Bata International Centre Toronto 1965-2004

The Bata Shoes Head Office in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, was Bata Shoes' former headquarters. The white, pavilion-like building, designed by architect John B. Parkin and completed in 1965 was considered by many as an example of the

Modern Movement Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in architecture. Located atop a hill on Wynford Drive, by the major intersection of

Eglinton Avenue Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the western limits of Mississauga, as ...

and the

Don Mills Road Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vil ...

in the district of North York, its architecture and location made it a well-known landmark in the city. It was identified by the Toronto Society of Architects as one of 96 significant buildings and public spaces in Toronto built between 1953 and 2003. It became the centre of debate when, in November 2002, the

Aga Khan Foundation The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. AKF seeks to provide long-term ...

acquired the site and announced plans to demolish the building in order to construct a $300 million

Ismaili centre The Ismaili Centres are symbolic markers of the permanent presence of the Nizari Ismailis in the countries and regions in which they are established, characterised by the Aga Khan IV as 'ambassadorial buildings'. Each building is architecturally un ...

, a museum of rare Islamic art and a public park. ''Toronto Star'' architecture critic Christopher Hume lauded the building prior to its demolition:

Situated on a height of land in Toronto's north end, the simple, modular edifice exemplifies the ideal of the building in a park. Simple and seemingly weightless, it rests on rows of columns, reminiscent of an ancient Greek temple. Unadorned yet poetic, the architecture pays homage to the past while extolling the virtues of the future.

''Globe and Mail'' architecture critic Lisa Rochon was more critical of the structure:

the Bata is an imperfect work. Its north elevation is clumsy, with a porte-cochère intended as the connecting piece between the original building and a second (never built) retail space and warehouse tower. Instead, surface parking spreads out to the north and west of the building, fulfilling the deadening formula of the industrial office complex. The umbrella columns, though exhilarating to look at, are not as original as they might appear: They are a direct quotation from one of the buildings commissioned by Emhart Manufacturing Co. in Connecticut designed by the eminent American modernist firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

From 2003 to 2004, the Bata head office operations were moved to

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

. Bata retained offices in Toronto for the headquarters for its "Power" brand of footwear in Toronto and the Bata Shoe Museum is also located in Toronto. In 2010, work on the

Aga Khan Museum The Aga Khan Museum (french: Musée Aga Khan) is a museum of Islamic art, Iranian (Persian) art and Muslim culture located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and ob ...

, the

Ismaili Centre, Toronto The Ismaili Centre, Toronto is a congregation place (Jama'at Khana) and community centre in Toronto, Ontario, CA Canada, the sixth such Ismaili Centres in the world. Situated in a park that it shares with the Aga Khan Museum adjacent to the ...

and the park began. The project was completed in 2014.

References

External links

* Richard Kuchinsky
Demolition of Bata Shoes Head Office in Toronto
ten photos from the demolition on

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

. {{Coord, 43.723471, N, 79.333316, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Bata Corporation Modernist architecture in Canada Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto North York Buildings and structures demolished in 2005 Headquarters in Canada Office buildings completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Ontario 2005 disestablishments in Ontario