Canadian Architect January 2011

$6.95 JAN/11 v.56 n.01

Public Environments

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1968 Social environmental movements take hold.

WHO SHapeS tHe future Of green deSign?

You do.

1978 Earth Day brings awareness to Earth’s need for continual care.

What was once a quiet evolution has become a revolutionary force. Your desire for sustainable design has helped redefine the meaning of green. Since we began making nora® rubber flooring over 50 years ago, we’ve evolved with you.

1988 1,000 communities in America initiate curbside recycling.

Your concern for the environment continues to create new standards for designing in harmony with nature. it is why we continually explore ways to blend the best of technology with greener thinking.

1998 EPA launches voluntary programs for energy, water, indoor air quality, waste and smart growth.

it starts with you.

You and your challenges.

You and your world.

You and nora.

2008 U.S. Green Building Council member organizations grow to 15,000.

800-332-nOra www.nora.com/us/green34 follow us: @noraflooring

“We wanted to directly benefit the site.”

John M. Gunn, Biologist at Laurentian University, winner of the Holcim Awards Bronze 2008 North America: Center for freshwater restoration and research, Sudbury, Canada.

Develop new perspectives for our future: 3 rd International Holcim Awards competition for projects in sustainable construction. Prize money totals USD 2 million. www.holcimawards.org In partnership with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA; Tongji University, Shanghai, China; Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City; and the Ecole Supérieure d’Architecture de Casablanca, Morocco. The universities lead the independent juries in five regions of the world. Entries at www.holcimawards.org close March 23, 2011.

The Holcim Awards competition is an initiative of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. Based in Switzerland, the foundation is supported by Holcim Ltd and its Group companies and affiliates in more than 70 countries. Holcim is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates as well as further activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt including services.

14 arena stage BiNg thom architectS’ dyNamic New theatre compLex iN waShiNgtoN, dc rep­ reSeNtS aN importaNt urBaN reNewaL project. teXt deBorah K. dietSch

Nic Lehoux

BreNda Liu

raNdaLL Stout architectS

contents

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news

loating spa Bota Bota by Sid Lee Architec­ F ture opens in the Old Port of Montreal; Moriyama & Teshima Planners’ environ­ mental restoration project in Riyadh wins Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

24 art gallery of alBerta americaN architect raNdaLL Stout—with the heLp of hip architectS—iNcorporateS StrideNt formS aNd diSSoNaNt geometrieS iNto the remaKiNg of thiS edmoNtoN cuLturaL iNStitutioN. teXt Shafraaz KaBa

29 Bill crothers secondary school matthew KeNNedy

zaS architectS iNc. iN aSSociatioN with roSSetti architectS empLoy admiraBLe aNd Broad­SweepiNg SuStaiNaBiLity featureS iN thiS SchooL focuSed oN athLetic educatioN aNd traiNiNg iN marKham. teXt iaN chodiKoff

34 insites

Sean Ruthen describes the hardships facing today’s practicing architect, forcing her to broaden her already impressive skill set as a matter of survival.

41 calendar

404 ERROR: The Object Is Not Online at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Mon­ treal; Leslie van Duzer lectures on archi­ tecture, magic and the art of deception.

42 Backpage

jaNuary 2011, v.56 N.01

The NaTioNal Review of DesigN aND PRacTice/ The JouRNal of RecoRD of The Raic

Gabriel Fain writes about Dubbeldam Design Architects’ interactive installation at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.

areNa Stage at the mead ceNter for americaN theater By BiNg thom architectS iN waShiNgtoN, dc. photo

By Nic Lehoux.

coVer

01/11 canadian architect

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fIrst soLar

viewpoint

above LookInG for new busIness deveLoPMent oPPortunItIes? arChIteCts CouLd be weLL-served to Partner wIth Green teChnoLoGy and servICe seCtors.

January is traditionally the time of year when many of us make new year’s resolutions to lose a few pounds, or perhaps reduce our carbon footprint. Some of us may even resolve to become LEED-accredited professionals. As we look ahead into 2011, perhaps we can make it a point to reach beyond the design sphere and develop partnerships with businesses and entrepreneurs in the green technology and service sectors.

For opportunities that link approaches to sustainability with value-added design, the Canadian Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) Green Up program is a useful primer. This next-generation building performance program not only assists clients in understanding the costs and benefits associated with reducing energy and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings but can also provide architects with quantitative tools that justify qualitative design initiatives. The CaGBC recognizes that convincing benchmark data and energy assessments must be readily available to architects committed to creating a “receptive market for new green technology, products and services.”

To bring marketable skill sets to a broader business market, we can take inspiration from the growing number of architecture and engineering consultants specializing in sustainable design that are able to map, model, visualize and manage more efficient uses of energy in building design. These consultancies may analyze everything from energy and daylighting to sustainable design technologies to LEED designation and construction services. Some of the larger North American design firms associated with this trend include Gensler, NBBJ and Perkins+Will. Other firms which are more engineering-based include US powerhouses such as NORESCO or the Architectural Energy Corporation. Stantec, Hatch, and Enermodal Engineering are three examples of firms heavily positioned in the Canadian market.

Evolving areas of niche specialization are bound to capture new opportunities in the evolving green technology market.

6 canadian architect 01/11

Sometimes we look for new opportunities in the wrong places. In April 2009, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design held a conference entitled “Ecological Urbanism: Alternative and Sustainable Cities of the Future.” A follow-up book—Ecological Urbanism—includes over 140 contributions from academics, cultural critics and practitioners who discuss their own interpretations of what it means to be sustainable. Only a handful of essays described specific methods in which architects, landscape architects and planners can establish entrepreneurial relationships with those controlling the vast amounts of capital being invested in sustainability-related businesses every year. Little to no discussion was dedicated to design professionals partnering with the renewable energy sector, or with industries providing concrete tools required to foster more ecologically sensitive processes of urbanization. The design profession could benefit from disengaging itself from the temptations of self-alienating discourse and partner with real-life agents of change in business and government.

In all likelihood, 2011 will mark a period in which the green technology industry will become a significant aspect of global competitiveness as nations move toward establishing greater energy security and patterns of sustainable urbanization.

British prime minister David Cameron has pledged to make his coalition government the greenest in his country’s history with efforts to reform the energy industry and to encourage low-carbon technologies to flourish. With the US government filing a suit with the World Trade Organization against China’s advances in developing its green technology sector, future trade wars may be fought over the competitiveness of one country’s green technology sector over another. In 2009, China added more wind power than any other nation and it already possesses the largest solar thermal capacity in the world.

Every year, billions of dollars are being invested in renewable energy solutions such as thin-film solar panel technologies, wind turbines, and bioenergy solutions. Meanwhile, the design profession appears to have had minimal impact on the evolution of these businesses.

Legislation such as the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009, which helped support the Government of Ontario’s feed-in tariff program— North America’s first comprehensive pricing structure for renewable electricity production— has captured the imagination of the general business community, but little attention from the design professions. If architects fail to partner and engage more directly with evolving green technology and service sectors today, we will have forfeited our seat at the table forever.

Ian ChodIkoff

ichodikoff@canadianarchitect.coM

editor Ian ChodIkoff, OAA, FRAIC associate editor LesLIe Jen, MRAIC editorial advisors John MCMInn, AADIpl. MarCo PoLo, OAA, FRAIC contributing editors GavIn affLeCk, OAQ, MRAIC herbert enns, MAA, MRAIC douGLas MaCLeod, nCARb regional correspondents halifax ChrIstIne MaCy, OAA regina bernard fLaMan, SAA montreal davId theodore calgary davId a. down, AAA Winnipeg herbert enns, MAA vancouver adeLe weder publisher toM arkeLL 416-510-6806 associate publisher GreG PaLIouras 416-510-6808 circulation Manager beata oLeChnowICz 416-442-5600 ext. 3543 custoMer service MaLkIt Chana 416-442-5600 ext. 3539 production JessICa Jubb graphic design sue wILLIaMson vice president of canadian publishing aLex PaPanou president of business inforMation group bruCe CreIGhton head office 12 ConCorde PLaCe, suIte 800, toronto, on M3C 4J2 telephone 416-510-6845 facsimile 416-510-5140 e-mail edItors@CanadIanarChIteCt.CoM Web site www.CanadIanarChIteCt.CoM Canadian architect is published monthly by bIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier bIG holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-tobusiness information services. the editors have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate and authoritative information, but they assume no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the text, or its fitness for any particular purpose. subscription rates Canada: $53.95 plus applicable taxes for one year; $85.95 plus applicable taxes for two years (hst – #809751274rt0001).

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Ironically, these blueprints couldn’t be greener.

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news Projects

Sid Lee Architecture was mandated to create the architectural designs for Bota Bota spa-sur-l’eau, a modern twist on the traditional urban spa. Located at the foot of rue McGill in the Old Port of Montreal, Bota Bota is the new name given to a ferryboat that used to link Sorel and Berthier in the 1950s that has been renovated into a floating Scandinavian spa. The boat’s architecture, redesign and visual identity are the fruit of a collaborative effort between Sid Lee Architecture and Sid Lee. The Sid Lee Architecture team set out to create an indoor space conducive to introspection and an outdoor space affording spectacular views of the city from the upper decks. Visitors forget they’re on a boat as they transition through five different levels, discovering the city from each one. The closer the spaces are to the water, the darker and more intimate they are; the closer they are to nature, the more impressive the views of the horizon. The relationship between these two extremes results from the 678 portholes that dot the boat, allowing daylight to penetrate the treatment rooms. As such, the transition from water to sky, and dark to light, is made possible. The uniqueness of the Bota Bota project is due to the many fields of expertise that were brought together, including building architecture, naval architecture, interior design and industrial design, as well as building and naval engineering. Founded in 2009 following the integration of architecture firm NOMADE, Sid Lee Architecture is a partnership between seasoned architects and urban designers Jean Pelland and Martin Leblanc, and Sid Lee, a global commercial creativity company.

Established in Montreal, with satellite offices in Amsterdam and Paris, Sid Lee Architecture boasts a team of 25 architects, technicians, designers, managers and support personnel.

awards winners of the 2010 dX awards announced.

A gala event was held on the trading floor of the historic Design Exchange on November 23, 2010 to announce and celebrate the winners of the 2010 DX Awards. In the Architecture—Commercial category, Gold was given to RDH Architects Inc. with Shoalts & Zaback Architects Ltd. and E.R.A. Architects for the Bloor/Gladstone Branch Library. In the Architecture—Residential category, Teeple Architects’ 60 Richmond East housing development also captured Gold. In the Landscape Architecture category, PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. won Gold for the Vancouver

Sid Lee

Bota Bota spa-sur-l’eau by sid Lee architecture opens in Montreal.

Convention Centre expansion project, and in the Urban Design category, Silver was given to Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, Blackwell Bowick Partnership, EDM Incorporated, and Arcturis for the Old Post Office Plaza. In the Interior Design— Commercial category, two Golds were given to Burdifilek for the Brown Thomas Luxury Hall, and to Yabu Pushelberg for the Avenue Road Showroom. In the Interior Design—Temporary or Portable category, two Golds were captured by Ædifica with Sid Lee for MUVBOX, and by Hariri Pontarini Architects, Ellis Don, Infinite Stage Design, Lord Cultural Resources, and Nüssli for Ontario House at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Peter Freed of Freed Developments won the title of CEO of the Year. For a complete list of winners, please visit the website. www.dx.org Moriyama & teshima Planners’ environmental restoration project wins prestigious aga Khan award for architecture.

Canadian architectural firm Moriyama & Teshima Planners was awarded the highest professional recognition for its pioneering work considered by many as a modern day environmental miracle.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was bestowed upon the firm for its work on the Wadi Hanifah restoration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The award was recently presented by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. Nineteen projects were shortlisted in the 2010 award cycle with five selected as award recipients. Moriyama & Teshima, in joint venture with engineers Buro Happold, successfully developed a design solution that enabled the restoration of a 120-kilometre watershed within a 4,032-square-kilometre catchment that had become a toxic landfill in the heart of Riyadh. The

the new BOta BOta Spa, deSigned

By Sid Lee architecture, iS permanentLy dOcked in the OLd pOrt Of mOntreaL and OfferS an eScape frOm the StreSSeS Of everyday Life.

aBoVe

award recognizes ecologically sound projects, in conception and implementation, which demonstrate sensitivity to environmental concerns.

Staggering results include: the development of 53.2 kilometres of roads, six major parks, three lakes, 43 kilometres of recreational trails, the bioremediation of 400,000 cubic metres per day of waste water cleaned and recycled back to the city, the plantation of 35,500 shade trees and 4,500 date palm trees, a reduction of flash floods, the removal of 1,000,000 cubic metres of dumping, and a ten-fold increase in property values along the Wadi corridor. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan. The award is presented every three years and selection is governed by a steering committee chaired by the Aga Khan. www.akdn.org/architecture/ Marianne McKenna recognized as one of canada’s most powerful women for 2010.

Marianne McKenna is a founding partner of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, one of Canada’s leading architectural firms. Her commitment to culture and education is reflected in over 15 years of dedication to the realization of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s vision for worldclass facilities. In 1991, McKenna developed the award-winning master plan, followed by strategic renovations to the historic buildings, culminating with the design of the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning. In 2010, it received a Governor General’s Medal for Architecture, Canada’s 01/11 canadian architect

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highest honour. McKenna was also the partner in charge of the internationally acclaimed JacksonTriggs Niagara Estate Winery in Niagara-on-theLake, a precedent for contemporary sustainable design in the region, and the Engineering/Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex and John Molson School of Business at Concordia University (with Fichten Soiferman et Associés, architectes). She also led a multidisciplinary team to produce the master plan for Ryerson University, which received the prestigious American Institute of Architects Honour Award in 2009. In Toronto, she has designed innovative workspaces for some of the city’s business and media leaders, including Torys LLP, Woodbridge Co. and CTV. Current projects include the University of Waterloo Quantum-Nanotechnology Centre, the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the renewal of the Minnesota Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) is Canada’s most influential female audience and the country’s leading organization dedicated to advancement and recognition of executive-minded women in the workplace.

Since 1997, WXN has expanded rapidly to meet the needs of the growing number of female managers and executives across Canada. In the fall of 2008, WXN launched in Ireland, a first step in

10 canadian architect 01/11

creating an international community of women leaders. WXN now delivers innovative networking, mentoring and professional development to 16,000 members across Canada and Ireland. www.top100women.ca west Vancouver community centre wins inaugural once award.

During the World Architecture Festival (WAF), the world’s biggest architectural event, over 235 projects from 55 countries were invited to submit to the ONCE award and Hughes Condon Marler Architects’ (HCMA) West Vancouver Community Centre was one of two projects announced as the winner for accessible design. The ONCE Foundation for Cooperation and the Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities is a non-profit charitable foundation which pursues social aims and was constituted by the Spanish National Organization for the Blind (ONCE) for reasons of social solidarity with disabled people. HCMA’s design strategy unifies a disperse grouping of community facilities and is the social and civic heart of the West Vancouver community. Examples of the facility’s democratic accessibility include the minimal use of doors (such as washroom and change room entries), transparent, clear and logical circulation patterns, visually contrasting doors and tactile

flooring, handrails and benches in public corridors, signage that is both contrasting and tactile (raised letters and Braille), magnetic-induction hearing assistance loops, diffuse lighting (avoiding spot lights), making all sanitary facilities accessible, and using power-assisted door operators on all entries and washrooms.

Manitoba’s centrePlace pavilion acknowledged at Prairie wood design awards.

Winnipeg’s Cibinel Architects won two awards at the annual Prairie Wood Design Awards for the design and construction of CentrePlace Manitoba, the province’s 2010 Winter Olympics pavilion, both in the Municipal/Recreational Wood Design Award category as well as in the overall Jury’s Choice Award category. CentrePlace Manitoba is a 2,560-square-foot prefabricated sustainable building that also won a Sustainability Star from the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics. The pavilion features a recyclable outer wall and reclaimed elm woodwork throughout.

The design reflects Manitoba’s diversity from sculpted landforms, to lakes and rivers, to the province’s vibrant urban centres. This past summer, CentrePlace was a featured display of the 2010 Red River Exhibition and is now permanently located on the exhibition grounds.

coMPetitions University of waterloo students recognized in global architecture competition.

Last fall, the winners of the International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture were announced and celebrated. Three winners and eight honourable mentions were chosen, which includes a student team from the University of Waterloo.

Claire Lubell and Virginia Fernandez were the only Canadian team recognized, receiving an honourable mention for their submission entitled “Buoyant Light.” The Award challenges students of architecture to submit projects that explore the theme of sunlight and daylight, and seeks to foster new thinking on how daylight, fresh air and quality of life can be realized through design. Claire and Virginia’s project submission proposes a new interpretation of daylighting for Arctic Inuit communities, where extreme conditions demand innovative solutions. They strive to harness the abundance of light from May to August, in order to offset the lack of light from November to February by the harvesting of summer light and the subsequent storage of energy for the long winter season. The submission introduces a connection between light and the tracking of other environmental changes to serve the needs of the

local Inuit. The International VELUX Award is presented every second year. http://iva.velux.com/

what’s new city of saskatoon grants warehouse to the University of saskatchewan to house proposed architecture school.

David Hutton of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix reported in November that the City of Saskatoon has gifted a 100-year-old historic downtown warehouse to the University of Saskatchewan to serve as the home of the proposed school of architecture. The John Deere building, a fourstorey warehouse on the edge of the north downtown, was approved by a city committee as the future home of the U of S school of architecture, a proposed new program currently under consideration by the provincial government and in the midst of the university’s own approval process. If approved, the U of S is aiming to have an architecture school running by 2013, putting pressure on the City to finish the long-awaited 25th Street extension to Idylwyld Drive, which will open up the north downtown for redevelopment into a new area that could significantly increase downtown density. The John Deere Plow Co. Ltd., later Deere

and Company Ltd., constructed the building in 1910 and occupied it until l961, when the property was sold to the City of Saskatoon. www.thestarphoenix.com/ City+grants+warehouse/3840486/story.html carleton University creates unique degree program in conservation and sustainability.

Carleton University is launching a new Bachelor of Engineering in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability degree that will meet a growing demand in the field. The program, which begins in September 2011, will focus on the restoration of heritage structures, the reuse and retrofit of existing buildings and the design of new energyefficient and environmentally friendly buildings.

Students will be able to choose one of two specializations. The structural stream will concentrate on conservation and sustainability in the design of new structures and the assessment and retrofit of existing structures. The environmental stream will focus on sustainable building practices with an emphasis on water quality and conservation, air quality, life-cycle analysis and disposal of materials and waste streams. The university has state-of-the-art engineering labs and architectural facilities, considered among the finest in North America. www2.carleton.ca/engineering-design/

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taking the Stage a theatrical collage by VancouVer-baSed architect bing thom aidS in the reVitalization of a WaShington, dc neighbourhood.

ProJect ArenA StAge At the MeAd Center for AMeriCAn theAter, WAShington, dC architect Bing thoM ArChiteCtS teXt deBorAh K. dietSCh PhotoS niC Lehoux, unLeSS otherWiSe noted

Vancouver architect Bing Thom’s dramatic transformation of Washington, DC’s Arena Stage is an impressive achievement in a conservative city still enamored of Neoclassicism. Thom managed to impress the capital’s finicky design review boards and stay the course of the nine-year project through value engineering and cost-cutting 14 canadian architect 01/11

of about 20 percent.

His $135-million expansion of Arena Stage, opened last October, adds architectural sparkle to a run-down neighbourhood on the southwestern fringe of the city. Sinuous curves of glass, giant timbers and a jaunty, cantilevered roof exude a playfulness rarely seen in the uptight capital.

“The design is rooted in my belief that Washington people take themselves too seriously with their rigid and tightly controlled buildings,” Thom says. The revamped Arena Stage is the second theatre to be recently completed by a Cana-

dian in Washington, following Diamond and Schmitt’s elegant new home for the Shakespeare Theatre Company in the city’s downtown core.

In expanding the regional theatre, Thom didn’t completely break free from Washington’s reverence for history. The 200,000-square-foot complex, now called the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, is as much a preservation project as a new building. Its transparent enclosure acts as the equivalent of a terrarium in displaying relics from Arena Stage’s past— two theatres designed by Chicago architect Harry

Weese, who is better known for the soaring vaults of Washington’s Metro stations.

Weese configured the 1961 Fichandler Stage (named for one of Arena’s founders, Zelda Fichandler) as a theatre-in-the-round where actor James Earl Jones performed The Great White Hope before the play went to Broadway. The Kreeger Theater was added in 1971 to provide a modified thrust stage within an intimate hall. Both are considered groundbreaking designs that helped Arena, the first racially integrated theatre in the city, to win the first Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Proud of this history, the theatre’s board decided to leave its heritage in place rather than forge ahead with an entirely new building. “It didn’t make sense to start over because both the theatre spaces are unique and work beautifully by creating a great relationship between the audience and the actors,” says Molly Smith, artistic director of Arena Stage, who now works in an office visible from the sidewalk.

Thom embraced the idea, having previously combined three venues in a similar fashion at the 1997 Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in

the fuLLy gLAzed eLevAtion ALong MAin Avenue SeduCtiveLy reveALS the hive of ACtivity Within the ArenA StAge deveLopMent.

aboVe

Vancouver. He also drew on his experience of using an atrium to connect a university complex and an office building to an aging shopping mall outside the city. Such combinations of new and old are seen by the architect as requisite for sustainable architecture. “There is nothing more important than sustaining our history,” he says.

01/11 canadian architect

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“New is not always better.”

However, in this case, the new is a lot better. Weese’s no-frills theatres appear clunky and incongruous within the lightness of Thom’s swirling lobby. Their dated architecture of buff brick and cast concrete only weighs down the flowing spaces around them.

Removed from its original context, the polygonal Fichandler bears an uncanny resemblance to a Pizza Hut especially from a second-level café where its sheet-metal hipped roof dominates the view. The brick curve of the Kreeger, on the other hand, practically disappears under the dining space.

Weese, who died in 1988, would have been mortified to see his architecture torn apart and floating in the new building like islands.

Arena Stage’s veneration of the vintage structures comes across as a failure of nerve to move forward with an entirely new design reflective of its evolving mission. It might also be seen as representing the revival mania dominating Broadway and the theatre world these days (Arena debuted its new facilities by staging the 1943 musical Oklahoma).

Fortunately for patrons, the acoustics and sightlines within the old theatres have been improved for the better. Thom closed off the upper-level boxes inside the 683-seat Fichandler and reduced the original number of seats by about 200 for a greater sense of intimacy. In the 514-seat Kreeger, he removed a staircase connecting the orchestra and mezzanine levels, and transferred the stairs to the outside so that the back wall is closer to the audience.

Rising above the existing theatres is the most exciting new space in the building. With only 200 seats, the Kogod Cradle is small but powerful.

Thom designed this third venue to support experimental works and, at last, advance Arena’s theatrical agenda.

Instead of creating the typical black box, the architect configured the the16 canadian architect 01/11

interior vieW of the gLASS CurtAin WALL; An interior vieW of the entrAnCe to the Kogod CrAdLe. oPPoSite, toP to bottom the CentrAL LoBBy LeAdS viSitorS to one of three perforMing ArtS SpACeS; An exterior vieW of the roof terrACe. aboVe, left to right

atre as an oval. He took inspiration from Smith’s cupped hands while she explained her concepts for the Cradle as well as the mysterious beauty of Richard Serra’s large sculptures. The passageway leading into the new theatre emulates Serra’s torqued ellipses through tilting and curving walls, but their surfaces of poplar strips soothe rather than threaten as in the artist’s enclosures of rolled steel.

Inside the auditorium, the wood slats on the walls bend outward and inward to control the acoustics while creating the feeling of sitting inside a large basket. The floor sits on 20 isolation pads, each the size of a shoebox, to ensure acoustic quality. Actors enter from tall doorways at the rear of the hall and no curtain divides them from the audience.

The Cradle anchors one end of the lobby designed by Thom as a stage for patrons. Broadly curving staircases, a glass-enclosed elevator and poplarslatted ceilings animate the space under the big roof extending over the vintage theatres. Colourful carpets designed by the architect’s wife Bonnie Thom enliven the sloping concrete floors extending throughout the open space like a rising tide of water.

Marching around the glass perimeter are 18 tapered columns made of engineered wood that both hold up the roof and support the glass skin through struts and cables. Forming the first heavy timber structure in the capital, they introduce the Pacific Northwest flavour of Thom’s Vancouver to warm the space. Each column rests on a beautifully detailed steel connection reflecting a high level of craft.

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interior vieW of the LoBBy froM the roof of the Kreeger theAter With the originAL fiChAndLer theAter StiLL viSiBLe on the Left. aboVe right A vASt AMount of ConCrete, AS Seen in thiS vieW of the entrAnCe to the Kreeger theAter, provideS A Strong ContrASt to the Wood And gLASS AeSthetiC ALong the exterior of ArenA StAge. the exterior of the Kogod CrAdLe CAn eASiLy Be Seen ALong 6th Street.

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client ArenA StAge architect team Bing thoM, MiChAeL heeney, JAMeS BroWn, BriAn ACKerMAn, John CAMfieLd, veneLin KoKALov, Ling Meng, MiChAeL MotLAgh, frAnCiS yAn, hArALd MerK, Berit Wooge, BiBiAnKA fehr, dAn du, niCoLe hu, roBert SAndiLAndS, Bonnie thoM, AMirALi JAvidAn, ShinoBu hoMMA, dereK KApLAn, MArCoS hui, roSe Chung Structural fASt + epp mechanical yonedA & ASSoCiAteS mechanical deSign/build SouthLAnd induStrieS electrical StAnteC in ASSoCiAtion With vAnderWeiL engineerS

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ciVil WiLeS MenSCh CorporAtion interiorS Bing thoM ArChiteCtS lighting WiLLiAM LAM acouStic tALASKe theatre fiSher dAChS ASSoCiAteS eleVator verteCh contractor CLArK ConStruCtion conStruction manager KCM area 200,000 ft2 groSS budget $100 M comPletion oCtoBer 2010

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Deborah K. Dietsch, a freelance writer based in Washington, DC, covers architecture and design for various publications.

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For all its transparency, the grand lobby doesn’t engage the neighbourhood in a direct way apart from putting theatre patrons and their activities on display. The prominent space at the building’s glassy corner functions as a librarymeeting room that is inaccessible to the public except on special occasions. The café now resting on top of the Kreeger would have been better placed in this ground-level location to create an active presence on the street.

Still, to his credit, Thom has turned what had been an inward-focused theatre complex into an inviting cultural centre full of unexpected surprises. A trip to the women’s washroom reveals a window centered on a view of the Washington Monument. Rehearsal halls, production areas and offices are cleverly tucked around the big lobby to bring artistic and administrative departments together for the first time in Arena Stage history. Scenery can now be wheeled from workshops right onto the stages.

At night, the building lights up like a beacon amidst its aging mid-20th-century surroundings.

Back in the 1950s, the city cleared the “slums” in this area of southwest DC to build apartment blocks designed by I.M. Pei and others for developer William Zeckendorf. Arena Stage became the cultural anchor of this major urban renewal project and now serves as a prototype for a future wave of development being planned around it.

Thom sets a precedent for this neighbourhood revitalization with his theatrical collage, offering a fresh dose of contemporary design in a city too used to the pompous and prosaic. ca

1 MAin LoBBy 2 Kogod CrAdLe theAter 3 Kreeger theAter BALCony 4 fiChAndLer theAter 5 Kogod CrAdLe dreSSing rooMS 6 CoStuMe Shop 7 uphoLStery Shop 8 BAr 9 WAShrooM 10 WoMen’S WAShrooM 11 freight eLevAtor

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A BLue Line ConneCtS the MeAd Center With the WAShington MonuMent on thiS Site MAp; interior vieW of the Kreeger theAter; An interior vieW of the Kogod CrAdLe iLLuStrAteS A detAiL of the BASKet-Woven Wood ACouStiC WALLS; exterior of the originAL fiChAndLer theAter; An AeriAL vieW of the Site With the WAShington MonuMent viSiBLe in the diStAnCe. centre ArenA StAge CAMpuS After the 1971 opening of the Kreeger theAter.

Bing thoM ArChiteCtS

clockWiSe from toP left

20 canadian architect 01/11

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art for art’s sake the newly refashioned art Gallery of alberta aims to revitalize downtown edmonton with strident forms and dissonant Geometries.

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Randall Stout aRchitectS Randall Stout aRchitectS

ProJect aRt GalleRy of albeRta, edmonton, albeRta architects Randall Stout aRchitectS in aSSociation with hiP aRchitectS teXt ShafRaaz Kaba

Edmonton was all abuzz in January 2010 as the new Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) finally opened to the public. Over the previous four years, design and steady construction yielded a structure that brought new excitement to Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton’s civic heart. In 2005, Randall Stout won the design competition for the new AGA. A protégé of Frank Gehry for several years before opening his own Los Angeles-based practice in 1997, Stout set about creating a new vision to transform the handsome Brutalist concrete box that was the old art gallery. The redevelopment of the AGA presented an opportunity to provide new galleries along with climate-controlled space that could attract important revenue-generating travelling exhibitions, the absence of which the old gallery was much criticized for. The new AGA reclaims its corner and has emerged from a reclusive position on a downtown square that is ringed by other significant public buildings, including a concert hall, a theatre, the main public library, a shopping mall, and City Hall.

Just before winning the AGA competition, Stout had completed the Hunter Museum of American Art expansion in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chatta-

nooga, along with its Hunter Museum, reads like a twin city to Edmonton. Both cities are manufacturing- and service industry-driven, and Brutalist modern architecture defined both original museum buildings. It is therefore not surprising that Stout used the same architectural language and exterior material palette (zinc and stainless steel) for the two buildings. Similar design elements, such as a stainless steel ribbon undulating around curtain walls and boxy zinc forms, figure prominently in the two projects. Stout also specified comparable interior furnishings in the two projects. He states that rock and river provided the inspiration for the Hunter Museum which is sited on the banks of the Tennessee River, while the aurora borealis became his inspiration for Edmonton. A populist analogy to local natural wonders seems to be the architect’s weakest design justification. Why can’t a sculptural gesture for an art gallery honestly and simply be described as what it is? Particularly in Edmonton, where Stout could have made reference to the local art scene’s past relationship with legendary American art critic Clement Greenberg and the concept of formalism, which advocates for composition rather than content in art.

The previous minimalist two-storey box, named the Edmonton Art Gallery, opened in 1968 and was designed by prominent Edmonton architects Jim Wensley and Don Bittorf. It was criticized at its opening for the “vaguely boring”

inSide the main lobby, the SwiRlinG Ribbon-liKe foRm offeRS Somewhat of a dynamic SPatial exPeRience foR viSitoRS. above diveRGent aPPRoacheS to foRm and mateRiality yield an awKwaRdly ReSolved weSt elevation.

oPPosite

design in béton brut concrete. Unfortunately, it never won over the majority of citizens who found it remote and cold, although it was wellloved by many architects for its restraint. The main impetus for a new building came from a desperate need for climate-controlled galleries that could attract blockbuster touring exhibitions along with loaned artwork from other collections around the world. The original structure’s building envelope could not deal with the high humidity required for certain delicate pieces of art, nor could it maintain a constant temperature with minimally insulated exterior walls. Renamed the Art Gallery of Alberta to honour a large grant from the province, the building was essentially reconstructed from the basement up to its new third and fourth storeys.

The basement of the old building was reused and refaced, including the 167-seat theatre and art education centre. The basement now also houses the art rental and purchase shop and connects directly to the city’s central LRT station.

The reuse of these spaces is a noteworthy effort and minimizes the wholesale demolition of the old gallery, but sadly, there are no hints of the 01/11 canadian architect

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Randall Stout aRchitectS Randall Stout aRchitectS

veStiGeS of the bRutaliSt concRete aRchitectuRe of the oRiGinal edmonton aRt GalleRy aRe viSible in the bacKGRound of thiS Photo of the aGa’S South elevation. above dRamatic uPliGhtinG flatteRS the buildinG in thiS niGhttime PhotoGRaPh. bottom the aRt GalleRy of albeRta in itS downtown uRban context.

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original concrete construction. A new LRT entrance pavilion across the road that was included in the competition drawings remains unbuilt—it was beyond the scope of the City of Edmonton, which was not about to increase the budget for this project any further given the rapid cost escalations occurring in Alberta’s construction industry. The receiving and art preparation areas on the main floor retain their location from the original gallery layout, driven by the existing loading bay access on the east side of the building. One wonders if the receiving area is sufficient for the increased exhibition space, and whether the navigation of so many corners to access galleries will be problematic. There is very little room between the exterior loading bay and the receiving area, a challenge for delivery personnel and art handlers alike.

Stout provided straightforward rectangular galleries of various heights in the AGA, allowing the visitor to focus on the art without distraction from the architecture. He also reused the large Ernest Poole Gallery on the main floor, which itself was an addition to the original Edmonton Art Gallery building. The Poole Gallery received new exterior insulation and zinc cladding, a material that has striking variation in colour and patina. The new Children’s Gallery was placed adjacent to the southeast centre stair, convenient for circulation down to the art education centre. Its long and narrow proportions will allow for easy supervision of children but will prove to be curatorially challenging. Nearby, a small gallery with low ceilings is another adapted space from the original building. The floor-to-ceiling height of this gallery space is intentionally compressed to encourage the viewer to focus on smaller works of art.

The new galleries are placed on the second and third floors, in a box that is clearly expressed on the building’s exterior and which is slightly skewed from the east-west orientation of the ground floor. These new spaces are selfcontained and cocooned to enable ultimate con-

Shafraaz Kaba is a partner in the Edmonton-based architecture firm of Manasc Isaac.

1 SculPtuRe diSPlay/GalleRy event SPace 2 GalleRy/GReat hall 3 flexible GalleRy 4 multiPuRPoSe theatRe lobby 5 childRen’S GalleRy 6 eRneSt J Poole GalleRy 7 Studio claSSRoom 8 office 9 PRoJection Room 10 cRate StoRaGe 11 GalleRy/eventS SPace 12 RooftoP SculPtuRe GaRden

RobeRt lemeRmeyeR m.n. hutchinSon

trol over light and air. The high ceilings of these new galleries mean an abundance of flexible and grand volumes for a variety of art. On the third floor, the City of Edmonton Sculpture Terrace provides one of the more delightful moments, as it offers not only a great view of Sir Winston Churchill Square, but also of the city and of the refineries in the distance that remind citizens of what drives the local economy. However, the fourth-floor offices, members’ lounge, and boardroom all prevent any natural daylighting opportunities from above into these new galleries. The wavy white and stainless steel ribbon also obscures views to the outside from the gallery foyers. Surrounded by this steel ribbon and hovering over the atrium is the membersonly Borealis Lounge on the fourth floor. But one of the most surprising views can be enjoyed from the fourth-floor boardroom roof deck, where a rectangular opening frames a view of City Hall across the road. This opening is the prominent void in the composition of the protruding box in the west elevation. Unfortunately, the public is not likely to appreciate the view, as this vantage point is privy only to staff and board members of the AGA. The grand stair and light column identifying gallery patrons and donors greet guests as they walk in the front doors. Immediately opening up in front of guests, the grand atrium provides an unexpected and awe-inspiring space. Upon closer examination of the swirling stainless steel ribbon, the limitations of faceting flat materials into double curves begin to appear. On the interior, there is an awkward shift from stainless steel to white baked enamel panels in the ribbon to yet another white fabric material which was required for acoustic reasons. On the exterior, stubby little cleats for snow retention as well as a recessed gutter detract from the concept of a smooth and flowing ribbon. The snow cleats were the result of a study by the engineering firm of RWDI, who raised the potential public hazard of falling ice that needed to be mitigated by the addition of the cleats.

Like the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga, the Art Gallery of Alberta was described as a catalyst for downtown redevelopment. It aspires to kindle more street life by becoming a tourist destination. The AGA has definitely succeeded as an unusual landmark that visitors to Edmonton will inevitably flock to, but it remains to be seen if it will spur revitalization further east of Sir Winston Churchill Square. It is without a doubt successful in asserting itself, and it lures people to come closer to explore what is essentially an undulating stainless steel sculpture plunked atop a zinc plinth. Upon seeing the building, Christine Macy, Dean of the Dalhousie Faculty of Architecture, remarked, “squint and it will make sense.” Perhaps that is the best way to view the Art Gallery of Alberta and other sculptural architecture in the context of museum building today. ca

toP the SinuouS Roof foRm fluidly continueS into the hiGhceilinGed GalleRy SPaceS. above new meaSuReS foR temPeRatuRe and humidity contRol weRe imPlemented to maintain and PReSeRve the condition of SenSitive PieceS of aRt.

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lift & laddeR StoRaGe cateRinG Kitchen Public cloaKRoom SPecial collectionS GalleRy tRanSit StoRaGe multiPuRPoSe theatRe boaRd Room waShRoom GalleRy/café woodwoRKinG ShoP lRt acceSS entRy veStibule

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multiPle GeometRieS in the StRuctuRe and mullion PatteRn ReSult in a buSy aRchitectuRal exPReSSion of the buildinG. above riGht the boaRdRoom Roof decK on the fouRth flooR PeRmitS a fRamed view of edmonton city hall acRoSS the Road.

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client aRt GalleRy of albeRta architect team Randall Stout, niel PRunieR, RaShmi vaSavada, John muRPhey, manzeR miRKaR, SandRa hutchinGS, John locKe, Sean andeRSon, cynthia buSh, Jonathan GRinham, eRic JoneS, JennifeR lathRoP, John michl, Ry moRRiSon, aleKSandeR novaK-zemPlinSKi, david RodRiGuez, bRyan Smith, nicolaS SoweRS, Joel webb associate architect hiP aRchitectS (allan PaRtRidGe) interiors Randall Stout aRchitectS (excludinG café and Gift ShoP) cafÉ zinc interiors ii by iv deSiGn aSSociateS inc. (Keith RuShbRooK, dan menchionS,GRant hill) Gift shoP interior blacK RiveR aRchitectS, inc. (aRch hoRSt) structural deSimone conSultinG enGineeRS, bPtec-dnw enGineeRinG ltd. mechanical/electrical ibe conSultinG enGineeRS, Stantec conSultinG ltd.

curtain wall/enveloPe Read JoneS chRiStoffeRSen, ltd. liGhtinG lam PaRtneRS inc. acoustics newcomb & boyd code Ghl conSultantS ltd. fall Protection citadel conSultinG incoRPoRated snow, ice and wind Rowan williamS davieS & iRwin inc. sPecifications diGicon infoRmation inc. commissioninG icx SolutionS Geotechnical eba enGineeRinG conSultantS ltd. contractor ledcoR conStRuction limited ProJect manaGement aRchitectuRe | aRndt tKalcic benGeRt (RicK aRndt, melody whitehead) area 84,000 ft2 GRoSS budGet $66 m comPletion JanuaRy 2010 site Plan 1 aRt GalleRy of albeRta 2 RooftoP SculPtuRe teRRace 3 city hall 4 city hall outdooR foRecouRt 5 city hall toweR 6 SculPtuRe lawn 7 lRt entRance 8 SiR winSton chuRchill SquaRe 9 law couRtS buildinG 10 law couRtS outdooR couRtyaRd 11 chanceRy hall 12 centuRy Place 13 winSPeaR centRe foR PeRfoRminG aRtS

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training ground

a new high school dedicated to athletic education and training in suburban toronto employs a host of sustainable and urban design strategies that reflect the larger sustainable practices currently being pursued by the municipality. proJect­Bill­Crothers­seCondary­sChool­for­athletiCs­&­healthy­ aCtive­living,­MarkhaM,­ontario architects­Zas­arChiteCts­inC.­in­assoCiation­with­rossetti­ arChiteCts teXt­ian­Chodikoff photos­Brenda­liu

Located in the Town of Markham, a municipality located immediately north of Toronto, the recently completed Bill Crothers Secondary School (BCSS) is a useful case study that demonstrates a commitment to developing a programmatically sophisticated high school that has succeeded in reducing its footprint on an ecologically sensitive 30-acre site. It is also a facility that employs a host of sustainable and urban design strategies that tie into some of the larger sustainable practices currently being pursued by the municipality, along with measures to enhance and preserve the Rouge River ecosystem which runs through the site. The various components found within this project serve as a model for large-scale sustainable planning that all secondary school designs should attempt to emulate. Furthering the debate

­the­large­protruding­windows­of­the­athletiC­training­ rooMs­are­wrapped­in­galvaluMe­and­overlook­the­athletiC­ Courtyard,­along­with­the­glaZed­single-loaded­ClassrooM­ Corridors­in­the­distanCe.

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of sustainable design, this project includes the stewardship of a healthy lifestyle for its users and the recognition of its unique landscape, while thankfully extending the discussions of sustainable design beyond normative or mainstream practices that might include passive solar design or high-efficiency glazing.

BCSS was conceived as the premier sports and athletic training facility for the York Region District School Board. The four-storey, 220,000-squarefoot facility is designed for 1,600 students who follow a curriculum focused on sports and physical education. The school was named after Bill Crothers, a Markham-born athlete who won a silver medal in the 800-metre track and field event at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games held in Tokyo. Crothers was also a pharmacist and former Chair of the York Region District School Board, where he continues to serve as a board trustee. The project team was led by ZAS Architects, a Toronto-based architecture and planning firm established in 1984. Firm principals Paul Stevens and Peter Duckworth-Pilkington worked on the project. Duckworth-Pilkington describes his efforts to create a building that is defined by “the movement of the human form, its users and their activities.” The design team concentrated their efforts to support a cross-curriculum pedagogy where athletics meets academics, and where the rigours of maintaining a busy schedule for the students can be 01/11­­canadian architect

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offset with informal meeting and seating areas throughout the school. Many high schools in the Greater Toronto Area offer a specialized program for gifted athletes. What makes BCSS different is that the school is entirely focused on sports, and programs relating to sports management, promotions, coaching and health sciences.

Because of its four-storey height, the L-shaped building occupies a much smaller and more compact footprint than if it were on just two levels, as is typical of many high schools. Visitors will immediately notice the school’s focus on athletics the minute they walk in the front door, as a large, brightly lit double-height “student forum” is filled with students milling about, readying themselves for one of 26 school-supported sports activities. Bigscreen televisions line the generous space, broadcasting student news and live feeds of sporting events across the globe. The student forum is connected to two large gymnasia and a lecture theatre, and the plan allows the building to operate as a regional sports facility outside of school hours. On the second floor, students can use either of the two weight-training facilities, along with a broadcast booth and a coaching centre. These programmatic elements—along with the physiology and kinesiology labs, aerobics

studios, sports administration and training facilities—were designed for students to explore a wide range of sports-related careers. While the eastwest wing is largely devoted to athletics, the north-south wing contains the bulk of the school’s classrooms, along with a double-height library on the fourth floor. With plenty of daylight streaming in, this library sits somewhat askew from the plan, forming a proud beacon for the school that is visible from nearby Kennedy Road and Highway 407. BCSS ties into the developing mid-density, mixed-use urban precinct known as Markham Centre which hopes to attract close to 20,000 residents and 20,000 jobs over the next two decades.

A LEED Silver-rated building, BCSS uses 30 percent less energy than the Model National Energy Code, achieved mainly through a range of standard sustainable features: occupancy sensors, low-VOC materials, demand-controlled ventilation, daylight harvesting, high-efficiency HVAC equipment and external solar-shading devices. Other more interesting features include energy displays used for teaching an eco-school sustainability awareness curriculum. Nonetheless, convincing a school board to invest in many of these features is not to be taken for granted, and the client should be com-

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mended for their commitment to BCSS’s overall success. What is truly a masterful feature is the way in which the building establishes a pedestrian link to the Unionville GO Station, and a connection to the Markham District energy tri-generation heating and cooling plant. Anticipating future private development to the east of the school further entrenches BCSS into a new and evolving mid-density community within a suburban municipality keen on curbing urban sprawl. (Markham is famous for initiating Cornell in the ’90s, Canada’s best example of a New Urbanist community that has achieved a level of success in increasing densities of suburban single-family residential developments.)

Formerly a golf course, the site is partially situated within the flood plain of the Rouge River. To accommodate the stress on the environment caused by the new school, along with its parking and outdoor athletic activities (a field house, two artificial turf fields, one natural turf field, a running track, and facilities for javelin, discus, long jump and other sports), a grading design was required to carefully plan for occasional flooding on the site.

Landscape architect Mark Schollen of Schollen & Company undertook a low-impact development (LID) that utilized bio-filters, infiltration galler-

central weight room

­taking­advantage­of­an­optiMal­MiCroCliMate,­the­southwest­orientation­of­the­athletiC­Court­provides­exterior­Multi-purpose­outdoor­spaCe­for­students­and­ the­general­puBliC;­students­partiCipating­in­one­of­the­ sChool’s­26­sponsored­sports—BasketBall;­filled­with­natural­ daylight­and­flat-sCreen­televisions­providing­live­sports­Coverage,­the­student­foruM­is­the­soCial­Centre­of­the­sChool.

opposite top, left to right

ies, and one of the largest rain-water harvesting and recycling systems in North America—a system that is capable of handling 1,875 cubic metres of water at one time. Avoiding conventional catch basins and storm sewer systems, huge cisterns were constructed beneath the two artificial sports fields to contain storm- and rain-water runoffs before releasing the water in the Rouge River system. The landscape plan also included the creation of three hectares of constructed wetlands and reforested riparian areas that reintroduce native plant material to the diversity of plants already found along the Rouge River corridor.

The desire to integrate an energy-efficient high school that acknowledges the efforts of the Town of Markham to increase density and access to tran-

broadcast booth

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sit, and to share in district heating is laudable. Furthermore, understanding the importance of fostering a landscape that respects its natural heritage while proactively handling the issues of storm-water runoff indicates a holistic design approach that moves beyond the scale of a mere building, and touches upon a larger, more ecological urbanism. ca client­york­region­distriCt­sChool­Board architect team­paul­stevens,­peter­duCkworth-pilkington,­JiM­renne,­yassi­akBarian,­yaMa­asad,­ Martin­Benda,­CarMine­CanonaCo,­Costas­Catsaros,­daniel­CoMerford,­roB­Connor,­antonio­ Cuvin,­eriC­Mann,­aManda­reed,­duC­tran,­dan­vraBeC­ structural­halsall­&­assoCiates­ltd.­(shahé­sagharian) mechanical/electrical­MMM­group­(neil­spenCe) landscape­sChollen­&­CoMpany­(Mark­sChollen) interiors­Zas­interiors­inC.­(ella­MaMiChe) contractor­Bondfield­ConstruCtion­CoMpany­ltd.­(steve­aquino) ciVil & stormwater management­sChaeffers­Consulting­engineers­(harold­reinthaler)­ area­220,000­ft2­ budget­$35.9­M completion­2009

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the nimble Professional EstablishEd baby boomErs practicing architEcturE today arE Eating thEir young and squElching thE talEnts of futurE gEnErations of architEcts. as a rEsult, today’s young architEcts must find altEr­ nativE ways to succEEd in thEir chosEn profEssion.

34 canadian architect 01/11

teXt

sEan ruthEn matthEw KEnnEdy

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In the first chapter of his Ten Books on Architecture, Vitruvius advises that a young, emerging architect must know how to draw, be versed in geometry and arithmetic, be a draughtsman able to use the square and level, and be able to calculate the budget of a building and properly balance it against its aesthetic symmetry and proportions, all in addition to possessing a wide knowledge of history, art, music, philosophy, medicine and astronomy. As well, he must be able to apply principles concerning drainage and party walls to a building design. In our age of “tweets” and “blobs,” one might very well ask what Vitruvius may have added

dalhousiE univErsity architEcturE studEnts usEd cnc tEchnology to dEsign this shEltEr which glows bEnEath a moonlit sKy.

oPPosite

to this list if he were around today.

For if there is one thing that Vitruvius is clear about, it is that there is no one thing that an architect is, but rather a multitude of things, and as such, the skills and knowledge that are part of an architect’s education could enable him to work in another field if necessary. Not unlike Ayn Rand’s hero Howard Roark going off to work in the granite quarries in The Fountainhead, the architect is at times forced to be ambidextrous, or nimble, so that he is able to work in an allied profession to architecture when times are tough. Colleagues of mine worked in construction while trying to find

their next job at a firm, while I myself worked at a model-building firm as well as giving architecture walking tours between jobs.

My first-year architecture school class was in fact a rich mix of people whose previous erudition was not directly related to architecture. If there was ever a true instance of Mark Twain’s “never letting your education come between you and your schooling,” this was it. Language majors, microbiologists, business students, and of course artists, painters and musicians made up my first-year class, with those actually having worked in firms making up a small percentage.

01/11 canadian architect

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As pArt of DAlhousie’s CoAstAl stuDio, A group of ArChiteCture stuDents DesigneD AnD built lAmellA, A heliCAl pergolA thAt is An elegAnt AnD simple expression of form. aboVe A DetAileD view of lAmellA As it meets the grounD. toP

This then is Vitruvius’s “incidental education”— all those branches of knowledge that emerging professionals bring to the table in their architectural education prior to or in addition to their formal architectural studies.

To paraphrase a Beatle, architecture is what happens while you’re busy making other plans, and the actual activity of architecture in contemporary practice, with its construction and contract documentation, makes it easy to miss the thing that has attracted new interns to architecture, the jewel that—regardless of its bureaucratic baggage—still continues to inspire and attract 36 canadian architect 01/11

young and talented minds to the profession, as it has since the time of Vitruvius.

At a time when our profession is reeling from the startling realization that a whole generation of architects may indeed now be lost given the length of the recession—a recent statistic has purported that the true unemployment figure for architects is more like 24 percent—there is a glimmer of hope in seeing that the generation immediately following it is aware of this coming gap in the profession, and is rising to the challenge of filling the void.

Such is what we can gather from the likes of Dalhousie architecture students Matthew Kennedy, Sam Lock, Clayton Blackman, Mark Erickson and Andrew Choptiany, whose collaborative works both at and beyond Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Architecture and Planning have already demonstrated a vigour and design ethos of treading gently

on the earth while making a definitive architectural statement that evidences the influence of Nova Scotia’s rugged east coast vernacular. Gaining invaluable experience while still in school, the students participated in the Coastal Studio, a well-known design-build studio led by architecture professor Ted Cavanagh that explores ecology, culture and traditional technical knowledge through design-build projects across the province.

These future architects have realized a formidable body of work in their design studios, along with the significant adjunct of a built structure for a children’s summer camp on Prince Edward Island which they all helped to design and build.

The camp structure appears to be an instance of Matthew and Andrew being at the right place at the right time. While they were camp counsellors in 2009 (Sam, Clayton and Mark joining them the following year), the provincial government donated 13 acres of land to the camp, and as such needed more permanent structures to be built.

Taking a year off from school and working independently from Dalhousie, the students employed many of the passive design principles they learned under Cavanagh’s guidance while in school, taking advantage of the flat, treeless landscape next to the ocean, and using locally grown dimensional lumber and wood siding. With a two-month construction budget, the collaboration between the architecture students, camp counsellors and contractors has resulted in a sensitively scaled building in the landscape, with the intent that further similar structures may be realized in the not so distant future.

In addition, this collaboration has yielded Lamella—the students were largely responsible for the detailed design development of this CNCmilled wooden structure both reminiscent of a beehive and Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic structures. Using this emerging form of technology, the group created a helical pergola to cover a walkway outside the Dalhousie Architecture School for Nocturne—a light festival that happens in October in Halifax.

CNC, or computer numerical control, is a technique used to create geometrically complex and repetitive building components. In this case, wood was used, though other malleable materials can also be employed such as resin or MDF board. Using SketchUp to model the form in this instance, this data was then sent to the milling machine. The CNC machine at today’s modern school of architecture is now de rigueur, and is as valuable a tool in today’s young architect’s tool kit as the wood shop was in days gone by.

The recent staggering unemployment of architecture students and interns will not be without some serious ramifications in the near future.

This on top of a recent slowdown in the number of interns getting registered upon graduation has architecture associations in both Canada and the

DAlhousie ArChiteCture stuDents DesigneD A lineAr builDing for A ChilDren’s summer CAmp on prinCe eDwArD islAnD During A one-yeAr hiAtus from their stuDies; the CAnteD-roof wooD-shingleD CAmp struCture glows brilliAntly in the lAnDsCApe; humourous grAphiCs AnnounCe the boys’ AnD girls’ wAshrooms.

clocKWise from aboVe

US scratching their heads. With the verdict still out on the success of the transition to the new NCARB 4.0, reducing the number of licensing exams from nine to seven, there is serious concern for a healthy base of new architects to inherit the design profession once most of the baby boomers retire within the next decade. The profession of architecture on the whole might do well to ask itself what it is doing to attract a new generation to the profession.

So while the other shoe may not yet have dropped, the word on the street is that high schools are telling their graduates of the coming drought in the profession, and as a result the architecture schools are overflowing both nationally and internationally—though it’s worth noting that postsecondary enrollment has generally increased as a result of there being no jobs. Works by the likes of these Dalhousie architecture students should not go unnoticed, as it is an optimistic indication that there may still be a glimmer of hope on an otherwise uncertain professional horizon.

With computers allowing for the crosspollination of architecture with new and growing fields of technological advancement, today’s website or video game designer could be tomorrow’s new virtual architect. For if there is one thing that the computer age has given us, it is the

rapidity with which we can create, proliferate and disseminate information about buildings. That the youth of today understands this more than any generation before is no secret, masters as they are of the new “invisible city” (to borrow from Italo Calvino), with all their social networking and creation of virtual worlds.

Architecture’s next great challenge then is to make the transition from the printed page to binary code, much as Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press revolutionized the dissemination of ideas through books. This will not merely happen by having a knowledgeable staff who can use

AutoCAD and Revit, 3D Max Studio or SketchUp, but by educating a generation about all those tangents to architecture that may be pursued as part of their schooling, whether painting and exhibiting in a gallery or composing and performing a concerto. Ours is a nimble profession, and as such, those who would rise to the challenge will hear the call, regardless of the need to sell paint or build furniture to pay the bills. ca Sean Ruthen is a Vancouver-based architect and writer, currently working in the offices of IBI/HB Architects.

01/11 canadian architect

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DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE P.O. Box 1000, 5410 Spring Garden Road Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 2X4

Faculty of Architecture and Planning 10 December 2010

The School of Architecture at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is looking for a new faculty member who will be central to our studio-based curriculum. Most faculty teach in studio and one other stream: Practice, Technology or Humanities. The School has a strong design orientation and includes undergraduate and graduate work semesters that integrate professional experience with academic courses. The School is in downtown Halifax, a harbour city of 360,000 and the metropolitan centre of Atlantic Canada. Dalhousie University (est. 1818) is the premier research institution in the region, serving 16,000 students. We offer an accredited graduate professional degree in architecture and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. The School of Architecture invites applications for a teaching position in architectural design, with a clear academic and/or professional research focus. This is a full-time, tenure stream appointment at the level of Assistant Professor. The candidate will be expected to show evidence of an ability to teach core undergraduate courses both in a studio and in a lecture format, and to supervise graduate theses. In addition, she/he should be able to present a graduate studio and a graduate seminar to be developed in their area of research focus. All faculty collaborate with colleagues in curriculum development and work with students across the entire curriculum.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated achievement in the practice and teaching of architecture, and promise for excellence in design, teaching, and research. The successful candidate will have: (1) a professional degree in architecture, (2) either an advanced degree in a field related to the position or eligibility for architectural registration in Canada, and (3) knowledge of digital design media. The portfolio of work should demonstrate a creative integration of architectural design in teaching, in practice, and in an area of scholarship.

Applications must include: (a) a statement of teaching and research orientation; (b) a full curriculum vitae including address, telephone and email; (c) a portfolio including design work, teaching and publications; and (d) original letters of reference, sent under separate cover, from at least four referees (and their contact information if it is not evident in the letter). For best considerations, applications should be received by 15 March 2011. The process will continue until the position is filled.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Dalhousie University is an Employment Equity / Affirmative Action employer. We encourage applications from qualified Aboriginal people, persons with a disability, racially visible persons, and women.

Send application packages to:

Ted Cavanagh, Chair, Search Committee 2010/2011-1807 School of Architecture Faculty of Architecture and Planning Dalhousie University P.O. Box 1000, 5410 Spring Garden Road Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 2X4

More information about the School and its activities can be found at <archplan.dal.ca >. General inquiries should be directed to Martha Barnstead, Administrative Secretary to the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Dalhousie University; e-mail <martha.barnstead@dal.ca>; telephone (902) 494-3210.

Dalhousie University Faculty of Architecture and Planning • P.O. Box 1000 • 5410 Spring Garden Road • Halifax Nova Scotia • B3J 2X4 • Canada Fax: 902.423.6672 • E-mail: arch.office@dal.ca • Web: archplan.dal.ca Dean's office Tel: 902.494.3210 School of Architecture Tel: 902.494.3971 School of Planning Tel: 902.494.3260

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November 11, 2010-February 13, 2011 This exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal explores some differences between seemingly limitless cyberspace and the museum, where presence and real space are essential. The work of Peter Eisenman, John Hejduk, Greg Lynn, Aldo Rossi, Bruno Taut and Larry Richards is featured. www.cca.qc.ca Next North

January 20-February 27, 2011 This exhibition at Cambridge Galleries Design at Riverside features the work of InfraNet Lab/Lateral Office, and introduces viewers to the remarkable transformations taking place in the North. Maps, interactive timelines, and photographs, as well as drawings and larger tectonic investigations engage viewers in new visions of the Canadian North. www.cambridgegalleries.ca MADE at Home

January 26-February 12, 2011 Julie Nicholson and Shaun Moore of MADE will introduce brand new Canadian designs through this exhibition in an ordinary apartment setting above their showroom which is directed to the personalized and intimate details of the things people choose to live with through their choice of functional objects for the home. www.madedesign.ca Capacity

January 27-February 6, 2011 In this exhibition at Bookhou in Toronto, ten of the city’s top industrial, graphic, textile and product designers grapple with the concept of “capacity” and how it applies to who we are and what we do. www.capacitytoronto.com

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5:

BackPage

Playing Field

A recent exhibit At the York QuAY centre in toronto explored the potentiAl of A highlY interActive And sociAl environment for visitors. teXt

gAbriel fAin dubbeldAm design Architects

PhOtOS

The exhibition Building Partners at Harbourfront’s Architecture at York Quay Centre began with three questions: What is the relationship between architect and client? Is a building a compromise or collaboration? Can the client/architect relationship lead to a better building?

Of the four exhibits on display—including projects by Ian MacDonald Architect Inc., Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Jeff Goodman Studio—it was the installation by Dubbeldam Design Architects which offered the most provocative response to these questions. Entitled pull.push.slide.pivot.lift.tilt.turn, the piece explored the role of both client and user within the architectural design process. By transforming a gallery space into an architectural playing field of dynamic components, visitors were able to have a direct influence on the spatial, acoustic, material and light qualities of the installation.

Once inside the exhibit, a wide space could be

42 canadian architect 01/11

converted into a narrow corridor or smaller and more intimate spaces could be created simply by rotating or sliding a wall. Selective openings in these moveable walls would alter one’s sense of depth as they aligned with painted planes and mirrors on the fixed perimeter walls. Each element in the exhibit, therefore, became a didactic tool from which visitors could learn about the consequences of their own design choices on the experience of the space.

In fact, the ambition of the installation was to bring awareness to the idea that the architect sets up a design framework but it is the client who has a great deal of control over the quality of spaces within that framework. For example, one of the pivoting walls was painted white on one side and grey on the other. Depending on how visitors positioned the wall relative to the existing light fixtures, the wall would either reflect or absorb light. Another moveable wall was entirely covered in grey felt so that in certain configurations it would provide acoustic isolation from music being played elsewhere. The most playful elements within the framework were the orange felt cubes which could be stacked to form precarious columns or arranged side to side to form a vibrant seating environment.

A series of imAges illustrAtes how visitors to the exhibit could Assume the role of A client, therebY collAborAting on A design process thAt hAs mAnY possible outcomes.

aBOVe

The active engagement on the part of the gallery visitor was intended to represent the often complex working relationship and exchange of ideas between clients and architects. Whether or not the decisions made within the set of controlled movements could lead to better design was open to interpretation. The point was that the architect set up the possibility for each user to organize the space in a manner which best suited their desires.

Ultimately, what distinguished this installation from the other works on display was the fact that the gallery space became a highly social environment. It also gave visitors the rare opportunity to apply their own creative thinking within a conventional exhibition context. ca Gabriel Fain is an intern architect at Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects in Toronto.

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