June 2, 2005

Remarks to Ryerson Architectural Alumni - King Edward Hotel
by David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal

Check against delivery

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

As graduates of Ryerson University’s Architectural Sciences program, you all have expertise on how to handle the real-world challenges of design, engineering and project management.

That’s great – because those are exactly the skills we need in Ontario, as we enter a new era in growth planning, and a virtual renaissance in the construction of public infrastructure.

As you know, we’re living in a time when trade barriers are falling and global competition is fierce.

To succeed in this environment, Ontario needs functional, efficient public buildingswell-maintained highwaysmodern hospitalsand universities that turn out world-class graduates and perhaps most importanta quality of living that attracts and retains the best workers.

In all this, design and architecture will play a critical role.

The more we understand about how form informs function, the greater the impact we can have on the built environment that surrounds us and more importantly, the relationship we, as citizens, have with our communities and each other.

For example, think of the impact Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum had on the city of Bilbao and Spain, when it was first unveiled.

The sense of collective accomplishment and pride expressed by Spaniards was tangible. As was the admiration and envy of everyone else.

Clearly, architecture is more than just design. It is fundamentally about expressing our collective identity.

For too long, we have limited our imaginations in thinking about our urban landscape. For too long, we have prioritized function over form and, in doing so, limited our expressions about who we are both as a people and as a community.

We don’t have to think of Guggenheim and Bilbao to reflect on the impact architecture can have on a place and a people.

Consider the role architecture has had on the City of Toronto and in shaping our sense of ourselves and, more importantly, telling the story of us.

When Toronto started to wake up from its long slumber as a colonial outpost in the late 60s, the sense of possibility was most clearly expressed in the emerging architecture of the times…

The late 60s and early 70s was a period of architectural renaissance in this city.

• The CN Tower completed in 1975;
• Mies van der Rohe’s Toronto Dominion Centre completed in 1969;
• I.M. Pei’s Commerce Court in the 70s;
• and, of course, Viljo Revell’s Toronto City Hall in 1965.

These iconic buildings have come to represent the modern City of Toronto and more importantly, they expressed the sense of possibility and ambition of an emerging world-class city.

It has been some time since we’ve seen such a clear expression of our collective identity in our urban architecture.

But as demographic changes profoundly shift the social, cultural and economic content of this region, architecture will either lead as it did in the 1970s, or follow as it did in the 80s and 90s.

For a profession that is so full of visionaries, the only choice in this millennium is to lead.

And, in leading, the story that architecture must tell about Toronto, about Ontario, and about Canada is about the promise of the future, about how a sleepy colonial outpost has grown into one of the most dynamic economies in the world, the most racially and ethnically diverse community in the world, and the most innovative and progressive society in the world.

 We can safely predict that architects will become the storytellers of the 21st century. The evidence is already apparent.

Libeskind’s crystal design of the Royal Ontario Museum; Gehry’s transformation of the Art Gallery of Ontario; and, the Ontario College of Art and Design’s Sharp Centre for Design are three clear examples of architecture’s renaissance in Toronto.

Between now and 2031, studies show that an estimated four million new people will be moving to Ontario.

In a generation, this place will look very different than it does now. This is good news in theory. But if we keep growing the way we have in the past, without effective overall planning, our economy will pay a high price.

Today, the problems of unplanned growth are obvious to everyone here in Southern Ontario – urban sprawl and traffic gridlock, air quality that is getting worse, greenspace that is vanishing, and public infrastructure that is either worn out or inadequate.

Clearly, we need a more sustainable and innovative approach.

We need to get a firm grip on growth planning in this region now – before it’s too late.

Our government recognizes that we need to take action – and that those actions must be sensitive to the environment, to our health and our quality of life, even as they accommodate the rapid growth Ontario is experiencing. And we are taking action, with several new growth planning initiatives.

With the new Greenbelt Plan, we are protecting 1.8 million acres of land from urban development.

This makes it crystal clear where we do not want growth to take place in South-central Ontario.

The plan protects valuable farmland and greenspaces, water and other resources – to ensure they will always be there for future generations to enjoy.

Another key measure is the proposed Places to Grow Act, which is expected to go through third reading in the legislature very soon.

This is new legislation that would allow the government to work with communities and other stakeholders to develop growth plans for specific parts of Ontario.

It’s clear that the traditional short-term planning methods we’ve used to deal with growth in the past are neither effective nor sustainable. And that is why, earlier this year, our government released a draft Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe region.

This document is the first growth plan that would come into effect if the proposed Places to Grow Act becomes law.

We decided to focus on the Greater Golden Horseshoe because this region is the engine that drives Ontario’s economy. We need to get this planning process right – especially here in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The draft growth plan specifies important changes in the way we approach the planning of new developments in large municipalities. 

For example, the plan calls for a 40 per cent intensification target the year 2015.

It also highlights the importance of public transit in reducing our dependency on cars, and the value of redeveloping brownfield and greyfield sites.

Our goal is to encourage communities that are more compact and complete – with a broad range of housing options, including more compact and affordable housing such as duplexes, townhouses and apartments – and a better mix of urban land uses, including retail and service industries.

The bottom line is that we need to get smart about how we grow – and we need to act quickly. And I believe Ontario’s architects can play a key role in helping us to get it right.

Tens of billions of dollars in public infrastructure investments are needed over the next few decades – so as an industry you will have lots of opportunities in the near future to make your mark.

Over the next five years, more than $30 million will be invested in Ontario’s public infrastructure by the government and its partners.

And as I’ve said, architects will be an important partner in Ontario’s infrastructure renaissance.

It is you who will be giving shape to the investments we will be making in our schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure.

And while some may think of concrete and steel and bricks when they think of infrastructure, I know all of you here are thinking what I’m thinking: infrastructure is a catalyst, a necessary pre-condition, the physical underpinning of virtually everything else that happens in this province.

Our quality of life, the delivery of public services, the prosperity of our economy – and even our sense of identity – all depend on the infrastructure investments our government makes and the physical shape you give to those investments.

We are planning to do a great deal of work – and we need to do it quickly. This should be exciting news for Ontario’s architects and engineers – and for the business community in general.

We’ll be looking to your industry for innovative new designs for public facilities all across the province.

We’ll also be looking for faster, high-quality, value-added methods of construction, and for new operating efficiencies once the new facilities are completed.

Architects can help lead Ontario’s infrastructure renaissance. Our public facilities have to be very functional. But they last a long time – and there’s no reason why they can’t also be beautiful or impressive.

We’re about to engage in one of the most massive building programs ever seen in Canada.

We’d like to think that Ontario’s architectural community will help us steer these investments in designs that will stand the test of time.

So I want to conclude my remarks tonight by inviting all members of your distinguished profession to support and work with us as we pursue our important goals.

Together, we can ensure that the Ontario we leave to future generations is a better, stronger, more prosperous and civilized place.

As Frank Gehry said, “architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”  Thank you.