New Markham temple rises above NIMBY negativism

Despite objections from neighbours and councillors, Wong Dai Sin is the suburban city’s most dramatic new building

Thestar.com
Aug. 18, 2015
By Christopher Hume

Rarely has an architectural nose been more elegantly thumbed. Though beset by hostile neighbours, regulatory tyranny and political pandering, the new Wong Dai Sin Taoist temple soars above its surroundings, making a mockery of municipal rules while obeying them meticulously.

The temple, which opened officially on Aug. 8, is quite unlike anything seen in an area where monster homes proliferate. Occupying a restricted site on Steeles Ave. on Markham's southern edge, this remarkable structure hovers above the ground on one of the longest pre-stressed concrete cantilevers in North America.

Supported on an impossibly small number of rectangular columns, the temple is a one-storey building suspended several metres high.

As architect Brigitte Shim explains, parking requirements were the reason for such bold engineering, done by Toronto’s Blackwell and Bowick. Like most suburban cities, Markham is a City in a Parking Lot. Every element of its built environment is organized around the car and must have a minimum number of parking spots. These figures, which assume every day is Boxing Day at the mall, are grossly inflated and verge on the absurd. Raising the temple off the ground opened up the space below for - what else? - parked cars.

“The neighbours were absolutely awful,” Shim declares bluntly. “They went ballistic when they heard about the project. Places of worship have very high parking requirements in Markham. The city was really rotten. It refused to budge on parking spots. City officials even questioned the organization’s charitable status.”

For the record, the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism melds the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism to alleviate human suffering through community service and the cultivation of body and mind.

No wonder the organization was attacked from every side. Neighbours complained the structure was too tall, would attract too much traffic, make too much noise, etc., etc., etc. The usual boilerplate.

To their credit, Markham planners recommended that council approve the project, but local politicians, caving to rampant NIMBYism, fought it all the way to the Ontario Municipal Board, which gave it a green light.

“They’re extremely sensitive about parking in Markham,” says Fung Loy Kok manager Chris Farano. “We walked through fire to get this project approved. “

The fact the temple stands out as one of few authentic architectural gestures in an ocean of stylistic fakery matters little to some Markhamites. On the other hand, maybe that’s why they were so opposed. The power of excellence to reveal the ersatz shouldn’t be underestimated.

Though set back from the sidewalk, the building won’t be ignored. A row of Corten steel louvers reaches out from the exterior at an improbably sharp angle. The warmth of the rusted metal complements the raw concrete, both industrial materials but used here to evoke something quite different. This is, after all, a temple, whatever that means in the 21st century. Shim has attempted nothing less than to redefine what regulations refer to as a “place of worship.”

Such ambition is unusual, and not just in Markham. Given the nature of immigration, suburbs are often the location of such buildings. Even so, the originality, innovation and willingness to move beyond the conventional make this easily the most adventurous piece of architecture in Markham.

“We were willing to take a risk,” explains Farano. “This is Canada; we recognized that that was an opening to do something new. Because the building floats, it elevates the mind.”

That makes it easily the most important building in Markham.