The Bata Shoes Head Office in Toronto, Canada was Bata Shoes' former headquarters. It was identified by the Toronto Society of Architects as one of 96 significant buildings and public spaces in Toronto built between 1953 and 2003.
The Bata Shoes Head Office in Toronto, Canada was Bata Shoes' former headquarters. It was identified by the Toronto Society of Architects as one of 96 significant buildings and public spaces in Toronto built between 1953 and 2003. - The Bata Shoes Head Office in Toronto, Canada was Bata Shoes' former headquarters. The white, pavilion-like building, designed by architect John B. Parkin and completed in 1965 was considered by many as an example of the Modern Movement in architecture. Located atop a hill on Wynford Drive, by the major intersection of Eglinton Avenue and the Don Mills Road in the district of North York, its architecture and location made it a well-known landmark in the city. It was identified by the Toronto Society of Architects as one of 96 significant buildings and public spaces in Toronto built between 1953 and 2003.It became the center of debate when, in November 2002, the Aga Khan Foundation acquired the site and announced plans to demolish the building in order to construct a $300 million Ismaili centre, a museum of rare Islamic art and a public park. Toronto Star architecture critic Christopher Hume lauded the building prior to its demolition:

The Aga Khan Council for Canada was granted the opportunity to fill some
rather large shoes yesterday as the North York community council
unanimously voted against designating a former Bata headquarters
building as a heritage site.

Perhaps the Aga Khan knows something we don't. Why else would the spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims have chosen a 7-hectare site near Don Mills and Eglinton to build his $200 million  community centre/cultural campus?

Most Torontonians would have dismissed that location without a second  thought; after all Wynford Dr., where the old Bata and Shell corporate  sites were located, is more a drive-by corner than a destination

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Given the number of surface lots in Toronto, one might think we love them, but thankfully the Aga Khan doesn't. Though his demand will raise the cost of the project, that's a price he's willing to pay.

For this, and everything else, we should be eternally grateful. It is revealing that the Aga Khan and his foundation treat this city with more respect than most developers who work here. Not only did Toronto win the museum over London, England, the plan will empower three important architects to help transform Toronto.

The Aga Khan is also hard at work in Ottawa, converting the old War Museum of Sussex Dr. into the Global Centre for Pluralism. There's another Ismaili centre, also designed by Maki, under construction in the embassy district.