aga khan museum toronto’s best-kept secret

Perspective rendering of the future Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, from canadianarchitect.com

The Aga Khan (آقا خان), spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, is celebrating his golden jubilee this year. Fittingly and well-deservedly, his media presence has been everywhere. The Aga Khan has spent his life promoting community development, pluralism, peace, and as a plus, a legacy of great architecture.

The New Ismaili Centre by Charles Correa, from canadianarchitect.com

The Aga Khan seems to have taken a liking for Canada, and we have two major projects under construction right now in Toronto and Ottawa. Toronto outbid London (England!) for the Aga Khan Museum, a three-part project consisting of museum, religious, and cultural centre.

The Fumihiko Maki designed Aga Khan Museum, from canadianarchitect.com

The designs are still being completed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki, celebrated architect Charles Correa, Vladimir Djurovik of Lebanon, with Moriyama & Teshima from Toronto overseeing the project construction. This is truly a stellar cast of architects, and I have high hopes that this will be the most exciting project in Toronto for years to come (complete in 2011).

View of Vladimir Djurovik’s landscaped gardens, from canadianarchitect.com

It is too bad though that the old Bata Shoe headquarters were demolished for this plan… As the Toronto Star’s Christopher Hume aptly remarked, “Surely there’s an element of irony when an architecturally worthy building must be destroyed in the name of culture.”

Canada’s second Aga Khan project is the Ottawa Centre of Pluralism, to be housed in the former building of the War Museum.

Aga Khan Centre of Pluralism in Ottawa, photo courtesy of the Government of Canada

artificial waterfalls in nyc harbour

Picture courtesy of nycfalls.com

The artist Olafur Eliasson will build four artificial waterfalls in New York City’s Hudson River for three months this summer.

Pictures courtesy of nycfalls.com

mcgill architecture exhibit

save the architecture cafe!

Graspe today held a protest about McGill’s decision to shut down the architecture cafe. They were demanding that McGill allow the business to continue as a student-run cafe, and to stop the corporatization of food services on campus. Supporters joined in the demonstrations that began at the Architecture Building, before moving up campus to the James Administration Building. Students, Alumni, and Faculty have all been putting on a concerted effort to save the cafe through petitions, a string of articles in the newspapers, and letters to the the administration.

toronto: ‘city of the future’

toronto was named runner up (behind chicago) for the city of the future in a british financial magazine’s ranking of north american cities of the future. more.

post-abortion syndrome a load of bull

A number of anti-abortion activists are now turning to the concept of post-abortion syndrome to aid their fight against abortion, reframing the debate from one about the rights of an unborn child, to one about protecting the mother from making dubious decisions.

senior citizens can’t afford to pay their dope bills

The Toronto Star reports that the government is charging up to 1500% more for certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the weed in bulk from its official supplier.

These prices are still lower than those on the street, however.