Atrium Improv

Atrium ImprovAtrium Improv

Diminutive as I stand on the upper walkway of the RCM’s new atrium, here is a sampling of the ample acoustics of this massive, light-filled space during the last official tour of the Royal Conservatory before it opened back in September.

A smallish yet enthusiastic group of Faculty and Admin had gathered together that day in the – heated – construction trailer out on the front lawn of 273 Bloor to sign in and get our hardhats and steel-toe boots. Well, ‘lawn’ might be a bit of a stretch, since those trailers still adorn the front area, contrasting what is otherwise a phenomenal retrofit of our beloved old McMaster Hall, that architectural grand dame of Bloor Street West. The rather ostentatious ROM Crystal just next door better serves to show off the classic renovation that architects KPMB envisioned for the RCM TELUS Centre.

I guess the tentative character of this improv reflects how a lot of people were feeling at that time – after being relocated for three years, a feeling that there remained a lot to be done before we could all feel that we were ’back home’.