Behind the now familiar hoarding on the Yonge Street facade of the
Toronto Reference Library, aka Metro Reference, the glazed glass wall is going in at street level, one of several renovations and expansions that will bring the famously inward-looking building out into the street.
According to Linda Mackenzie, director of research and reference libraries, there will also be a chain cafe and a gift shop that, she says, "will add some commercial activity on Yonge Street."
The entrance is also being reconceived by the
Moriayama and Teshima, the building's original architects, in the form of two stacked transparent cubes that will serve as a welcome lobby, a gathering place and ultimately a place for library events.
"We did have a very recessed entrance under a canopy," Mackenzie says, "and now the two cubes combined will reach out to the edge of the property, and the curtain wall along Yonge will [also] be at the property line."
In the planning stages since 2000, and under construction for two years, the next phase of the
Eastern Construction-managed $34-million project to be completed will be the expanded main floor, which is due to open in the spring.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Linda Mackenzie
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