I don’t think the new incarnation (of the interior) of the ROM works.
The outside resembles an (often touted) ‘crystal’ of corrugated steel, splintered by shards of window. This causes problems on the inside. A spaghetti of angles, the interior spaces jar and crack; partitions are relied on to hang works and alongside the tight, narrow corners waste much of the remaining space. Worst of all, the exterior invades the interior at times to distract from the viewing of exhibits: try viewing dinosaur skeletons, one in front of the other, when behind them is a lattice of windows flashing strips of facade from across the street. At times too you notice windows hastily bandaged with scrim and paper in an attempt to shield some of the light-and-heat-sensitive exhibits post-build (a fairly large oversight by the architect, no?). It’s design for design’s sake, without any thought for function or harmony.
The exterior, however, shouts for attention – something Toronto sorely lacks on the world stage. It has a similar feel to Gehry’s other-worldly (and organic) Guggenheim in Bilbao, whose facade is often credited with Bilbao’s economic rebirth. The appearance of the ROM’s ‘crystal’ is something to make even the jaded folks down in NYC look up and say, “wow, I guess there is something to TO after all!” It’s just a shame they won’t hang around once they get inside.
As Dianne Dale put it so fittingly, “The Titanic meets the iceberg and loses once again.”
Tags: architecture, museums, rom, toronto
