Just when Ontarians (and Torontonians in particular), are bemoaning the absence of any truly exciting architectural construction in the near future, along comes some really great news. Canadian Frank Gehry (of Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum fame), has been commissioned to design a winery for Le Clos Jordan in Ontario on the Niagara Escarpment.

The winery is co-owned by Vincor International Inc. of Mississauga and La Famille des Grands Vins of Nuits-St-Georges in France. Gehry's already at work on the preliminary plans for a 30,000 sqare foot building "based on the principal elements of the program: a wine-tasting area, administrative offices, a barrel room and a fermentation space."

Given Gehry's penchant for exploiting the bezier curve, as well as incorporating literal elements of the building's functions in his overall architectural aesthetic, it should be interesting to see what he does with a winery. Will the building end up looking like a cluster of grapes, a bottle of wine or a corkscrew?

I'm also thrilled to report that Spanish architect/engineer Santiago Calatrava has been commissioned (in association with G+G Partnership Architects of Toronto) to design Ryerson Polytechnic Institute's new University Centre for Computing and Engineering. Calatrava was the brains behind Toronto's BCE Place Galleria. The Galleria is a marvel of architecture, a place that addresses function, form and nature, creating a sculptural forest of steel trees in the core of the city. I can hardly wait to see what Calatrava does for Ryerson.

Fine Tuning
Tonight at midnight Cinema Canada's broadcasting The Passerby. The film (which won Best Cultural Documentary at Hot Docs! '97), follows humanity's progress through the passage of time through "poems, interviews, home movies, souvenirs, photographs, and footage shot around the world." Northrop Frye and author Jane Urquhart (among others) will be sharing ideas and memories. Cinema Canada, 12 midnight on CBC-TV

Queen Mum Turns 100
Set your VCRs for 6:30 Friday morning to catch the live festivities at Buckingham Palace. Peter Mansbridge and Paul Hunter will be in London, England when the Queen Mom proceeds down the mall with Prince Charles. Live at 6:30 am on CBC. Later Friday, CBC Newsworld telecasts the documentary film A Woman of Her Century, 5 p.m., 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET.