Architect columnist for the Toronto Star, Christopher Hume, described the new Toronto Opera House (known as The Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts, after the famous hotel of the same name, whose owner was a big donor) as "at least Le Corbusier would have approved".
Perhaps he means the famous Corbusier domino house prototype “Maison Dom-Ino” depicting tall vertical structures as “machines for living”. Or he may mean the functional low-income housing designs Corbusier initiated – now notorious for those French suburban Muslims who set off the riots last year.
Top: Dom-Ino Designs by Corbusier; Bottom Clichy Sous Bois low income houseing (HLM)
Or, in the ever-expanding lines of influence, perhaps the Toronto designer, Jack Diamond, did have a real, French Opera House in mind. But, it is likely the more recent Opera de la Bastille (which always reminded me of a giant swimming pool interior), not the grand old dame which Parisians still keep dear to their hearts.
In any case, aesthetics and grandeur were not on the agenda. And what is opera without that?
Diamond talks about lack of funds in making some of his decisions. He also describes his desire for the building to blend in with the surroundings (to the extent that the back of the building resembles a warehouse!).
But, I somehow think it was more of a lack of skill, coupled with a lack of imagination. Look at the environmentally attuned, beautiful Sydney Opera House.
Top: Opera de la Bastille; Middle: Opera National de Paris; Bottom: Sydney Opera House
But, if there is ever an equivalent center that is both modern and dignified, it is surely the Lincoln Center, which didn’t sacrifice anything for the sake of functionality and modernity.
