Toronto City Hall
The Toronto City Hall is the city hall of the Canadian city of Toronto. The building has landmark character of the city and was designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and the German - American engineer Karl Hanns Bandel built. Opened in 1965 the Town Hall is attributed to the style of modernism and replaced the function of the Old Town Hall. The City Hall is located on the north side of Queen Street between Osgoode Hall and the Bay Street at Nathan Phillips Square.
History
The city of Toronto was already holding out for it in the 1950s to build a more modern Town Hall. 1954 three architectural firms were selected to create a new design for it. Presented in the November 1955 draft came across no good response. So she called Frank Lloyd Wright as a very " sterile" and Walter Gropius even as " quite modest ." The idea of a new, estimated at $ 18 million City Hall initially failed in a referendum in December 1955. Headed by the former Toronto mayor Nathan Phillips, an international competition with the terms of the International Union of Architects in 1956 proclaimed for this project. This caused controversy about that work across Canada would have been better to be advertised. A five-member jury of experts architecture under the direction of Canadian Eric Arthur had to make over 500 designs a preselection. Finally remained eight designs left, of which the design of the fins Revell was awarded the contract on September 3, 1958. So his design sat for example by also compared with those of Eero Saarinen and John Andrews. The construction was started in 1961. The inauguration took place on 13 September 1965.
The construction costs were originally budgeted at about 18 million dollars. Over time, however, showed that this could not be maintained. While the construction costs were in 1959 still estimated at $ 24.4 million, they rose among other things, due to a time not yet scheduled cafeteria in 1965 slightly to 24.6 million dollars.
Description and Architecture
The City Hall of Toronto consists of separate, different high-rise buildings, the cross section viewed from above two arcs nested same. The east tower is 99.5 meters high (27 storeys), the west tower 79.4 meters (20 floors). The higher the east tower houses a viewing platform. Is the auditorium, which is shaped like a saucer Between the towers. This form looks from the air looking like a giant eye, and destroyed the building nicknamed "The Eye of Government" one. The northern and completely windowless facade made of concrete of the towers have a ribbed profile. Upon completion, the building was controversial because of its shape was partly perceived as by the population as futuristic. In the years 1997 to 1998 extensions were made by architect Bruce Kuwabara, to connect the two towers together and modernize the parliament chamber. It was originally the City Hall a publicly accessible viewing platform was closed later. The City Hall is next to an archive also has its own library.
At the foot of the town hall there are three statues or monuments. A memorial of Peace Garden to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a statue of Winston Churchill, as well as an abstract bronze sculpture by Henry Moore named Three - Way Piece No.. 2 ( The Archer ).