| ROM continues to garner icy jeers and warm cheers |
 File photo One of the 'seven new wonders of the architecture world,' the distinctive Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) might be better appreciated in the summer rather than the winter, when icicles gather. Designed by U.S. architect Daniel Libeskind, the Royal Ontario Museum's (ROM's) Michael Lee-Chin Crystal expansion has brought the Toronto building both darts and praise from architectural critics around the world. The mainstream press recently gave the often-polarizing edifice a compliment of the highest order and a new criticism. Usually, those who find fault with the ROM expansion take issue with its look. In the March 11 edition of The Toronto Star, however, Christopher Hume points out a more objective concern—the multi-angled crystal could mean dangers due to falling ice. Under the headline “Nature makes fools of architects,” Hume writes the crystal's multiple façades are an “ideal icicle machine.” “If Libeskind had set out specifically to design a building that endangers passersby with falling ice, he couldn't have done better... The exteriors protrude at just enough of an angle that snow can collect on them. They also happen to be made of materials that absorb heat from sunlight, melting the snow that then drips and freezes into large icy protrusions capable of seriously hurting anyone below.” The Star's architecture critic points out this is not a problem exclusive to the museum, citing other examples of Toronto buildings. He argues the choice of not only a design concept, but also the building materials themselves require more careful consideration when being specified for the Canadian climate. Icicles aside, the ROM's unique shape has been hailed internationally. The museum was deemed one of the 'seven new wonders of the architecture world' in the April 2008 issue of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. The other landmarks are:
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