I had the good fortune in being able to attend a couple of corporate receptions as a kid, where I had free roam over some of the exhibit halls in after-hours. It was incredible.
Ontario Science Centre to close immediately due to risk of roof collapse
31–35 of 35 posts
Re: Ontario Science Centre to close immediately due to risk of roof collapse
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Like, does it really take double digit millions and >2 years to fix some roof panels If it’s made from concrete, absolutely. Virtually every commercial building has a flat metal roof with epdm over it because it’s substantially easier to replace it every 20 years. You start on one end, cut out sections, install new roof decking and then install the membrane over it. Repeat until you’ve completed the roof. For this…
> If they can’t use the lightweight concrete they used in the 60s… Was there something about lightweight concrete from the 1960s that would preclude its use today? Asbestos fibres?
This building has a reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete roof.
> RAAC has been shown to have limited structural reinforcement bar (rebar) integrity in 40 to 50 year-old RAAC roof panels, which began to be observed in the 1990s.[22][23][24][25][26] The material is liable to fail without visible deterioration or warning.[22][26] The material is not the root cause, rather inadequate roof maintenance, which permits water infiltration, and decisions by building owners as to repair or the replacement of existing roofs, which is a part of cost-benefit analysis.[27]
> Professional engineering concern was publicly raised in the United Kingdom in 1995 about the structural performance of RAAC following inspections of cracked units in British school roofs,[28] with it being observed that it was likely that RAAC in other countries may exhibit problems similar to those found in the United Kingdom.[18]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclaved_aerated_concrete
More info about RAAC, specifically from the 1950s-1970s
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2023/march/reinforc...
Re: Ontario Science Centre to close immediately due to risk of roof collapse
#33> claim the roof of the science centre is at risk of collapsing.. the same year that he is proposing to move the science centre to Ontario Place.. "to support a private foreign spa company".. allows public infrastructure to fall apart in order to advance private interests.. "Closing a world-class science and cultural institution is heartbreaking".. "The [province] could have invested in revitalizing the Science Centr…
The original vision, via https://savesciencecentre.com
“The centre must be a place for everyone – not cater to 12 specialists and ignore 12,000 others. It must initially give a sense of self-possession, It must arouse curiosity. It must lead to understanding , not just knowledge. It must be a place of wonder. It must give immeasurable qualities of comfort and joy and discovery with others. It must inspire the visitor with ideas through active participation. It must be an emotional experience, with intellectual satisfaction and it must be fun”.
Since 1969:
52 million visitors
9 million students
With the [SF] Exploratorium.. inspired a global science museum movement with over 3,000 science centres
Annually:
900,000 visitors
170,000 students through school field trips
Re: Ontario Science Centre to close immediately due to risk of roof collapse
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If they can’t use the lightweight concrete they used in the 60s… Was there something about lightweight concrete from the 1960s that would preclude its use today? Asbestos fibres?
This building has a reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete roof. > RAAC has been shown to have limited structural reinforcement bar (rebar) integrity in 40 to 50 year-old RAAC roof panels, which began to be observed in the 1990s.[22][23][24][25][26] The material is liable to fail without visible deterioration or warning.[22][26] The material is not the root cause, rather inadequate roof maintenance, which permits wat…
Thanks for the detailed! RAAC didn’t parse as a concrete type on first read of your higher comment, but it’s now tied all together. :)
Re: Ontario Science Centre to close immediately due to risk of roof collapse
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m just glad I got to take my kids to the museum and watch a movie on the dome last year before it closed.
It wasn’t the full experience of the OSC that we had as kids. The walk across the bridge (also closed over structural concerns) and the gradual descent over the course of your visit into the Don Valley subconsciously tied science with the natural world. The last half-decade, it was a shell of what it was.
I agree with you, taking the bus down to the bottom was pretty lame.