The Urban Minds 10th annual 1UP Youth Conference 'Design Jam' in partnership with the Toronto Transit Corporation.Urban Minds
Charles Brammal Dolphin (1888-1969) was not a Modernist. Oh, he tried, but the English-born, McGill University-educated architect grew up during the height of the Beaux-Arts period. In 1913-14 he attended an atelier at the famous Paris school that gave the style its name. The buildings he designed in the early part of his career, such as the lavish Forest Hill apartment building at 2 Clarendon Ave. (1927), the Consumers Gas Showroom at 2532 Yonge St. (1930), the Grey Coach Bus Terminal at 610 Bay St. (1931-32), and the Toronto Postal Delivery Building (1939-40, now part of Scotiabank Arena), all display the characteristic classicism, symmetry, ornamentation and rigour.
So, despite his best efforts to keep up with the younger crowd, when he received the commission to design the new administrative headquarters for the Toronto Transit Commission (1900 Yonge St.), the 67-year-old did what he knew best: heavy Queenston limestone cladding an orderly, rhythmic, classical façade that, if one were to add a gargoyle or two, would place it firmly in 1938 rather than the year it opened: 1958.
William McBrien Building, designed by Charles Brammal Dolphin and opened in 1958.City of Toronto Archives
The interior of the William McBrien Building – named for the TTC chairman who died just before the Yonge subway opened in 1954 – is a time capsule as well. Ornate TTC logos sporting wings and lightning bolts on elevator doors, zig-zaggy terrazzo floors, and brown marble walls combine to create a visual weight that must have something to do with the stiff and sometimes Byzantine ways in which the TTC operates.
Which is why it’s such a relief to meet 17-year-old high-school student Jonathan Lee and 33-year-old Ryan Lo, co-executive director of Urban Minds, in a somewhat threadbare boardroom high up in the 68-year-old building. In late March, Urban Minds hosted its 10th annual “1UP Youth Conference,” which hosted workshops on city-building, pitch competitions and a career fair. As part of the conference, there was a “Design Jam,” in partnership with the TTC, that asked participants, such as Mr. Lee, to create prototypes for new transit stops (using pipe cleaners, Post-it notes, cardboard and sponges), to think about safety and accessibility, and to consider street furniture such as benches, waste receptacles and lighting.
Mr. Lee’s team, for instance, pitched a subway “Platform of the Future.” Understanding that “retrofitting” would be “significantly cheaper,” said teammate Alice Tulloch, the six proposed that “largely unused” concourse levels (at some stations) be utilized to help with overcrowding. Plastic, easy-to-clean benches with built-in digital signage would alert patrons when their train was arriving; screens could also run advertisements to generate income for the cash-strapped system. Further, people-counters on each subway car would send information about where to board, directing patrons to the back of the train if the front cars were too full.
As part of the conference, there was a 'Design Jam' that asked participants to create prototypes for new TTC stops.Urban Minds
Another group, adds Mr. Lo, decided that a visitor to Toronto might have such a hard time picking out the “very generic … grey and glass” bus and streetcar shelters that they’d opt to call a cab instead. But if all were painted rocket red and emblazoned with crisp branding, ridership from tourists and newcomers would surely increase.
If that all sounds like some serious thinking and commitment to good design, consider that the conference wasn’t a two-day-only affair for the nearly 200 students that participated, says Mr. Lee: “All of us had to register with Urban Minds to say, ‘Hey, we’re interested in a creating a school chapter in our community,’ and then you get the approval of a teacher to supervise, and the principal … and then you go find students who are interested.” And, adds the Saint-Frère-André Catholic School student, chapter members aren’t necessarily arts- or design-minded. “People who are more interested in finance, they can decide ‘how do you budget for this, who should we talk to?’”
As a newcomer to the position of head of corporate communications for the TTC, it’s Hayley Waldman’s job – and music to her ears – to see this sort of youth engagement: “We want to hear from everyone, and there’s so much we can and should do to prepare for the next generation of transit riders,” she says. “It’s pretty hard for us to get feedback from [youth] about what they want to see on the TTC … what would help people want to choose [public] transit?”
The 1UP Youth Conference hosts workshops on city-building, pitch competitions and a career fair.Urban Minds
“We’re always looking to make connections with people because, otherwise, we’re all working in silos,” adds RAW Design’s Francis Guanlao, who helped review the student pitches. “There’s a lot here for us to unpack; we’re not a typical firm, we need engagement, that’s so critical.”
And, should some pitched ideas be a little too pie-in-the-sky, says Mr. Lo, that’s okay too: “I think that’s part of why we exist, because, as an organization, we’re almost the translators of young people. … If we’re designing a park, for example, and teenagers or kids say they want a giant trampoline or a roller coaster, what they’re really trying to say is that they want to have more fun, or a thrill in this space.”
Frivolities aside, today’s youth are also concerned with safety. “I think about it every day, I get the Safe TTC app announcements all the time,” says Mr. Lee. “Some women would prefer to have more buttons to call security or get information.”
“We actually just announced today that there will be a pilot happening at certain [bus and streetcar] stops; that there will be e-Paper screens that will give real-time information,” says Ms. Waldman as Mr. Lee’s eyes widen. “We know our customers want more ways to get information.”
“Did you know about this?” this writer asks the 17-year-old.
“I mentioned it in passing at the conference,” he says. “I’m surprised they did it this quickly; I applaud them.”
The room, and Dolphin’s whole building in fact, seems lighter already.