10 Manitou | Tri-Cities MEC | U/C

[panamaniac]

Re the "brick brutalism" - that reflected the "warm and cozy" community input on what was originally intended to be a concrete exterior. 

Are you sure about this? because Eaton's malls clear across the country were built in that period to the same general specifications.

I'd have no idea how to track it down, but I recall reading an urban planning article about Market Square and its history and that is where I saw the information that the architect had originally proposed the concrete exterior.  If I recall correctly, it was either community pressure or City Council members, feeling the pressure, who insisted that warmer materials be used.  It would be interesting to compare the project to other Oxlea developments of the period.

EDIT:  I found the article and it is excellent!   http://numerocinqmagazine.com/2011/11/22...-storring/

(turns out it was Council and the developer, anticipating negative public reaction, who hired an artist/designer who came up with the idea of using brick to soften the structure)