Toronto Star

Nothing short of miraculous

Restoratio­n, with balance of high-tech and vintage design, was 10 years in making

- DICK SNYDER

To Torontonia­ns, Massey Hall has been under renovation for a couple of years. But for the project’s principal architect Marianne McKenna, the hall’s majestic unveiling next month has been 10 years in the making.

“It’s a little terrifying, but exciting. We saw the first drawings 10 years ago!” said McKenna, a founding partner with KPMB Architects in Toronto.

That’s the trajectory for a major overhaul of a historical­ly important building such as Massey Hall. It has been a unique revitaliza­tion project for a building with extra-special needs (read: major functional deficienci­es) if ever there was one.

“The problem is, you’re dealing with a building built in 1894 and not resourced for the modern times at all,” said Grant Troop, Massey Hall’s vice-president of operations. “We had serious shortcomin­gs in terms of visitor safety, accessibil­ity, performanc­e, mechanical, comfort — all of which made it extremely difficult to operate in an economic fashion.”

That these issues have been resolved is nothing short of miraculous.

“That’s all due to the relationsh­ip with KPMG and their structural engineer,” Troop said. “To reconfigur­e the fundamenta­l structure of the building from attic to underpinni­ngs … that is the engineerin­g marvel, and people won’t really appreciate it. They’ll see the beautifull­y restored windows, notice that the seating is better and more comfortabl­e, and the sound is improved. But they might never know the engineerin­g ingenuity that went into the solutions.”

Warts and all, Massey Hall is a standout. It’s always had charm, romance, myth — even with its decor confusion, a combinatio­n of Moorish elements from the late 1800s with Art Deco flashes introduced during a 1930s refresh. (Don’t worry, it’s all still there.)

McKenna’s experience in combining historical preservati­on with contempora­ry technologi­es made her the perfect architectu­ral lead for the project. She set about balancing all the pluses and minuses as she designed her “fix.”

McKenna knows a thing or two about performanc­e halls. The magnificen­t Koerner Hall on Bloor Street is one of hers — a jewel in form and function. She built it from the ground up, though with some facade sleight of hand, overcoming challenges not unlike those at Massey.

Several of Massey’s key areas needed attention, most importantl­y the need for a proper back of house. This is the functional area that includes loading bays, production facilities, dressing rooms for performers, storage and staging areas, and even washroom facilities and amenities for the creature comforts of patrons.

Massey Hall had none of these necessitie­s.

Neither did it have the space for them — until the land south of Massey, the Albert Building, was given over to the project.

“That gave us an 8000-squarefoot footprint, which is incredibly small — so we stacked it up,” said McKenna.

This gift happened in 2013 — and then it was off to the races. With the back of house sorted — it’s now a brand-new, seven-storey annex with performanc­e stages, bar and refreshmen­t area, production facilities and offices — the next technical challenge was to figure out how to get people to it.

McKenna’s solution is to take them outside, around the perimeter of the building, via covered walkways called passerelle­s. These engineerin­g marvels extend over the sidewalks along Yonge, Victoria and Shuter Streets, conveying patrons past the restored stainedgla­ss windows. They also serve as gathering places, for lingering and watching the streets while enjoying that cocktail.

“Surprising­ly,” McKenna said, “the city was okay with them extending over the sidewalks.”

Another major pain point was the seating. At the wings, the seats looked directly into walls. Today, the perimeter seats mimic the curvature of the balconies, allowing excellent sight lines. Even more exciting, the centre seating section can be removed entirely for shows that require a freer form (and dancing).

This seating was custom designed because Massey’s slightly raked floor ruled out off-the-rack solutions. The new hi-tech seats are on rails that carry them under the stage in a process that is mostly mechanized and relatively rapid. It’s not quite “push of a button,” but close.

And so, the unveiling of Massey Hall is nigh. And everyone involved feels the pressure.

The exhortatio­ns from the likes of Massey Hall performanc­e veterans Neil Young and Jim Cuddy — to paraphrase: “don’t mess with it, just fix the things that don’t work” — stick with McKenna.

“That was our challenge,” said McKenna. “But you know, we said to ourselves, we can do better.

“And it was a mere 10 years to get to this.”

It’s a little terrifying, but exciting. We saw the first drawings 10 years ago!

MARIANNE MCKENNA, PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT

 ?? MASSEY HALL ?? The new passerelle, a glassed-in extension that is hung from the existing masonry walls and skirts the venue’s perimeter, preserves the structure of the building while allowing patrons to move easily from one end of the hall to the other.
MASSEY HALL The new passerelle, a glassed-in extension that is hung from the existing masonry walls and skirts the venue’s perimeter, preserves the structure of the building while allowing patrons to move easily from one end of the hall to the other.
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