More than 40 years after it was built, the University of Toronto’s John P. Robarts research library remains controversial. Asked to nominate the best and worst buildings in the city, Toronto Star social media followers nominated Robarts for both categories.The massive concrete building occupies a city block northwest of Queen’s Park and is often referred to by students past and present as Fort Book, for its resemblance to a garrison.“Unwelcoming, monstrous, cold, intimidating, ugly as heck,” wrote former student Peter Baugh.Others suggested it looks like a snail, a turkey, a peacock, a neo-medieval fortress, a building only an architect could love. As city council takes steps to improve urban design, including international competitions for major projects, we asked people to weigh in on what they think are Toronto’s most and least attractive landmarks.The Robarts library, named after the 17th premier of Ontario, also has supporters — those who admire its brutalist architectural style, which was popular in the 1970s when the library was built, but has gone into decline amid criticism that the style is depressing and inhuman. Internationally, many once-heralded brutalist buildings have been abandoned, some torn down.“Oh it’s ugly,” said Olga Radchenko, referring to Robarts. “But it’s the kind of ugly that embraces its ugliness, which makes it much more interesting and endearing than the pretty, glossy, too-full-of-themselves structures elsewhere.”Two older buildings were nominated as the city’s best: Queen’s Park, the seat of provincial parliament, which opened in 1893 in a style called Richardson Romanesque, and the Canada Life Building, in beaux arts style, which opened in 1931.Among the newer buildings nominated for best in the city: Fort York Library; the Scarborough Civic Centre Library; the MaRS Discovery District for uniting the old with the new; the Picasso condos on Richmo ...
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