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Matt Blackett, publisher and creative director of Spacing magazine, says in his Fall issue editorial that the opening of the Visitor Centre is one of two events that will contribute to the rebirth of Toronto after four years of mayoral chaos.
Catherine Osborne in Azure Online, Sept.:
“An iconic battleground of the War of 1812 finally gets the museum it deserves.”
Richard Rooney, president, Burgundy Asset Management, after touring the building then being prepped for opening, Sept. 17:
“I’m pumped!”
Christopher Moore, One for the Good Guys, blogpost, Sept. 19:
“It’s a terrific building, but more it’s a display of smart civic planning, in which heritage and historical values are actually shown to work hand in hand with housing development, recreation, and even traffic needs. Go see.”
Urban Toronto, Sept 19:
“The vision for Fort York is spectacular. … The concept artfully references Fort York’s historic context on the bluff of Lake Ontario in its inspired form and use of materials, while bringing the site into striking, contemporary focus.”
Canadian Architect, Sept. 17:
“Simultaneously bold and discreet, the building is distinctly Canadian in its forthrightness and simplicity.”
Alex Bozikovic, architectural journalist, the Globe and Mail:
“The Visitor Centre … is a sensitive and powerful work of architecture. It skilfully opens up the Fort site to the city, and also sheds light on its past – speaking to the layers of history embedded here from 1793 onward, and adding an artful new layer of 21st-century city-building.”
Janet Rosenburg, landscape architect, writing to John Patkau, Oct. 2:
“Bravo on Fort York. It is probably one of the most beautiful and poetic building this city has in it. … The spirit of the building is so strong that it was hard to take my eyes away from the perfection of site planning and robustness of the space.”
Michael McClelland, a principal with ERA Architects:
“The Fort York Visitor Centre is Toronto’s best building of the decade. It is a beautiful and significant new addition to Toronto’s cultural scene. The design … neatly fits into the cultural landscape of Fort York, knitting together and engaging the Fort with its many new neighbours.”
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