York’s buildings on the map

Left: Cover of TSA Guide Map: Toronto Architecture 1953-2003

York has been put on the map – the Toronto Society of Architects’ TSA Guide Map: Toronto Architecture 1959-2003.

Right: York University Student Centre

The TSA’s goal is to celebrate the development of modern architecture in the city over the past 50 years, and it chose 96 buildings to highlight, 36 of which are in the Greater Toronto Area. Three of York’s buildings made the map, with descriptions as follows (reproduced in full).

A.J. Diamond Donald Schmitt & Company Architects

“The building is, in the first instance, a modest rectangular block that is both modern and classicizing.” – Detlef Mertins

Teeple Architects

“The court is both a monument and a fabric building. It is a surface that grows and changes over time. As an open-ended wall, it signifies that the University will continue to grow.” – John McMinn

Architects Alliance, Busby & Associates Architects

“…one of the best examples of institutional architecture that fully integrates environmentally sustainable features into an intelligent design.” – John Czarnecki

The TSA Guide Map committee’s intention in developing the map was to inspire people to “unearth and explore the rich history of contemporary architecture in this city.” In choosing structures to highlight, they restricted themselves to buildings and spaces that were more public in nature and therefore more accommodating to visitors, “but we have also included some less public institutions and some multi-unit residential buildings.”

The guide map is published by Ballenford Books on Architecture (go to http://www.ballenford.com/). For information about TSA, visit http://www.torontosocietyofarchitects.ca/current.html.