News

Not long ago, Toronto was seen as squeaky clean and deadly dull. Today, it mixes grit with urban enchantments: soaring contemporary architecture and poetic transformations of history.

Royal Conservatory of

Music, 2009 Delivered with grace and sophistication by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, the RCM's Telus Centre for Performance and Learning enlivens the conservatory's 1881 building. It reflects a city moving ahead intelligently: history restored, new programs in gorgeous contemporary structures, and public space articulated with enduring materials. The 1,140-seat Koerner Concert Hall, with a ceiling of undulating wooden ribbons, will become one of Toronto's most beloved performance halls. 273 Bloor St. W.;

416-408-2824; http://www.rcmusic.ca

Art Gallery of Ontario, 2008 With a sumptuous redesign by Toronto-born Frank Gehry, the AGO delivers art-gallery ecstasy, the likes of which Torontonians had only previously experienced in London or New York. Gehry's gallerias of soaring wood timbers are exhilarating. The capture of natural light within the contemporary-art galleries is a balm to the soul. The gallery also turns the city into an exotic object: The new sightlines and undulating staircases inside and out mean that the building frames the streetscape as painstakingly as the collections. 317 Dundas St. W.; 416-979-6648 or toll-free 1-877-225-4246; http://www.ago.net

Artscape Wychwood Barns, 2008 A series of early-20th-century sheds, once used by the old Toronto Transit Commission for streetcar maintenance, has been elegantly recharged with live/work art studios, community offices and a high-tech greenhouse that grows food year-round. The hand of the architect -

Toronto's Joe Lobko of du Toit Allsopp Hillier Architects - is nearly invisible, but the results are utterly compelling. 416-392-1038; Torontoartscape.on.ca

Toronto-Dominion Centre, 1964-1971 The staggering singularity. The mathematical rigour. The belief in modernism. German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a taciturn prophet of modern architecture, invited TD to accept the wisdom of building a one-storey banking pavilion next to two towers defined by black metal I-beams and sultry bronze glass. It is the most cerebral of Canada's modern masterpieces and the most reverential; the small bouquets of yellow flowers originally specified by the architect still adorn the bank's service counters. The three acres of plazas and grass are idyllic patches in the heart of downtown - though be aware, skateboarders are discouraged. Bay and King Streets;

66 Wellington St. W.; 416-869-1144

R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant, 1941 A visionary work of Depression infrastructure that flaunts civic monumentality with occasional art deco flourishes, the plant offers a bold lesson in municipal leadership. It is Toronto's largest water-treatment facility. Set on a hill in the Beaches neighbourhood, its grassy grounds cascading down to the edge of Lake Ontario, the magisterial plant is the best place in the city to understand that Toronto is lord of the lake. Victoria Park Avenue

at Queen Street East; www.

toronto.ca/water/supply/supply_facilities/rcharris/index.htm