Toronto Star

The underground mall at the Royal Bank Plaza is being renovated. The floor tiles have been torn up, walls and ceiling taken down, marble and chrome removed, concrete and cinder block revealed. The place has never looked better. In a part of the city that appears to have been designed by a single person, the change is not just dramatic; it's refreshing. Walking the length of this newly uncovered space, orange pylons at store entrances and CAUTION signs at every turn, one can't help but feel excited and intrigued. Suddenly the bones of the building can be seen; it becomes interesting in a post-apocalyptic way. This could be a glimpse into the future, a preview. One is also reminded that beneath these utterly banal surfaces, there lies something much more engaging than the mindless commercialism we can never escape.