Michael Lee-Chin Crystal

Functionally, it is horrible. I first went inside to see the Terracotta Army exhibit. I thought I was headed in the wrong direction because the entrance to the space is akin to the entrance to an underground parking garage. If only I were making that up.
From the outside, it screams «Eyesore!,» which makes sense, seeing as how it is, in fact, an eyesore. The building, in fact, has won the «Eyesore of the Month» distinction from J. H. Kunstler.
There is the sloped fenestration facing north. Anyone with the faintest understanding of heat transfer within structures will know why this is simple horrible.
Functional, beautiful buildings need an identifiable entrance. The Eyesore’s entrance is… well, it’s there somewhere.
But I may be expecting too much from a building designed on a napkin. I should say something positive. Here goes. It serves as a warning against meddling with old buildings. It serves as a warning to any group looking to hire Liebeskind. And it serves as a warning against the general incompetence and uselessness of award-​winning architects.

My Husband and I had the honour of attending an epic Indian wedding at the ROM. Sadly, despite having lived in Toronto for some 10+ years and actually, literally, running past the ROM sometimes twice per day a good 4 – 5 days per week, I’ve never actually been, not since I was a kid anyway.
The new (ish) Michael Lee-​Chin Crystal addition was my motivation to get my act together and revisit the ROM but still, I hadn’t found a good time to do it.
The wedding reception (consisting of some 550 guests) took place in the Crystal. It served as a fantastic venue space. You could walk around touring the nearby exhibits if you needed to take a break from all the Bollywood dancing.
Many people, especially Toronto/​Annex «lifers» frown upon the Crystal, citing it is «impractical» or «ugly». My question is why everything in Toronto has to be practical.
It’s a tourist destination, for the most part, why shouldn’t it be a bit glitz, glam and intrigue? There are lots of beautiful and impractical buildings in North America. Has anyone seen Philadelphia’s City Hall? Utterly ridiculous, but gorgeous. Or the Guggenheim? How you can you call an atrium practical when it’s one of the worst uses of space ever? But people go. And they take pictures. And they buy things in the gift shop. And that’s what it’s all about. And have you seen OCAD? Before we go calling something, using the same land space and attached to an existing, longstanding structure «impractical», how about a giant checkered floor on 50 foot stilts? Like really. It reminds me of Twin Peaks.
Anyhow, the Crystal is fabulous. It’s a much needed update to an already beautiful building and one we should be proud of, as a city and not lament.

HATE.
I’ve hated this since I first saw the blueprint for it. (I was calling it a tumour since then).
I grew up in the neighbourhood, and the original ROM building is beautiful. This «crystal» is actually a disgusting cancer growing out the side. I have no idea how it’s look or shape fits in with what the ROM is doing.
It’s a complete waste of space. Things cannot be hung from the walls due to the shape. The lighting is messed up. I think it’s all flash, no substance.
It’s a disaster. If terrorists were to cause a happy accident, they would blow up the crystal when nobody is there.

Years have passed since «the crystal» first descended upon our fair city and I can now say that, yeah, I’m a fan.
Practical it is not, and it deserves a fair bit of criticism for that. Shards of ice often slide its precarious angles in the winter, so much of the negative space underneath is blocked off from foot traffic. It’s highly angular on the inside too which isn’t exactly conducive to displaying artwork and museum pieces (c.f. Guggenheim Bilbao). «Crystal» is a misnomer; it’s almost 80% aluminum siding, which means it shimmers as much as a tool shed acquired from Sears. Oh, and it’s also highly derivative of Liebeskind’s other works. Just take a look at the Denver Museum. So we can’t even say that it’s terribly original.
Yet, in spite of all that nitpicking it’s fun to look at, and is a radical departure from the façade we have grown accustomed to at the ROM. It’s a bold, risky, and unconventional move in a city that is sometimes needlessly conservative. As it’s a museum, one should regard the ROM with a sense of awe and wonder and sure, even confusion. Museums are supposed to make us think, right? I think the Crystal accomplishes precisely that.
Obligatory Title Pun: STAR-​chitecture at its finest.
Menu Readability: Readable this is not.
Need to mention: Michael Lee-​Chin donated $ 30MM towards the ROM’s renovation.
What this place teaches me about myself: I’ll take a Liebeskind over a Gehry any day. You heard me, architwerps.

Generally dislike.
1. It grows out of the old building as if it possessed it. A friend of mine refers to it as the tumour. It would work better had it been a «from scratch» building and not an addition.
2. Daniel Liebeskind repeats this style over and over in different cities — can’t he do something different?
3. The place’s angles make the ROM more difficult to navigate.
It is fun to photograph but as a museum building, I think there are better.

Come on Unilocalers, if the WIND TURBINE at the Exhibition Place is worthy of being reviewed, then surely the Michael Lee-​Chin Crystal deserves some kind of recognition.
The Crystal is the newest addition to the Royal Ontario Museum. It houses the new main entrance, gift shop, a cafeteria, the Garfield Weston Hall Exhibit, the Crystal Five (C5) Restaurant, and the Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costumes.
Most people who comment on it typically either love it or hate it. (Me = love) I walk by every morning on my way to work. It’s a spectacular view when approaching from either far west or far east on Bloor. It makes a great landmark.
It’s unique.
It’s bizarre.
It’s cosmopolitan.
I have traveled to over 40 countries and I can honestly say the Michael Lee-​Chin Crystal is one of the most original looking buildings I have ever come across.
I hope to see more kooky buildings going up in the T-​dot!