It's been 100 years since
Viljo Revell was born, and 45 years this past Monday since his Canadian masterpiece, our City Hall, was opened, and the
City Archives and the
Toronto Society of Architects is putting on a series of exhibits and events to mark the occasion.
"City Hall had not just a huge impact on Toronto, but internationally," says Margo Welch, executive director of the Toronto Society of Architects, of the design that has ensured this almost half-century-old building is still referred to by most as New City Hall. "The opening of City Hall was really comparable to when the Guggenheim museum opened in
Bilbao, it was just such an unusual building, so extraordinary, so specific. It kind of gave permission to local architects, to North American architects, to think more broadly, more interestingly."
The festivities began on Monday, with
David Crombie,
Frank Gehry and
Lisa Rochon speaking in the council chamber. They'll wind up with a symposium, organized by Rochon, on the impact of Finnish architecture. In between, there's an exhibition in the rotunda featuring pictures of other of Revell's buildings, and artifacts from the original and controversial competition which Revell ended up winning.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Margo Welch
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