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Joël León

@joelleondanis.bsky.social

Caraqueño en Toronto. Architect, researcher, plant caretaker.

115 Posts1163 Follower55 Folgt
Joël León @joelleondanis.bsky.social · 3w ago

Caracas: nature/city, magical realism, macaws not pigeons, architecture. Toronto: freedom + safety, transit, WIP Rio de Janeiro: nature/city, layered, beach, baroque Vancouver: nature/city, walking, cycling, easy Halifax: seafood, nature/city, punching above it's weight.

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 4w ago

QUESTION: What are your FIVE favourite cities anywhere in the world? Bonus points for persuasive explanations why your choices are “right.” Mine (in no order) are: Paris Barcelona New York Montreal Vancouver

Joël León @joelleondanis.bsky.social · last mo.

We hope this ongoing research on Toronto's Queer Spaces can play a role not just in documenting these spaces but in creating policies to foster and protect them. Architects shouldn't just shape part of the built environment, we should be stewards for it, and this research is part of it.

Toronto Society of Architects@tosoarch.bsky.social · last mo.

Can't attend in person? All of our research documenting Toronto's Queer Spaces can be accessed on our website including our new interactive map where you can explore how these spaces have evolved and moved over time! torontosocietyofarchitects.ca/toronto-quee...

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Day 2 of church street pedestrianization. I am floored at how fast it happened. Nice work from the TSA interpreting a 8 sites. Even got into the Steps controversy (you can see the remnants of the steps in background)

Church stThe Steps 1980s -2004 Look carefully at the building in front of you and you will see remnants of the wide 4-5 steps that formed the entrance to businesses located just above. These covered steps became THE hang out spot for Toronto's queer community in the 1980s and 90s. One of the few outdoor gathering spaces in The Village, The Steps were the place to see and be seen and quickly became synonymous with Toronto's queer culture. Their fame was such that they would become featured as a recurring skit in The Kids in the Hall, where Butch, Smitty and Riley would discuss topics like AIDS and marriage equality. Unfortunately, while The Steps were initially celebrated as a hang out spot, by the early 2000s, there were divided opinions on their value and importance. What some call hanging out, others saw as oitering, and the decision was eventually done to renovate and remove the steps to discourage gathering. This decision erased one of the most iconic spaces of The Village, but similar steps would reemerge in the addition of The 519 built only a few years later.Parking lot now fest zone TSA board
Jocelyn Lambert Squires@jocelynsquires.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Love this! I fully agree with Shawn, that overcrowded street festivals are a sign that we need more of them, not less.

Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In defence of the Toronto street festival. It’s simple supply & demand. Their popularity proves we need more pedestrianized streets, yet Toronto makes it so hard. A city where the ethos is people in public space is a problem while Montreal’s is that’s where people belong. My @thestar.com column.

Jason Thorne@jasonthorne.bsky.social · 2mo ago

At the launch of the new East West Water Shuttle on the Toronto waterfront. A pilot project to test demand for a fixed route water transit service … and a potential pre-cursor to a permanent seabus system on the waterfront.

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Joël León @joelleondanis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

There is a moment in every project where it starts looking like your sketches, and today was the day for this one. This project was all about not screwing up what was already a really nice façade—minimal but impactful interventions.

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Joël León @joelleondanis.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A day of architectural events, starting at 401 Richmond for the launch of Dave LeBlanc's newest book: Hidden Toronto, followed by a great panel discussion organized by ACO Toronto at Allan Gardens. A nice reminder of how many people love our city.

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