Toronto Star

Liebeskind's proposal

There's no nice way to put it: a condo tower should not be built at the Hummingbird Centre. Except to the cash-starved administration of the facility, it is an idea that has no merit. Indeed, it's hard to think of a more ill-conceived, misguided scheme than this. Does anyone actually believe it'll happen? But the real question might be what on earth Daniel Libeskind was thinking when he designed the condo. To say it's outlandish is to put it mildly. To say it's wildly inappropriate, overblown and verging on kitsch might be more to the point. Vulgar isn't a word heard often these days, but for once it applies. We all know Libeskind is capable of producing great architecture. He proved it in Berlin with his Jewish Museum and in Manchester with the Imperial War Museum. In Toronto, where his addition, the Crystal, is under construction at the Royal Ontario Museum, he is on his way to another triumph. But if the drawings of Libeskind's design released this week are any indication, he would be well advised to try again. This plan is characterized by empty gesture and meaningless flourish. The issue of how the tower meets the Hummingbird, how the two structures are integrated and joined, apparently remains unresolved. However, even if Libeskind's design were brilliant, it wouldn't change the basic problem that there's not enough room on site to contemplate such an enormous addition. It simply doesn't make sense.