deceased that concerns, either out of respect or superstition, might have been raised about its inclusion as part of the bike network. But, according to Dunn, he doesn’t recall any objections to the route.

“There might have been the odd comment,” Dunn said. “But off the top of my head I don’t recall.”

Rick Cowan, vice-president of marketing and communications with the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries, says the cemetery welcomes the public to use its space as long as they remember to be respectful of those there to mourn their loved ones. It’s a difficult balance to maintain sometimes.

“It was always the opinion of the founders of Mount Pleasant Cemetery … that the cemetery should be a place for the living as well and we’ve always encouraged passive recreation at our cemeteries,” Cowan said.

Even though the cemetery still invites the public in, Cowan says the land is privately owned. Some people seem to forget this and show little respect or sympathy towards people mourning or attending funeral services.

“We’ve had situations where joggers are jogging through the cemetery and are talking rather loudly and they’ll forget there’s a graveside service going on at the time,” he said. “It’s quite disruptive emotionally and distressing when they’re there, at that time, basically running through (a family’s) service.”

Yet, noisy joggers aren’t the worst of it. Rollerblading is, in fact, banned at the cemetery. Cowan says the reason for the ban was because a person rollerblading along one of the cemetery paths collided with an elderly woman paying her respects, breaking her arm. The cemetary haseven been aproached by cyclists wanting to use its paths as racetracks.

“We’ve actually had people strolling with their buggies during the day holding up funeral processions,” he said. “They look at it like, ‘This is my place, my public space,’ but they forget that there are people mourning the loss of their loved ones.”

“It’s a really delicate balancing act we have to play, because we really want people to enjoy the cemetery,” Cowan said. “But we also want people to be respectful of those who are there to mourn.”