Concrete Toronto
After World War II, concrete became increasingly popular as a building medium around the world. Brutalism, the fashion for plain, heavy design, reigned.
Toronto was particularly affected. The city has concrete buildings of all stripes – international landmarks, metropolitan infrastructure and even the single family home. Hundreds of these structures were built, including Viljo Revell’s groundbreaking New City Hall, John Andrew’s seminal Scarborough College and the record-smashing CN Tower. Toronto is a city cast in concrete.
However, as architectural fashion has shifted from postmodernism to the glass-and-steel neomodernism of today, these concrete structures have been ignored, misunderstood and, in some cases, demolished.
Concrete Toronto acts as a guide to the city’s extensive concrete heritage. A diverse group of experts has been assembled to re-examine the uniqueness and value of these buildings. Included are the insights of many of the original concrete architects, university faculty, local practitioners, journalists and industry experts. Together they explore the past and future of Toronto’s concrete buildings.
Included is a wealth of new and archival photos, drawings, interviews, articles, as well as case studies of Toronto’s major concrete architecture.
Includes contributions from James Acland, Kathryn Anderson, Chris Andrews, Tom Arban, James Ashby, George Baird, Philip Beesley, Tom Bessai, Adrian Blackwell, David Bowick, Alex Bozikovic, Calvin Brook, Ian Chodikoff, Ian Clifford, Michael Clifford, Macy DuBois, Wiss Janney Elstner, Philip Evans, Steven Evans, Wilfred Ferwerda, Douglas Gibbons, Milo Glii, Jennifer Haliburton, David G. Harris, Jeff Hayes, Robert G. Hill, Alfred Holden, Robyn Huether, Elizabeth Hulse, Chistopher Hume, Jesse Jackson, J. R. Jowett, Rohit Jigyasu, George Thomas Kapelos, Marsha Kelmans, Ted Kesik, Robert Lansdale, Dave LeBlanc, Chase Z. Li, David Lieberman, Mary Lou Lobsinger, Andrew Louis, Ronald Mar, John Martins-Manteiga, Michael McClelland, Shawn Micallef, Anne Miller, Veronica Madonna, Raymond Moriyama, Nick Nelson, Robert Ouellette, Ian Panabaker, Pina Petricone, Lewis Poplak, Uno Prii, Gilberto Prioste, Andrew Pruss, Payam Rajabi, Lindsay Reid, David Rich, Larry Richards, Hugh Robertson, Lisa Rochon, Brian Rudy, Ivan Saleff, Kathryn Seymour, Paolo Scrivano, Scott Sorli, Gordon Stewart, Graeme Stewart, Joan Stewart, Thomas Tampold, Mari-Josée Therrien, Vincent Tovell, Frederic Urban, John Van Nostrand, Peter Varley, Jegan Vincent de Paul, L. F. Webster, Scott Weir, Liam Woofter, Derek Wuenschirs and Morden Yolles.
