Lisa's Rant

LISA ROCHON Toronto Society of Architects, December, 2006

Wherever you go, design comes under fire. Nurture design, allow design to flourish, back it with vision and see how the city will rise.

In any country, in any language, there is the question: does design matter? Argue this in English or French in Mandarin or Portuguese, the same kind of words would rise to the surface. The urgent need for excellence in design is a universal project. Only issues of local context colour the discussion in varying tones. Architecture has the possibility to give shelter and also lift the human spirit in ways that I have seen. So, why is design the last matter on the agenda of the politician? Why is it painful to defend?

Mediocrity of built form has damned the profession of architecture. If design matters here in Toronto, in Canada and even throughout North America how to explain the hulking corporate tower, the repeater in-fill housing and the big yawn of the suburbs ?

In the spirit of the rant – to behave in a boisterous or riotous manner – I give you not a bombastic tune or song but a speech delivered in Pig Latin, a favourite language honed and perfected during high school so as to foster elaborate schemes and plans that nobody but me and my friends could understand. I’ll use Pig Latin as a way to manipulate both the English and French language – a trope to signal the universal project and fight for advanced, inspired design.

(I’ve never actually written out Pig Latin, so bear with me…)

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.

And now for some local inflections:

The city spent millions taking down the east section of the Gardiner Expressway and engaging landscaping architects to design a so-called pedestrian boulevard. What a joke! The final result is a suburban mile framed on both sides by gas stations, fast food joints and a massive Canadian Tire.

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.

Vancouver rejects big box retailers from invading its centre city, and Toronto invites them in to satisfy a bizarre requirement for ‘employment lands.’

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.

Could somebody please advise local politicians that there is more to public space than Johnny Lombardi square?

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.

Why am I charged the same amount for a parking ticket even my Smart Car takes up half the room on the street?

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.

Where was the Mayor when we needed him to stand up for West Queen West, Toronto’s cultural jewel and surely one of the most vibrant arts districts in Canada? To decry the OMB decision that delivers the area to three developers was too little, too late.

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.

The OMB needs to be abolished.

Wheretagevatager youtogoo gotago detegesitagine cotagomes utagunderer fitagiyeter. Natagurtutagure detegesitagine, alatagow detegesitagine totagoo flatagouritigish, batagacitagick witagith vitagishitigon atagan seetagee howtagow thetaga citigitetagee willtagill ritagise.

C’etegay fatagacatagile detege blatagatatamer laytagays artagarchitigitetectes. Pourtagourtatagantes iltegil netege sawtagant setegeuls ataga joutagouetegay datagan letege sytegystategeme.