The Globe and Mail

With a swirling, exterior staircase protruding from the south wall, Frank Gehry's third and final design for the new Art Gallery of Ontario has struck a compromise between earlier plans. Gone is the somewhat controversial massive, unbroken veil of etched titanium and glass originally proposed in January, as well as the modernist patchwork wall of glass introduced in June. Instead, the revised plan for the south façade facing Grange Park is a cross between the two -- with an outside staircase added as an extra flourish. As windows in the centre look out on the park, the rest of the south façade will be covered with tiles wrapped in bluish titanium, creating a kind of shimmering optical effect designed to minimize the towering south side. It's partly a response to local residents who felt the south-facing wall was too obtrusive.