REVISION ROLLOUT
Château unveils Plan B
The architects behind a controversial plan to expand the Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel unveiled a 3D scale model on Thursday of a proposed addition two months after their initial submission was met with widespread criticism.
The first plan had featured two boxy modern additions clad in stone, steel and glass to house long-term suites. Critics felt the design stood in stark contrast to the character of the historic hotel.
The plan also included a new courtyard, the greening of four roofs, and a new underground parking garage.
Peter Clewes, the main architect behind the proposed design, acknowledged in an interview Thursday evening that the new plans did not look significantly different as he outlined the changes.
“We’ve made the building smaller. We’ve cut back the roof elements — those being the top two floors of the two kind of small building additions — and just generally scaled it back, and then started to refine some elements in the facade design and details like that,” said Clewes, principal of the Toronto firm architects-Alliance.
Art Phillips, the director of development for Larco Investments Ltd., owners of the historic hotel, had postponed a formal application to the city last month in a bid to seek more feedback from the community and said his team was working on “refining the designs” based on feedback he received.
While the initial backlash on social media was swift, only about 60 people took the time to write in with formal comments.
On Thursday, Phillips said he was happy with the latest iteration of the plan.
The owners and architects were surprised by the backlash their initial plan received following a press briefing in September. Thursday’s presentation was tightly scripted to retain maximum control over the rollout.
The principals were not available for interviews until after the public presentation, missing the major supper-hour newscasts.
Phillips said there was a lot of “misunderstanding ” two months ago.
Clewes explained that “the problem is we didn’t present it to the public. And as much as I respect the media, a proposition such as this is very complex to present in the limited manner in which the media can present it.
“What we’re really trying to do this evening is give a more fulsome presentation to the public and a more fulsome conversation, because you can’t have a conversation through the media. It’s always one way,” Clewes said.
Phillips said he hopes to submit a final plan for approval sometime in 2017.
The renovations would begin once the celebrations for Canada’s 150th birthday are past.