A Tale of Two Colleges

摘要

Buildings don't only weather physically, they also weather architecturally. Ideas age as surely as materials; what once seemed exciting and adventurous can appear strained and shallow in hindsight. Conversely, some ideas-like wine-take time to mature. I recently revisited Scarborough College and Massey College. These two buildings were completed within a few years of each other, in the mid 1960s. While both were part of the University of Toronto, their design approaches were light-years apart; the first was a flagship project of what would become known as Brutalism, while the second was an exercise in Arts & Crafts, with more than a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright. When I saw them as an architecture student, the former struck me as exciting and original, and the latter as rather tame. Almost a half-century later, I was curious to see how these two projects have worn over the years, and to see if my initial impressions had changed.