Bata Shoe Museum - Building

Building

Designed by Raymond Moriyama and completed in 1995, the structure sits on the southwest corner of Bloor and St. George Streets in downtown Toronto. Its form is derived from the idea of the museum as a container. Taking this further and associating it with footwear, Moriyama stated that the building is meant to evoke an opening shoe box, realised in a somewhat deconstructivist form with its canted walls and its copper-clad roof offset from the walls of the building below in an interesting play of volume and void. The main facade (north) along Bloor Street pinches inward to where the entrance, in the form of a glass shard, emerges, creating a more generous forecourt. This glass protrusion is one end of a multi-level 'cut' through the building which contains the main vertical circulation, providing a clear view through the building to the three-story faceted glass wall, designed by Lutz Haufschild, on the south facade. The entire stone volume appears to float above a ribbon of glass display windows on street level, and its vast expanse of limestone glows in the late afternoon sunlight.

Raymond Moriyama, was asked by his client Sonja Bata to create a “small gem of a museum” to house her extensive shoe collection. After viewing the shoes that Sonja Bata has collected, Moriyama strove to create a building that emulated the excitement that he felt when first viewing the collection. He wanted to create a museum that would endure time, and inspire its visitors. Mr. Moriyama explained: “when I first viewed the collection, I was impressed by the array of shoe boxes that protected the shoes from light, moisture, and dust and played an important role in the collection.” His focus on the idea of a container or shoebox was the driving force behind his design. When looking at the museum from the street, it is quite easy to see that its proportions are similar to those of a regular shoebox. The bold roof of the museum is suggestive of a lid, and from the street below it looks as if it is resting on top of an open container. The roof is made of copper that will oxidize and over time will become a more pronounced part of the museum.

Raymond Moriyama said of the edifice: "Architecture is never the creation of the architect alone. The museum's architecture should be seen as a celebration not only of shoes but also of the wonderful vision that brought them into the public eye."

The location is in the so-called "Museum District", for the close proximity of large-scale galleries such as the Royal Ontario Museum, Gardiner Museum of Ceramics, and University of Toronto Art Centre.

The Bata Shoe Museum was featured in an episode of The Amazing Race: Family Edition, for which the contestants were in Toronto. Teams had to choose a pair of shoes, and find the woman who fit the selected pair amongst 100 candidates.