2017 Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
AS FOUND DOMINO
Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada
Summary of findings
Toronto is facing enormous development pressure throughout the downtown, with a seemingly endless wave of construction in its core. The incompatible and worn state of many modernist sites and buildings are making them prime targets for redevelopment. Coupled with a general lack of interest or understanding of this era from the public, we are seeing Toronto’s modernist legacy threatened.
Arguably – and ironically – Modernism’s heritage value can be traced to its inception and premise: a break from history to explore and express architecture uninhibited. Modernism was infused with architectural ideas that found its way through tangible experiments and, as importantly, through writing. As this was a period of intense experimentation, theories were instrumental in rationalizing and lending credibility to the movement’s ideas, as it revolted against the historicist architectural regime. When determining value for this period we must align with these ideas and theories for an inclusive assessment. The formative texts of the movement will allow us to better understand the intent of the extant buildings, and allow us to develop a different approach to conservation, better suited to preserving the movement’s heritage value.
We propose an experiment. This experiment’s merits assessing heritage value and its conservation through a case study of a mid-century modern building, a post-war genre of Modernism that requires immediate consideration if it is to form part of our historical architectural lineage. The impact of architect Peter Dickinson’s work within 10 years was unparalleled and prolific in ushering in a refreshed architectural language throughout Toronto. Spanning back to the early 1950s, his extant buildings are all under some degree of threat. One of these, the Juvenile and Family Court building at 311 Jarvis Street, a wonderfully sprawling complex within one of the city’s most active development wards, will be the considered case study.
When these 2 concepts are considered in collaboration, the potential for an AS FOUND DOMINO strategy deliver an unconventional heritage conservation strategy for modernist structures. We recognize the As Found condition as imperative for its latent value and the opportunities that the larger sprawling generic framework presents. We can imagine numerous approaches to 311, from the way that we work with the concrete frame, to the existing site planning, to develop a unique massing and variety of indoor and outdoor spaces for the rehabilitation. With Dom-Ino, we record a frame to be endlessly adapted to various layouts, as witnessed in the site’s simple modularity. The building is a concrete frame of repetitive open and closed spaces, that could easily be adapted into flexible open plans. We recognize the As Found condition as imperative for its latent value and the opportunities that the larger sprawling generic framework presents. We can imagine numerous approaches to 311, from the way that we work with the concrete frame, to the existing site planning, to develop a unique massing and variety of indoor and outdoor spaces for the rehabilitation. With Dom-Ino, we record a frame to be endlessly adapted to various layouts, as witnessed in the site’s simple modularity. The building is a concrete frame of repetitive open and closed spaces, that could easily be adapted into flexible open plans.
We have selected 2 prominent architects and their ideas, that align with modernism’s development and the work of Dickinson. 311’s free flowing and flexible floor plan and structure can be traced to Le Corbusier’s Maison DOM-INO proposal. The ability to provide a core structure, with the remaining space generic and facilitated as desired, can prove a critical asset to this building’s longevity. Alongside this idea, Modernism’s maturity lead to more inclusive approaches, through the work of Team 10 and more specifically the Smithsons, through their AS FOUND concept. Finding value in the ordinary, recording the existing and assessing attributes for subsequent design, presents a strategy of appreciation and future inclusivity for the built, with the intermingling of new and intervening elements. So what happens when you consider 2 seminal theorists and their theories and amalgamate them to form a potential heritage conservation approach for the modern building? We get AS FOUND DOMINO. Fusing Corb’s Maison DOM-INO with the Smithsons’ AS FOUND presents an amalgam of ideas that focuses on modernism’s extant structural template.
