Another iconic Toronto Modern building will soon disappear from the Canadian landscape. Yesterday Toronto city council voted 36 - 1 to deny a special heritage designation to Parkin's Bata Shoe headquarters on Wynford drive. The vote allows the Aga Khan Council of Canada to build its new spiritual centre on the site.

The temporal fragility of Toronto Modern should not surprise us in spite of the fact that these losses are emotional. After all, modernity and machine culture is premised on the notion of continual improvements in architectural function and, inexorably, design. What tends to be disturbing, however, is that the buildings replacing these icons generally represent the lowest standards of architectural practice. The vision of Toronto's mid-twentieth century heroic Modernists is often replaced by consumer modern which accelerates the phenomenon of architectural disposability. Modernists assumed that progress would ultimately make their buildings obsolete. What hurts is that this obsolescence comes at such a high cost to our urban landscape when the buildings that replace them are anything but heroic.

1. We live in a disposable culture. Get used to it.

   Posted by Michael  on  09/29  at  09:18 AM

2. The problem with some preservation advocates is that they ignore that today’s structures are tomorrow’s heritage buildings. Disparaging current buildings as “consumer” while heralding 1950’s buildings as “heroic” shows no less insight than ripping down Victorians in the 1960’s because they were out of style. Only when we move beyond architectural name calling will we have an informed, rounded view of our built environment.

   In this case, the city is faced with a very hard decision – this site houses a memorable structure but an argument can be made that what would replace it is likely to have an even greater value. That complexity is lost in the posting here.

   Posted by  on  09/30  at  03:14 PM

3. Thanks for the post Bob. The passing of yet another Parkin building could not go without comment. In this case I’m convinced that the Kahn Centre will have significant merit but, as you mention, there is never a shortage of rationalizations available when it comes to erasing our fragile architectural heritage – especially the Toronto modernists. Even when we save them they can linger in a cruel half-death. Look at the Pizza-Pizza reno at Church and Front. The HORROR.

   Posted by  on  09/30  at  03:43 PM

4. I just passed by this building the other day. Such an oasis on a largely horrific strip.

   It was sad when they tore down Parkin’s Terminal One at Pearson—but undertandable. The airport can’t move, and it had to get bigger. This one is different.

   Posted by Shawn Micallef  on  09/30  at  07:41 PM

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