The mysterious case of the town hall and the A-B grid

The A-B grid and the effect on the new town hall is something I had written about during reviews of the proposed town hall design. I made a poor case. And, being an architect, I know that projects do not always come wrapped in ideal circumstances. Often, constraints are the main drivers of results.

The architect of town hall was, in my view, hamstrung by the circumstances for the design of the new town hall as formulated through the following:

1. The town hall site is on the B street of the A-B grid.
2. A language of retrograde contextualism (from the 1980s as much as the 1880s) heeds strictly to the architectural diktats of that A-B grid.

The new town hall plays the game too well. As a B street facade, it recedes perfectly into similar B sides of such buildings as those which house the Sweet Shop and China Kitchen. Thoughtfully and rightfully, the architect of town hall recognized that an A side does not belong on a B side street. What was missed though, is that the town hall front is inspired by B sides which are part of buildings which have A sides.* Not having an A side on the town hall site could have meant that a different precedent should have been pursued.

But this is about Princess Street

The former town hall was a modest building that played its role well in a B street facade. Quirky as it was, its form fit its unique role (i.e. only one town hall per town). And, like many of the buildings of Princess Street, part of the B street order without A street facades, made a case to proclaim distinction on its own terms. The result of this on Princess Street, without the ordered elegance of German Street, yields a rich and rewarding architectural experience which has not yet reached its potential.

Notes:

*With the exception of the glass entry portion of the facade, a “storefront” from certain A sides on Germans Street.