Canadian Architect May 2014

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2014 governor general’s awards

May/14 v.59 n.05

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15 News

Herzog & de Meuron selected to design new Vancouver Art Gallery; winners of 2014 RAIC National Urban Design Awards announced.

56 Calendar

Global Cities Summit in Toronto; 2014 RAIC Festival of Architecture in Winnipeg.

COVER The Tula House on Quadra Island, British Columbia by Patkau Architects. Photograph by James Dow/Patkau Architects.

v.59 n.05

58 backpage

An outdoor neon sign museum is a bright addition to Edmonton’s revitalized warehouse district.

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The National Review of Design and Practice/The Journal of Record of Architecture Canada | RAIC

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canadian architect

May 2014

Courtesy of Moriyama & Teshima Architects

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­­Editor Elsa Lam, MRAIC Associate Editor Leslie Jen, MRAIC Editorial Advisor Ian Chodikoff, OAA, FRAIC Contributing Editors Annmarie Adams, MRAIC Douglas MacLeod, ncarb, MRAIC Regional Correspondents Halifax Christine Macy, OAA Regina Bernard Flaman, SAA Montreal David Theodore Calgary David A. Down, AAA Winnipeg Lisa Landrum, MAA, MRAIC Vancouver Adele Weder

above Completed in 1963 by Raymond Moriyama, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto was renovated into the Noor Cultural Centre in 2003 by Moriyama & Teshima. In both incarnations, the building embodies principles of cultural inclusivity that Raymond Moriyama hopes to promote through the newly established Moriyama RAIC International Prize.

It seems strange to say that the latest and largest award given by a Canadian architectural association is an international one, but the Moriyama RAIC International Prize has farreaching aspirations.

Announced in April, the new prize—to be given every two years, starting this fall—will recognize an outstanding building located anywhere in the world. The winning architect, firm or patron will receive $100,000 as well as a handcrafted sculpture by Edmonton designer Wei Yew. By opening the competition up to international contenders, the prize is a bold move to raise the profile of the RAIC —and Canadian architecture—on the global stage. The prize is also intended to encourage Canadian architects to aspire to international excellence.

Judging criteria include design excellence, innovation and environmental responsibility. Giving the prize a deeper dimension, the jury also seeks projects that further humanistic values such as social justice, equality and inclusivity.

These are all values displayed in the work of architect Raymond Moriyama, who donated $200,000 to fund the first round of the prize.

As a young Japanese-Canadian, Moriyama was interned in British Columbia with his mother and two sisters during WWII. Alienated by others from the common bathing facilities because of a scar from a childhood accident, he built himself a hidden treehouse by a river—his first work of architecture. “It had a tremendous impact on my thinking, my feeling. It became a place of learning: looking down I started to see how every square foot was different from the next,” he recalls.

His subsequent designs, from the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in 1963 to the Canadian War Museum in 2005, seek to capture a specificity of place and provide equal access to people of all abilities and ethnicities.

Publisher Tom Arkell 416-510-6806 Account Manager Faria Ahmed 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, Roy gaiot Vice President of Canadian Publishing

Alex Papanou This holistic view pervades the spirit of the President of Business Information Group prize. “I’m asking for a sense of humanity, Bruce Creighton not just a pretty building, not just ego. Does Head Office 80 Valleybrook Drive, it fulfill a role in the community? Does it help Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 society? Does it really help culture?” asks Telephone 416-510-6845 Facsimile 416-510-5140 Moriyama. “It’s open to living persons, old, E-mail editors@canadianarchitect.com Web site www.canadianarchitect.com young—anyplace in the world. It could be from the Amazon. Hopefully one day there’s going Canadian Architect is published monthly by BIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Cana­dian information to be a game changer that will appear.” company with interests in daily and community news­papers and businessto-business information services.

The large sum and international nature The editors have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate and of the prize is intended to bring it, over time, authoritative information, but they assume no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the text, or its fitness for any particular purpose. into the same league as the Pritzker Prize and Subscription Rates Canada: $54.95 plus applicable taxes for one year; $87.95 plus applicable taxes for two years (HST – #809751274RT0001). the RIBA International Prize (formerly the Price per single copy: $6.95. Students (prepaid with student ID, includes Lubetkin Prize). The Moriyama RAIC Intertaxes): $34.97 for one year. USA: $105.95 US for one year. All other foreign: $125.95 US per year. Single copy US and foreign: $10.00 US. national Prize perhaps shares the greatest kinReturn undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Dept., Canadian Architect, 80 Valleybrook Dr, Toronto, ship with the Aga Khan Award for ArchitecON Canada M3B 2S9. ture, by focusing attention on a project rather Postmaster: please forward forms 29B and 67B to 80 Valleybrook Dr, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. Printed in Canada. All rights than on lifetime achievement, and by placing reserved. The contents of this publication may not be re­produced either in part or in full without the consent of the copyright owner. other factors before aesthetics.

From time to time we make our subscription list available to select The prize will also include three $5,000 companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made student scholarships, given in honour of the available, please contact us via one of the following methods: three finalists. Students are asked to write Telephone 1-800-668-2374 Facsimile 416-442-2191 about their motivation for becoming an archiE-mail privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca tect—a prompt which Moriyama hopes will cut Mail Privacy Officer, Business Information Group, 80 Valleybrook Dr, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9 to the chase of their personal convictions and Member of the Canadian Business Press galvanize their aspirations for the profession.

Member of the ALLIANCE FOR AuditED MEDIA Publications Mail Agreement #40069240 In many ways, the prize throws down ISSN 1923-3353 (Online) ISSN 0008-2872 (Print) the gauntlet to Canadian architects: is there a Canadian project that can win on this interMember of national stage? And who will support the prize as it continues past its first edition? The RAIC is launching a $5-million fundraising campaign, that if successful will fund the prize in perpetuity. Moriyama has given the seed money for an ambitious initiative—and challenged us to come together as an architectural community to follow suit.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Inc.

Association of Business Publishers 205 East 42nd Street New York, NY 10017

Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

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Projects

The recent York Theatre renovation is the result of a decades-long struggle to save a historic community theatre from demolition. Originally built in 1913 as the Alcazar Theatre, the building changed identities numerous times over its storied 100-year history. A major renovation introduced an Art Deco exterior, leading to its relaunch in 1940 as the York Theatre. Over the years that followed, the building’s appearance and uses continued to evolve, but was eventually targeted for demolition. In 2008, it was listed on Heritage Vancouver’s Top Ten Endangered Sites, and a feasibility study conducted by Henriquez Partners Architects in collaboration with Jim Green & Associates demonstrated the viability of reinvesting in the theatre.

As a result, the City of Vancouver added financial backing to enable the rehabilitation to proceed, and Canadian Heritage provided an additional $1.8 million. Henriquez Partners Architects’ revival of the 6,171-square-foot York Theatre involved fully restoring the entry to match the 1940 Art Deco façade, completely renovating the theatre space to again serve as a performance venue, and adding a new modern two-storey glass lobby. The performance space features 365 seats, a traditional proscenium arch, a f ly tower, a balcony and an orchestra pit. The intention of the expanse of glass featured in the new lobby design is to make the theatre feel open and accessible for people in the community, and to animate street life on Commercial Drive. The vibrant red tile adorning the lobby exterior is sourced from a local BC company and frames the crowd within, serving as a metaphor for the real performances unfolding inside. The restored theatre is now operated by the Vancouver East Cultural Centre and has enhanced the community’s identity as a cultural hub. http://henriquezpartners.com/work/york-theatre/

Herzog & de Meuron selected to design Vancouver Art Gallery’s new building.

The Vancouver Art Gallery has selected Herzog & de Meuron to design its new and expanded home in downtown Vancouver. The new museum building will be the first project in Canada for the Pritzker Prize-winning firm. At approximately 300,000 square feet, the new Gallery will provide more than double the space of the current facility to support the museum’s collections, exhibitions and programs, which have increased exponentially over the past decade. It will also enable the Gallery to better serve its growing audience, expand the international reach and range of its program, and further enhance Vancouver’s standing as a major centre of cultural produc-

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Henriquez Partners Architects revive Vancouver’s historic York Theatre.

ABOVE Henriquez Partners Architects have resuscitated the historic York Theatre on Commercial Drive, contributing to the East Vancouver community’s identity as a cultural hub.

tion. The Gallery plans to unveil conceptual designs for the new building in early 2015.

The Vancouver Art Gallery’s Architect Selection Committee was unanimous in their recommendation of Herzog & de Meuron to the Gallery’s Board of Trustees. Based in Basel, Switzerland, Herzog & de Meuron have had a longstanding engagement with the visual arts, working with institutions and artists around the world on such renowned buildings as the Tate Modern in London, the Schaulager in Basel, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Herzog & de Meuron were selected from a group of five shortlisted firms from across the globe—including Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York), SANAA (Tokyo), KPMB Architects (Toronto) and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (New York). The finalists, announced in January 2014, represented five of 75 firms from 16 different countries. The new Vancouver Art Gallery will be located at West Georgia and Cambie Streets in downtown Vancouver, on a City-owned site that was awarded by unanimous vote of Vancouver City Council in April 2013. The Vancouver Art Gallery has already received significant support for its expansion, including a $50-million gift from the Province of British Columbia, and the official designation by the City of Vancouver of the new downtown site. www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/future

Awards 2014 RAIC National Urban Design Awards announced.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planners, and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects have announced the 2014 National Urban

Design Award winners. In the Civic Design Projects category, Westminster Pier Park in New Westminster, BC by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. took the top prize, while four projects received a Certificate of Merit: Place Pierre Boucher and Platon Park in Trois Rivières, Quebec by the Urbanex division of Roche Ltd.; Market Square in Guelph, Ontario by Janet Rosenberg + Studio Inc.; The Landscape of Memory: Poppy Plaza in Calgary, Alberta by The Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative Inc.; and the Revitalization of the Victoria Park Subway Station in Toronto, Ontario by the Toronto Transit Commission, SGA/IBI Architects, Scott Torrance Landscape Architect, Brown + Storey Architects Inc. and Aniko Meszaros. The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association’s bikeLAB in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Peter Sampson Architecture Studio Inc. won the prize in the Community Initiatives category, while the Student Projects category award was given to Collaborative Exercise 2013: An Architecture of Civility by Ryerson University’s Department of Architectural Science. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts—Claire & Marc Bourgie Pavilion of Quebec and Canadian Art in Montreal, Quebec by Provencher Roy + Associés won the top prize in the Urban Architecture category, and two Certificates of Merit recognized the Ryerson Image Centre and the School of Image Arts in Toronto, Ontario

by Diamond Schmitt Architects, and 11 Division—Toronto Police Service in Toronto, Ontario by Stantec Architecture, ERA Architects and gh3. In the Urban Design Plans category, the Blatchford Redevelopment Master Plan in Edmonton, Alberta by Perkins+ Will Canada won the top prize, while the Central Transit Corridor—Community Building Strategy for the Region of Waterloo

by Urban Strategies Inc. received a Certificate

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of Merit. Jiigew [By the Water] in Thunder Bay, Ontario by Brook McIlroy Architects/SPMB took the Urban Fragments award, and two projects received Certificates of Merit: NCC Rideau Canal Skateway Chalets in Ottawa, Ontario by CSV Architects, and Pottery Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing in Toronto, Ontario by PLANT Architect Inc. Special Jury Awards were also issued: a Sustainable Development Award went to Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, Ontario by DTAH Architects Ltd. and Diamond Schmitt Architects, and a Small or Medium Community Urban Design Award recognized the City of Nanaimo Downtown Urban Design Manual and Guidelines

by D’Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism. http://raic.org/honours_and_awards/awards_urban/2014recipients/index_e.htm

Williamson Chong Architects named recipient of RAIC’s 2014 Emerging Architectural Practice Award.

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The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has announced the Toronto firm of Williamson Chong as the recipient of its 2014 Emerging Architectural Practice Award. “The firm is consistently producing innovative projects that contain quality detailing and craftsmanship including a focus on the use of wood,” said the jury.

Established in 2011, the seven-person office led by Shane Williamson, Betsy Williamson and Donald Chong was recognized for an award-winning practice which combines teaching, research and community involvement. Projects range from experiments with new technologies for wood fabrication to a master-plan proposal that reimagines a former sand-and-gravel quarry in Haliburton, Ontario as a sustainable village designed to produce food for the local area.

Built projects include a house on a 12-foot-wide lot in Toronto which ref lects the firm’s interest in the innovative use of brownfield and marginal sites. This house aims to show how a slender detached housing type can be viable in terms of square footage while not shortchanging itself on natural light and amenity. Shane Williamson is an associate professor of architectural design and computing at the University of Toronto. Betsy Williamson serves on the Art Advisory Board of the Toronto Sculpture Garden and is a member of the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel. Donald Chong is co-author of Site Unseen: Laneway Architecture and Urbanism in Toronto. He sits on the design review panel for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. As winners of the 2012 Professional Prix de Rome from the Canada Council of the Arts, the partners will visit Austria, Scandinavia, Japan and South Korea to investigate advanced wood construction and emerging manufacturing technologies. The RAIC Emerging Architectural Practice Award recognizes the principals of an emerging architectural practice that have consistently produced distinguished architecture.

www.raic.org/resources_archives/media_releases/2014/emerging_practice14_en.pdf

Moriyama RAIC International Prize aims to raise stature of Canada.

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The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Foundation has announced the launch of one of the largest architectural prizes in the world—the Moriyama RAIC International Prize. Distinguished Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama established the prize together with the Foundation. To be awarded every two years, the prize consists of $100,000 and a sculpture designed by Canadian designer Wei Yew. “My hope is that this prize will raise not only the stature of the RAIC internationally, but also the stature of Canada, and inspire Canadians and Canadian architects to aspire higher,” says Moriyama, 84. The prize is open to any architect, firm or collaboration in the world for an outstanding building or project. It may also be granted to a non-architect for an exceptional contribution to architecture. The winner will be selected through an open juried competition. Submissions are due by August 1, 2014, and the first award ceremony takes place in Toronto on October 11, 2014. In addition, three students of Canadian schools of architecture

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will each receive scholarships of $5,000, and will be chosen on the basis of a written essay.

The prize reflects Raymond Moriyama’s passion for architecture that has the power to transform society through humanistic values such as social justice, equality and inclusivity. Criteria include design excellence, client satisfaction and quality of detail. Toronto-based Moriyama & Teshima Architects is known for many critically acclaimed projects including the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.

The Foundation promotes excellence in architecture and exchange between Canadian and international architects, clients and policymakers. Supported by donations, it hopes to raise a $5-million endowment for the prize. www.raic.org/moriyamaprize

World Architecture Festival Awards.

Returning for its seventh successive year, the 2014 World Architecture Festival ( WAF) Awards, the world’s largest architectural awards program, has begun its annual search to find the best new buildings on the planet.

The deadline for all entries is May 30, 2014.

The Festival will once again take place at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore from October 1-3, 2014 and the WAF Awards will see practices from around the world compete

13

ABOVE The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association’s bikeLAB by Peter Sampson Architecture Studio Inc. won a RAIC National Urban Design Award in the Community Initiatives category.

across 28 individual award categories for global recognition. Competing across three category groups of completed buildings, landscape projects and future projects, previous WAF Award entrants have ranged from renowned global architectural firms to small local practices. Architects of every shortlisted project are

invited to attend the Festival to give a live presentation to a panel of judges. The winners of each category are put forward to compete for the coveted World Building of the Year Award, presided over by the Festival’s jury, with the presentation of the Award being the culmination of WAF 2014. This year’s jury is led

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by renowned British architect Richard Rogers, who will be joined by Rocco Yim, Julie Eizenberg, Enric Ruiz Geli and Peter Rich. The theme for WAF ’s main conference sessions in 2014 will be “Architects and the City,” and speakers will examine the contribution architects can make, and the way they affect and are affected by politics, infrastructure, planning, communities and technology. Presentations and panel discussions will feature prominent architects, policy-makers and urban organizations. www.worldarchitecturefestival.com

NSDA receives first ever Sustainable Forestry Initiative Award.

Vancouver’s NSDA Architects was recently announced as the winner of the first Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) Award at the recent Wood WORKS! Wood Design Awards. The architectural firm is being recognized for its innovative use of wood certified to the SFI Standard in the new Kordyban Lodge, a Canadian Cancer Society care facility located in Prince George, BC. The lodge, which contains wood products from certified sources—the majority of which are certified to the SFI standard—provides a comfortable and peaceful home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers. The stunning wood building spans 25,000 square feet and includes 36 beds, a meditation room, lounge, family room, massage therapy room and more. It’s widely known that the use of wood products in buildings of this nature goes a long way towards improving the mental well-being of patients, who are exposed to natural materials during their treatment process. Wood certified to the SFI standard used in the facility includes engineered roof trusses, pre-fabricated walls, studs, sheathing plywood and LVL . As the North American leader in sustainable forest management, the SFI supports projects such as the Kordyban Lodge that use renewable, responsibly harvested building materials.

What’s New To Be Destroyed: MOCCA asks architects to reimagine museums and galleries.

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The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) is calling for submissions that respond to the thematic of an upcoming exhibition entitled TBD that will be on view this fall in Toronto. The exhibition proposes that the definition of a museum is not fixed but rather “to be determined.” By asking, “What is a contemporary art gallery?” the exhibition questions our fundamental assumptions concerning the role and importance of museums in society and their associated architectural forms. MOCCA’s galleries will become a place of inquiry and discussion featuring artworks and activities that destroy existing paradigms and offer projections about the shape of museums in the future. This is a particularly timely topic given the proliferation of museum architecture in Canada and abroad and the current juncture in MOCCA’s existence which sees the institution searching for a new and permanent venue. MOCCA is asking architects to propose how museums and galleries can be reimagined once our existing ideas about them are destroyed. Proposals may deal with how these institutions are situated within the urban landscape or how they may be reformulated given the evolution of digital and networked realities. Submissions could examine the interrelation between the artwork, the audience and the architectural “container” of the museum, or could view its position within larger networks of economy or culture. Other lines of inquiry might cover the range of possibilities along spectrums of ephemerality or scale. Jury members include: Brigitte Shim of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc. in Toronto; Josemaria Churtichaga + Cayetana de la QuadraSalcedo of ch+qs arquitectos in Madrid; Su-Ying Lee, Assistant Curator at MOCCA in Toronto; and Jennifer Davis, Curator of Architecture Programming, TBD, Toronto. Submission requirements include one PDF entry per applicant of one image and a maximum 100-word description. The deadline is June 30, 2014 at midnight. www.mocca.ca

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UPDATE spring 2014

Eyes on the prize Canadian architects are encouraged to apply for the Moriyama raiC international Prize, which carries a $100,000 award for an outstanding building or project. Three $5,000 scholarships are also available to be won by students in Canadian architecture schools. established with a gift by Toronto-based architect raymond Moriyama, the biennial prize is among the largest in the world. The winner also receives a sculpture designed by edmonton designer Wei yew. in addition to design excellence, the winning project will express humanistic values of social justice, respect, equality and inclusivity. “it’s for architecture that means more than just looks, that has a deeper quality,” says Moriyama, 84.

Any architect, architecture firm or collaboration in the world is eligible. The prize may also be awarded to a non-architect for an exceptional contribution to architecture.

The jury will select the scholarships through an essay-writing contest on the theme “Why i Want to be an architect.” essays will be judged on vision, aspiration, and strength of personal conviction. sincerity of expression is encouraged; theory and abstraction are discouraged.

The inaugural prize ceremony takes place october 11 at the new aga khan Museum in Toronto.

“

it’s for architecture that means more than just looks, that has a deeper quality” raymond Moriyama, fraiC

RAIC Architecture Canada The national voice for architects and architecture in Canada, supporting the profession through:

Advocacy, influencing government policy at all levels The promotion of excellence in architecture Continuing education offerings and practice support

The raiC foundation is working to raise $5 million for the prize’s endowment.

deadline is august 1 please consult terms of reference at raic.org/moriyamaprize

raic.org 330-55 Murray St. Ottawa ON K1N 5M3 613-241-3600 info@raic.org

Editor: Maria Cook MasthEad photo: Language TeChnoLogies

the Moriyama raiC international prize announcement at the 2013 Festival of architecture in halifax / Photo: Paul Daly

researCh CenTre aT universiTy of QuebeC in ouTaouais | Menkès shooner Dagenais LeTourneux arChiTeCTs / forTin Corriveau saLvaiL arChiTeCTure + Design | PhoTo: MiCheL bruneLLe

Le principal porte-parole de l’architecture au Canada printEMps 2014

EN BREF

un prix prestigieux IRAC Architecture Canada Le porte-parole national des architectes et de l’architecture au Canada, qui appuie la profession par :

son action de sensibilisation qui influence les politiques gouvernementales, à tous les niveaux; la promotion de l’excellence en architecture; des activités de formation continue et des outils d’aide à la pratique.

Les architectes canadiens sont encouragés à poser leur candidature au Prix international Moriyama iraC doté d’une bourse de 100 000 $ qui récompense un bâtiment ou un projet remarquable. Parallèlement à ce concours, trois bourses individuelles de 5 000 $ chacune seront remises à des étudiants d’écoles d’architecture canadiennes.

Le prix biennal a été créé grâce à un don de l’architecte raymond Moriyama de Toronto. C’est l’un des plus importants prix en architecture au monde. Le lauréat recevra également une sculpture de l’artiste Wei yew d’edmonton.

Le projet lauréat devra faire preuve d’excellence en design, mais il devra aussi exprimer les valeurs humanistes de justice sociale, de respect, d’égalité et d’intégration. « il devra se distinguer par sa qualité plus profonde qui va au-delà de l’apparence », a déclaré raymond Moriyama, âgé de 84 ans.

Le prix peut être remis à un architecte ou à un bureau ou un consortium d’architectes de partout dans le monde. il peut aussi être attribué à une personne qui n’est pas architecte et qui a apporté une contribution remarquable à l’architecture.

Le jury choisira les récipiendaires des bourses d’études parmi les candidats qui auront soumis un essai sur le thème « Pourquoi je veux être architecte ». Les essais seront jugés selon la vision, les aspirations et la force de la conviction personnelle exprimées par l’étudiant.

Les candidats sont invités à privilégier la sincérité d’expression au discours théorique et abstrait.

«

il devra se distinguer par sa qualité plus profonde qui va au-delà de l’apparence » raymond Moriyama, fraiC

La cérémonie inaugurale de remise du prix aura lieu le 11 octobre 2014 au nouveau Musée de l’aga khan à Toronto.

La fondation de l’iraC vise à amasser un fonds de dotation de 5 millions $ pour ce prix.

raic.org

La date limite d’inscription est le 1er août.

Veuillez consulter les modalités du prix sur le site raic.org/moriyamaprize

55, rue Murray, bureau 330 Ottawa (Ontario) K1N 5M3 613-241-3600 info@raic.org

rédaCtriCE En ChEF: Maria Cook photo En CartouChE dE titrE : CenTre De reCherChe en TeChnoLogies Langagières De L’universiTé Du QuébeC en ouTaouais | Menkès shooner Dagenais LeTourneux arChiTeCTes / forTin Corriveau saLvaiL arChiTeCTure + Design | PhoTo : MiCheL bruneLLe

L’annonce du prix international Moriyama iraC lors du Festival d’architecture de 2013 à halifax / Photo : Paul Daly

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fitting in

Significant contributions to the public realm characterize the majority of the projects recognized by Governor General’s Medals this year.

Awarded every other year since 1982, the Governor General’s Medals recognize outstanding projects by Canadian architects. The 2014 winners, presented in the following pages, make remarkable contributions to the public realm and are notable in their handling of issues ranging from modern heritage to material innovation.

Several of this year’s winning projects have a tight relationship to heritage buildings. Some are direct conversions: Les Architectes FABG deftly resuscitated a shuttered gas station by Mies van der Rohe, reimagining it as a community centre that retains the minimalist spirit of the original design. For Toronto’s Bloor Gladstone Library, RDH Architects renovated and added to a Neoclassical library from 1912.

The project included stripping away a set of renovations from the mid1970s and reconfiguring the levels to create barrier-free access and a generous three-storey atrium.

Other projects deftly negotiate heritage issues from different eras.

KPMB Architects’ Joseph L. Rotman School of Management expansion links to both a 19th-century heritage house and a Zeidler Roberts Partnership building from 1995. Its massing strategy includes an elevated block, intended to counterbalance the Brutalist Robarts Library across the street. A second award-winner by KPMB, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, is a classically proportioned academic quad building. One side of that quad comprises a 19th-century barrel warehouse with a Postmodern addition that once housed the Seagram Museum. The Seagram Museum won a Governor General’s medal for Barton Myers Associates in 1986, and was subsequently converted to house academic facilities for CIGI. An addition to North Vancouver City Hall by Michael Green— formerly of McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design and now of MGA | Michael Green Architecture—connects a 1970s heritage building to a library-turned-office block, using a warm wood-andglass bridging atrium.

Two winning projects are situated on seemingly less auspicious sites, adjacent to major roadways. The Centennial College Athletic and Wellness Centre by Kongats Architects turns its visibility from Highway 401 to its advantage: its glass-column façade sets up an elegant visual

rhythm, and showcases glimpses of activity inside to passing high-speed motorists. Raymond-Lévesque Public Library by Atelier TAG with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes wraps around a reading courtyard, providing a hideaway from the six-lane Boulevard Cousineau.

Other winning projects are instructive in their material innovation.

Shim-Sutcliffe’s residence for the elderly Sisters of St. Joseph presents an intriguing façade, enveloping a sinuous, narrow-plan building with fins in Corten and green powder-coated aluminum. OMS Stage by Winnipeg firm 5468796 Architecture is also accomplished as a sculptural object: situated in the city’s Exchange District, it features a flexible aluminum mesh curtain that can be pulled back for performances.

A masterful deployment of space is requisite for any project to rise to the ranks of a Governor General’s Award. Some projects, however, take a more experimental approach to spatial and volumetric manipulation. 60 Richmond East by Teeple Architects carves an urban block into a colourful social-housing development with a two-layered set of aerial courtyards. The Faculty for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Centre for Drug Research and Development at the University of British Columbia

by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes and Hughes Condon Marler Architects is (with the exception of its playful front façade) largely a straightforward box from the exterior. The interior, by contrast, opens up into an enchanting succession of linked lobbies, exhibition spaces and atriums.

On the far West Coast, the Tula House by Patkau Architects is the only residential project to garner a Medal this year, and it’s a spectacular choice. The house daringly cantilevers over a rocky ledge towards the Pacific Ocean, and wraps around a courtyard pool. The shard-like plan is sliced through with trapezoidal skylights above and glass segments in the floor underfoot, offering dizzying views of the rocks, beach and water below.

With the exception of the Tula House, all of this year’s Governor General’s Medals have been awarded to projects in urban and suburban contexts. Together, they showcase how architects, municipalities and institutions are increasingly invested in high-quality design for everyday spaces in Canada’s urban centres—and in so doing, set a standard to which we all can aspire.

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Tula House ABOVE The irregular geometries of the Tula House mimic those of its dramatic site on Quadra Island. BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT As if emerging from the landscape, an elongated low stone wall forms a critical part of the project’s geometric order; a view of the building’s underbelly demonstrates how the steel structure anchors the cantilevered mass of the house to the rocky site; the angular geometries of the house wrap around an entry courtyard which contains a reflecting pool. OPPOSITE TOP Fully glazed walls open the living areas to stunning ocean views.

Tula House, Quadra Island, British Columbia Patkau Architects PHOTOS James Dow/Patkau Architects PROJECT

ARCHITECT

Perched 44 feet above the Pacific Ocean on a remote island, the Tula House reflects the casual irregularity of the site’s rock ledges, beach and forest in both its geometric and spatial order.

The topography of the site is highly irregular; the prospects diverse.

Views to the east stretch over the open water and islands of the Strait of Georgia to the mountain ranges on the mainland of British Columbia. Views to the south overlook a small tidal basin. Moss-covered basalt hills are interspersed among treed expanses and richly vegetated

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crevices, valleys and swales. Stands of red alder and big-leafed maple enliven the predominantly dark Douglas fir forest. The shoreline below the house is littered with the flotsam and jetsam of the ocean where logs and rocks have been tossed around by the tides and storms like a child’s game of pickup sticks. One site is actually many sites.

The house cultivates a sense of dwelling with and within such diversity. Low rock walls edge a gravel approach to the house. A loose arrangement of concrete walls, clad in staggered fibre-cement panels, begins to describe space. These panels are black in colour. From a distance, the house visually recedes into the dark forest. The roof, planted in moss and native groundcovers, appears from above to be continuous with the surrounding ground plane.

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Groundwater flows continuously through the site where it is captured momentarily within an entry courtyard. The ground plane of the courtyard and interior floor of the house are large shard-like concrete plates.

Within the house, spaces are defined by a series of slowly unfolding concrete walls that channel the flow of space through to ocean views. This primary flow is diverted in passage by eddies of secondary space which branch off, separating and focusing moments of diversity in the site: the small tidal basin off the kitchen nook, a ledge of moss-covered rock in the bedrooms, a view back from the court to a swath of deciduous trees.

A steel-framed roof mirrors the order of concrete walls and floor plates.

Narrow skylights project lines of light at oblique angles through space. At the cliff edge, the solidity of concrete floors is left behind. A steel-framed wooden deck is cantilevered into the air. While an uninterrupted expanse of glass takes in distant sublime views of the Strait, glazed apertures in the floor of the living room deck open vertiginously to the textures and sensual immediacy of beach and ocean below. Millwork elements float freely within the spaces like the flotsam and jetsam on the beach. :: Jury :: Here is a spectacular house for a spectacular site. The jury admired the lightness of the structure on the land and the architect’s sure hand in all aspects of the design and execution. Against the open views and overhanging floors, seaside sensory connections are established with groundwater streams and moss-covered rocks landside. Light is brought inside to create an atmosphere of repose, punctuated with dramatic moments. This house stands in dynamic harmony with nature.

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CLIENT Eric Peterson and Christina Munck | ARCHITECT TEAM John Patkau, Patricia Patkau, David Shone, Mike Green, Dimitri Koubatis, Greg Boothroyd, James Eidse, Marc Holland, Tony Mah, Henry Murdock, Ben Raimes, Thomas Schroeder, Craig Simms, Tony Wai | STRUCTURAL Peterson Galloway Ltd. | MECHANICAL Hirschfield Williams Timmins | CONTRACTOR John Toelle Construction Ltd. | AREA 4,500 ft 2 | BUDGET withheld | COMPLETION August 2012

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Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Centre for Drug Research and Development PROJECT Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Centre for Drug Research and Development, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia ARCHITECTS Saucier + Perrotte Architectes/Hughes Condon Marler Architects PHOTOS Marc Cramer

A state-of-the-art facility, the new building houses the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Centre for Drug Research and Development. Critical to the design is the ability to go beyond the norm to promote enjoyable, liveable and sustainable spaces for research, learning and the exchange of ideas. Its architectural expression gives the building a striking presence on campus, and when coupled with the project’s technological functionality, the facility becomes a new cuttingedge part of the UBC landscape. Located on the corner of Wesbrook Mall and Agronomy Road, the 27,311-square-metre six-storey building is situated on a two-hectare site. Functioning architecturally as an active gateway or entry point into the academic core, the building engages the community with a ground floor that is transparent, inviting and one that will at the public level openly showcase the research taking place within.

To successfully contribute to UBC ’s legacy of architecture and pharmaceutical research, the design has led to a signature building, a standard for future education and high-level research buildings in Canada and abroad. The facility provides spaces for the exchange of ideas and research—for both intellectual and social interaction. Its unconventional layout affords students and researchers opportunities that traditional university buildings have not.

Historically, plants and vegetation have played an essential role in the development of drugs and medicine. The building’s initial concept stems from the idea of two trees whose branch systems fuse and intertwine to form a canopy of foliage f loating above the ground. As this organic network is abstracted, it is given tectonic manifestation, and the architecture takes on a more geometric form.

The architectural definition of this idea of a root system growing over time into an extensive network of branches thereby serves as an allegory for the development of modern medicine and provides the underpinning of the overall building organization. The tree “trunks” serve as the structural basis of the building; different portions of program (public and private) are suspended from them as a broad canopy. As the “roots”

OPPOSITE The jutting volumes comprising the west façade create a dramatic sculptural effect. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT Expressive forms and textural contrasts define the ground-floor public spaces; the clean efficiency of the offices and meeting rooms is enhanced by wrap-around cedar walls and ceilings, framing views of the lush BC landscape.

emerge from the ground plane, they house program such as the building’s two main auditoriums, and they develop into the “trunks” which become atria filled with abundant natural light that permeates the adjacent spaces such as laboratories and offices.

The conceptual pixellation of the tree canopy becomes a model for the façade development, demonstrating how the organic form of foliage can be transformed into a Cartesian geometry. Incorporated on the ground level is an exhibition space that can be navigated f luidly as a space of encounter for faculty, researchers, students and the public.

Upstairs is another exhibition zone that is dedicated to the history of medicine and the profession.

The building is in the process of LEED Canada NC Gold certification and has a host of sustainable features, some of which include: two atria for daylighting and passive ventilation, aggressive energy-efficiency measures in the design of building systems (HVAC, envelope, heat recovery, etc.), extensive use of healthy materials, and a whole lifecycle approach to building design and material procurement.

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:: Jury :: A strong building with a strong concept, beautifully executed. A richly textured angular base supports a polished orthogonal building. A deeply articulated main façade contrasts with the side walls.

Special attention is paid to users, both in terms of quality of light as well as opportunities to meet and socialize. On both counts of liveability and architectural expressiveness, this project brings a human dimension to a highly technical program.

CLIENT University of British Columbia | ARCHITECT TEAM Saucier + Perrotte—Gilles Saucier, André Perrotte, David Moreaux, Patrice Begin, Charles Alexandre Dubois, Dominique Dumais, Nicko Elliott, Olivier Krieger, Joel Legault, Yutaro Minagawa, Greg Neudorf, Marc-André Tratch, Vedanta Balbahadur. Hughes Condon Marler Architects—Roger Hughes, Bill Uhrich, Craig Lane, Darryl Condon, Paul Fast, Melissa Higgs, Rachel Lacey, Charles Leman, Kourosh Mahvash, Carl-Jan Rupp, Craig West, Eli Wolpin, Nicholas Worth | STRUCTURAL Glotman Simpson | MECHANICAL Stantec | ELECTRICAL Applied Engineering Solutions (AES) | CIVIL Core Group Consultants | LANDSCAPE Perry + Associates | ARCHITECTURAL CONCRETE UCC Group | WAYFINDING AND SIGNAGE Smart Design Group | LABORATORY DESIGN Stantec | LIGHTING Tripped On Light | CONTRACTOR Ledcor | AREA 27,311 m2 | BUDGET $92 M | COMPLETION September 2012

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North Vancouver City Hall North Vancouver City Hall, North Vancouver, British Columbia McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design | Lead Architect Michael Green PHOTOS Martin Tessler and Ema Peter PROJECT

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The City of North Vancouver has grown considerably since its original City Hall was built 40 years ago. To accommodate growth, a neighbouring public library was relocated, opening up space for City Hall to expand and meet the needs of staff and the public. The project was estimated to require over $20 million to meet current needs. Council agreed to move forward with the project with a budget of only $10.5 million, resulting in the submitted design. With a restricted budget, the design focuses on a central connective atrium for public service counters and a conversion of the existing library into staff offices and meeting space. A more selective renovation of the existing City Hall was undertaken to fashion a single final building.

An impressive 220-foot-long atrium bridges the two existing concrete buildings with an innovative wood structure. To position the atrium, a large elm tree was cut down and the wood was reused in the main feature stair wall. An innovative panelized mass-timber system was developed using large-format LSL (laminated strand lumber)—a material that uses very young trees to create very strong panels. The team developed

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OPPOSITE TOP A new 220-foot-long atrium links two existing buildings and cantilevers over the main entrance, creating an engaging public room that functions as a symbol of government transparency. OPPOSITE BOTTOM A drawing illustrates the assembly of the large-format laminated strand lumber comprising the atrium’s structure. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Ample natural daylight floods office interiors and reception areas through a two-storey glazed wall; the rhythmic repetition of the wood structural elements offers a pleasing cadence to the linear atrium; the sharply angled geometries of the building’s south elevation draw staff and visitors into the building.

the solution to span the atrium with prefabricated 12’ x 32’ panels.

A cross-lamination of the LSL panels left a cavity for acoustic treatment, sprinklers and lighting. The atrium ceiling itself is the structure.

LSL bands were then used throughout the existing library building as an acoustic ceiling treatment. The atrium reconciles a single-floor grade change from front to back of the site and connects the main entrance street to the pedestrian mall street behind City Hall. The public room floats out over the main entrance as a symbol of government transparency and a marker of entry along the existing undistinguished streetscape. The landscape was carefully integrated with the architecture, providing community gardens, public gathering spaces, water features and staff retreats.

Stripped to its concrete structure, the library building was seismically upgraded. The design cut openings through the second floor and roof to daylight the partially buried ground floor. The openings also provide natural ventilation with integrated operable skylights. The architects developed the interior design and workplace with custom millwork throughout. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) panels were epoxied and stained red for the public engineering, planning and finance counters.

The building systems are tied to a solar array and district energy plant, located on the roof of the new library and under the public plaza respectively. Significant energy upgrades were undertaken and LEED certification is underway. The decision to preserve the existing structures

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and buildings was fundamental to the designers, and their goal was to illustrate revitalization through design and especially through detail.

The new building celebrates the community of North Vancouver through art, design and the creation of shared informal community space inside and out. The atrium provides a new and improved space for large public gatherings, allowing the city to welcome the community in for events large and small. Public art pieces were selected for the main atrium early in the design process, resulting in an integrated art program designed to complement the architecture. :: Jury :: An elegant, restrained and sophisticated expansion to a small district municipal hall. A simple and engaging tube-like structure is inserted between two existing buildings to act as a common entry point. The vocabulary is warm and refined, befitting a City Hall’s place in the community.

CLIENT City of North Vancouver | ARCHITECT TEAM Michael Green, Tracey Mactavish, Asher deGroot, Jordan van Dijk, Lydia Robinson, Stephanie da Silva, Jing Xu, Susan Scott, Meaghan Mcbride | STRUCTURAL Equilibrium Consulting | MECHANICAL AME Consulting Group | ELECTRICAL BLC Engineering | CIVIL Hub Engineering | LANDSCAPE Space 2 Place Design Inc. | SUSTAINABILITY Recollective | CODE GHL Consultants | TRANSPORTATION Bunt & Associates | CONTRACTOR Stuart Olson Dominion Construction Ltd. | AREA 11,000 ft2 new construction; 27,000 ft2 renovation | BUDGET $10.5 M | COMPLETION June 2012

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OMS Stage OMS Stage, Winnipeg, Manitoba 5468796 Architecture Inc. PHOTOS 5468796 Architecture Inc. PROJECT

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OMS Stage or “The Cube” is an open-air performance venue situated in Old Market Square, an iconic green space and summer festival hub in Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District. In 2009, 5468796 Architecture Inc. won an invited competition with a multi-functional design that throws out the old bandshell concept on the grounds that when a conventional stage is not in use it looks forlorn—especially through the city’s long winters. The first phase of construction was completed in 2010, while work for the second phase was finalized for the 2013 festival season.

A concrete structure enclosed by a f lexible metal membrane, The Cube functions as a multipurpose environment. The membrane is composed of 20,000 identical hollow aluminum pieces strung together

on aircraft cables through pre-cut holes. The orientation of the pieces alternates, forming a malleable and shimmering curtain—a contemporary take on medieval chainmail that can stand like a wall, be pulled in to reveal the performance space, or function as a light-refracting surface—allowing it to morph into a projection screen, concert venue, shelter or sculptural object. The curtain’s f lexibility also allows for acoustical fine tuning.

When the stage is closed, internal lighting refracts through the mesh so that The Cube softly glows on the outside. An internal projector also enables images to be projected on the front curtain. The membrane’s diamond extrusions capture and refract light and images to their outer surface, creating a unique pixel matrix for artists to appropriate at will.

An important objective for the project was to provide a secure screen which could be opened and shut for various programming. The challenge was to create a unique meshwork that would be soft enough to drape open and yet rigid enough to provide a solid barrier. Early prototypes used chainmail as a precedent for a f lexible yet protective membrane that could form the venue’s envelope.

A second key goal was to explore the capacity for the membrane to capture images projected upon its surface. Technical constraints were

imposed by the distance from the screen to the back wall of the stage (where the projector would be housed), and the fact that images would hit the back screen face, but would be observed when looking towards the stage. Through prototypes, the architects examined the size and number of elements necessary to effectively capture the projected images, as well as the appropriate depth of cells and their ability to maintain image integrity.

To create the screen, single modules were cut from a custom diamondshaped aluminum extrusion at 45-degree angles, resulting in perfectly square end faces that could be nested together. The modules were then arranged into groups of four, with each module rotated to achieve a randomized appearance. The groups were then repeated to form the full screen. The boxes’ geometry provides flexibility and seamless transitions at the corners when the screen is raised.

By questioning the year-round relevance of the stage program, the team was motivated to develop a constituent part of the program (security, screen and canopy) into a new project feature. The skin thereby transcends its function as shell and takes on the new role of emblem. :: Jury :: A small urban gesture but a large contribution to the city.

This building works on many levels: as sculpture, performing stage, folly and meeting place. Its innovative and flexible design allows for constant transformation to accommodate a variety of programs and activities year round. It expands the realm of possibilities associated with a bandstand and is a shining reminder of the architect’s responsibility to animate the public realm.

CLIENT Winnipeg Exchange District BIZ | ARCHITECT TEAM Sharon Ackerman, Mandy Aldcorn, Ken Borton, Jordy Craddock, Michelle Heath, Aynslee Hurdal, Johanna Hurme, Cristina Ionescu, Grant Labossiere, Jayne Miles, Colin Neufeld, Zach Pauls, Sasa Radulovic, Shannon Wiebe, Eva Kiss | STRUCTURAL Lavergne Draward & Associates | ELECTRICAL Williams Engineering Canada Inc. | LIGHTING Ambiances Lighting + Visual Design | METAL FABRICATOR Central Prairie Products | CONTRACTOR Green Seed Development Corporation | AREA 784 ft2 | BUDGET $1 M | COMPLETION Phase 1—July 2010; Phase 2—July 2013

Three images illustrate the dynamic qualities of The Cube, otherwise known as the OMS Stage, a stunning open-air performance venue located in Old Market Square in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. A flexible metal membrane comprised of hollow aluminum components imbues the structure with dramatic shape-shifting qualities. OPPOSITE BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT A plan of the stage; an elevation and sectional drawing indicating the projection pathway; four-piece aluminum components comprise the flexible screen.

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Cigi campus

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) Campus, an independent non-partisan think tank for international governance, is a shared initiative by CIGI, the University of Waterloo and Wilfred Laurier University. The specific objectives were to create a building to last for at least 100 years that feels like a “vibrant sanctuary” yet is “functional not fancy.” It also had to have a courtyard and a bell tower. Located on the only site in Canada bounded by three Governor General’s Award-winning projects—the Perimeter Institute by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes,

the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery by Patkau Architects, and the former Seagram Museum by Barton Myers—design excellence was mandated. Finally, it had to make a valuable contribution as an intellectual and social counterpoint to the city of Waterloo’s prominent high-tech industry.

A conversion of the former Seagram Distillery (1857) into a campus comprising a 19th-century barrel house with a new academic building, the plan is sited to create a pedestrian path between the existing and new buildings. The main elevation with its large-scale entrance canopy and bell tower establishes a bold identity for CIGI, while providing a contextual response to the 19th-century masonry buildings in scale, proportions and materials.

The design presents a contemporary reinterpretation of a traditional academic quad. The plan organizes two three-storey double-bar build-

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PROJECT Centre for International Governance Innovation Campus, Waterloo, Ontario ARCHITECT Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects PHOTOS Maris Mezulis and Tom Arban

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tom arban OPPOSITE TOP A stunningly proportioned three-storey main entry lobby is achieved with a fully transparent curtain wall and an exaggerated cantilevered canopy. OPPOSITE BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT The subdued quality of the auditorium encourages concentration; glazed elevations facing the courtyard ensure that building inhabitants are treated to a continuous connection to the outdoors. ABOVE The three-storey building encircles a central courtyard, the green and restorative heart of the campus.

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ings and an auditorium pavilion around a central courtyard. The ground floor is continuous and highly public. Solid masonry elevations facing the street are contrasted with three-storey glazed elevations facing the courtyard. Classrooms, auditorium and offices are accessed from a continuous cloister furnished with seating and fireplaces to invite people to cross paths and share ideas. The social spaces are balanced with a series of private offices to support focused thinking.

Responding to the goal of lasting for 100 years, the materials and methods of construction prioritize quality, longevity and low maintenance. A limited palette of local limestone and brick masonry, Douglas fir and glass create a serene atmosphere to encourage deep thinking and research.

Rather than pursue a certified LEED rating, it was decided to invest in long-term durability using quality materials and local contractors, suppliers and materials. CIGI is one of the first buildings in Ontario to use BubbleDeck systems to eliminate more than 30% of the dead-load weight, achieving reductions in both columns and beams for greater space savings.

It also achieved 30% cost savings in concrete material and carbon emissions.

The design has fast-tracked CIGI’s standing as an increasingly respected think tank in global affairs. The interconnected environment has attracted some of the world’s brightest experts in international affairs.

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The public spaces—pavilion, courtyard and meeting spaces—provide a valuable asset to the local community and are available for rent at affordable rates for outreach collaborations. The CIGI Campus demonstrates the tangible benefit architecture has to play in creating vibrant cities and communities that come together locally to make a positive impact globally. :: Jury :: The jury salutes the elegant restraint of this project. Its roof overhang attracts the eye without being attention-grabbing; it calmly engages its patrimonial neighbour and prefigures the physical comfort to come inside. Careful use of materials evokes a sense of comfort and longevity. A well-proportioned landscaped courtyard furthers the serenity and liveability of the centre. A profoundly humane environment is achieved.

CLIENT Balsillie School of International Affairs | ARCHITECT TEAM Shirley Blumberg, Steven Casey, Bruce Kuwabara, Joy Charbonneau, Glenn MacMullin, George Bizios, Erik Jensen, Vivian Chin, Ramon Janer, Carolyn Lee, Danielle Sucher | STRUCTURAL Blackwell Bowick Partnership | MECHANICAL Crossey Engineering | ELECTRICAL HH Angus & Associates | CIVIL Conestoga Rovers & Associates | ENERGY Transsolar | LIGHTING Tillotson Design Associates | ACOUSTICS Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. | AUDIO-VISUAL Engineering Harmonics | LANDSCAPE PFS Studio | PLANNING GSP Group | BUILDING CODE Leber | Rubes | COSTING Turner & Townsend cm2r | CONTRACTOR Cooper Construction | AREA 10,700 m2 | BUDGET withheld | COMPLETION September 2011

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Bloor gladstone library

Bloor Gladstone Library, Toronto, Ontario RDH Architects in association with Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd. PHOTOS Tom Arban PROJECT

ARCHITECTS

The Bloor Gladstone Library is a renovation and addition to a listed heritage building designed by Chapman and McGiffen Architects in 1912.

The original U-shaped plan features a central hall flanked by two symmetrical reading rooms. The existing masonry building sits on a podium, elevating the main level approximately six feet above sidewalk grade and creating a formal appearance of mass and solidity, a temple dedicated to the protection of the written word.

The architects were commissioned to design for an additional 12,000 square feet, bringing the collection and facilities to a level consistent with a district library. The final design included significant renovations to the existing building and the construction of an addition.

In an attempt to honour the heritage building, the main entry remains in its original location. In order to achieve this in a barrier-free manner, an exterior 1970s concrete stair and ramp were demolished and the cen-

tral hall floor slab was dropped to the lowest level. As a result, the public now enters the building at the same location, at a lower-level plaza two feet below sidewalk grade. To access this plaza, one can either descend four steps or walk along one of two barrier-free sloped walkways to the east and west of the main entry.

The new addition is conceived as having two fundamental elements: a raised glass pavilion and a stone base. The limestone base is an extension of the existing terra cotta podium. This element facilitates a strong compositional connection to the heritage structure and helps to organize and control programmatic elements on site. The addition is a transparent and contemporary counterpoint to the existing heritage structure: a pavilion in constant dialogue with its surroundings, a place to read, to view the city, and to be seen involved in the programs offered within.

A glazed reveal visually separates the two buildings where old and new structures meet. This break allows both buildings to be expressed as three-dimensional volumes. The five large window bays of the existing façade have been repeated in the new addition as five vertical divisions of curtain wall. The horizontal lines of existing decorative masonry courses have been stretched across and incorporated into the

LEFT The front elevation of the library on Bloor Street reveals the juxtaposition of old and new. RIGHT The new addition is comprised of a raised glass pavilion on a limestone base—an extension of the existing terra cotta podium of the original building. OPPOSITE BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT A soaring main-entry atrium welcomes visitors; two short bridges on the second floor connect the existing building to the new glazed addition, containing the main collection and reading atrium; the main entry stair leads to the second-floor staff checkpoint.

façade composition of the addition. These regulating lines can be seen in the horizontal division of curtain wall, the use of alternating bands of clear and patterned glass, and the horizontal mortar joints of the new stone podium.

Sustainable initiatives include green roof systems, a reduction in city stormwater demand, permeable paving along exit paths, significant planting of shrubs, grasses, 19 new trees, and large extents of energyefficient glazing for an abundance of natural light throughout.

This project transforms a dilapidated and dysfunctional heritage library into a functioning, interactive contemporary institution. The level of finish, detail and design resolution elevates the community library to a level commensurate with other significant cultural institutions, a level which illustrates the fundamental importance of access to information in the world’s largest library system, the Toronto Public Library.

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:: Jury :: This renovation and expansion of a distinctive historical library stands out for being both creative and respectful. The design reimagines the entranceway and body of the original structure, adds a minimal glass addition, and creates an intimate courtyard in the process.

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CLIENT Toronto Public Library | ARCHITECT TEAM RDH Architects—Tyler Sharp, Bob Goyeche, Graham Gavine, Sanjoy Pal, Scott Wilson. Shoalts and Zaback Architects Inc.—Gerry Shoalts, Eric Riddell, Michael Malleson. | STRUCTURAL Halsall Associates Ltd. | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Jain Associates Ltd. | CIVIL Valdor Engineering Inc. | HERITAGE ERA Architects Inc. | LANDSCAPE NAK Design Group | CONTRACTOR Pre-Eng Contracting Ltd. | AREA 21,000 ft 2 | BUDGET $7.5 M | COMPLETION June 2009

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Joseph L. Rotman School of Management Expansion PROJECT Joseph L. Rotman School of Management Expansion, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario ARCHITECT Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects PHOTOS Maris Mezulis and Tom Arban

The expansion of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto was conceived to create a vibrant global hub in which to advance its curriculum of Integrative Thinking™ and to establish a destination where students and leaders could mobilize solutions and initiatives that benefit our economy and society in the 21st century.

The siting and massing strategy focuses on weaving the section of St. George Street between Hoskin Avenue and Bloor Street into a cohesive whole. It also mitigates the varied scale and texture of the heritage and Modernist architectural context—between the refined scale of Massey College to the east and the robust mass of Robarts Library across the street to the west, between the residential scale of an existing Victorian house and the original Rotman building designed by the Zeidler Roberts Partnership in 1995. The expansion organizes the 165,000-squarefoot program around the heritage building on St. George while maintaining views and minimizing shadow impacts on the iconic Massey College by lowering the tower to the north edge of the site.

Conceptually, an integrated vertical campus accommodates all the program requirements within the limited parameters of the tight urban site. A series of direct horizontal and vertical connections between the existing and new facilitate the f low of people. The ground f loor houses the most public functions including a café with a fireplace lounge.

An event space on the second level forms the heart of the new building

and is expressed as a large-scale elevated glass box overlooking the street. An atrium and interconnecting stair intensifies opportunities for exchange. The block of office and research spaces prioritizes a connected environment to promote interdisciplinary exchange between Rotman’s research institutes. A series of habitable outdoor spaces and terraces with green roofs provide break-out space with expansive views of the campus and skyline.

The exterior cladding includes precast concrete Ductal panels to resonate with the slate roofs of the historic campus fabric as well as tinted glazing in a range of shades to provide various degrees of ref lection, shading and transparency. The interior palette employs white oak on both the atrium locker walls and on classroom walls and furnishings. The application of hot pink on the atrium stair creates a dynamic and playful counterpoint to the minimalist palette.

Advancing Rotman’s long-term sustainability and business strategy, the design meets LEED Silver requirements. It prioritizes the well-being of students, faculty, staff and visitors with an interior filled with natural light, fresh air and access to the outdoors.

The architecture is a direct expression of Rotman’s core mission to promote the power of creativity and integrative thinking. The design fuses ideas of campus and city-building, study and interaction, sustainable design, creativity and business strategy. Conceived through the lens of Integrative Thinking™, the design encapsulates the power of architecture to harmonize seemingly opposite notions and objectives at every scale of design. It also reinforces the continued necessity of architectural excellence to inspire continued growth in education to ensure that Canada remains competitive in the global marketplace.

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tom arban CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE A view of the business school from St. George Street captures the pleasing contrast between the bold, open transparency of the expansion and the existing brick historic structure; the second-floor event space can easily accommodate the growing numbers of students waiting to be transformed into future captains of industry; hot pink was chosen to accentuate the fluid organic circulation of the central atrium stair; views of the campus and city beyond are plentiful, even from stair landings.

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:: Jury :: Large glass volumes are anchored to an existing Victorian house and seem to float behind it. The volumes are simple and their detailing well-controlled, giving this building a sense of refinement and solidity. The lipstick-pink line of a staircase spirals up and down their core, to act as a social condenser and tease out the element of creation and innovation inherent in the school’s philosophy. This bright gesture in a sober box, along with the light volumes against the stately mansion, make a convincing use of contrasts.

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CLIENT University of Toronto | ARCHITECT TEAM Bruce Kuwabara, Marianne McKenna, Luigi LaRocca, Paulo Rocha, Dave Smythe, Myriam Tawadros, Bruno Weber, John Peterson, Janice Wong, Richard Wong, Victor Garzon, Lilly Liaukus, Bryn Marler, Rachel Stecker, Maryam Karimi, Carolyn Lee, Danielle Sucher, Laura Carwardine | STRUCTURAL Halcrow Yolles | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Smith & Andersen | CIVIL Cole Engineering | HERITAGE ERA Architects | ENERGY/LEED Transsolar and Halsall Associates | BUILDING ENVELOPE BVDA Group | LANDSCAPE Janet Rosenberg + Associates | COSTING Turner & Townsend cm2r | LIFE SAFETY Leber | Rubes | ACOUSTICS Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. | AUDIO-VISUAL Engineering Harmonics | SIGNAGE Entro Communications/G+A | CONTRACTOR Eastern Construction Company Ltd. | AREA 15,000 m2 | BUDGET $65.6 M | COMPLETION May 2012

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60 Richmond East Housing Co-operative 60 Richmond East Housing Co-operative, Toronto, Ontario Teeple Architects Inc. PHOTOS Shai Gil unless otherwise noted PROJECT

ARCHITECT

60 Richmond Street East is the first housing co-operative to be built in Toronto in many years. This project sets an example for urban infill and sustainability in the city. Located near a busy downtown Toronto intersection, this 11-storey building seeks to provide an alternative to the ubiquitous glass tower condominium projects. The massing of the building is imagined as a solid street wall that is then carved in order to create openings and terraces at various levels, which become the gardens and social spaces of the building.

The 85-unit co-operative was designed to house tenants that required relocation due to the nearby Regent Park redevelopment. Employed in the hospitality industry, the residents are all members of a local union called Unite Now. They run and operate a restaurant and training kitchen on the ground floor. A community garden on the sixth-floor terrace provides food for the restaurant and uses the organic waste generated by the kitchens as compost for the garden. This creates a self-sustaining condition known as “urban permaculture.”

Clearly at the forefront of sustainable innovation, the project has achieved LEED Gold certification for its environmental achievements.

The architecture acts as a medium to cultivate greenery, cool and cleanse the air, and absorb stormwater. All roofs on the project are green surfaces, helping to insulate the building and limit the heat-island effect in the downtown core.

This project explores ideas of contemporary urbanism in the North American city. It seeks to understand and express the notion that urban form can simultaneously be environmental. 60 Richmond East is also an example of the imagination and dedication that is required to create responsible architectural solutions in the current global economic and environmental climate.

The building evolved through an Integrated Design Process involving energy-modelling consultants, engineers, client groups and occupants.

The appropriate ratio of solid versus glazed surfaces allows the building to achieve the optimal balance between natural light and cross-ventilation without overheating the interiors with excessive exposure to the sun.

Unlike other residential building types, the entire structure is wrapped in a highly insulated rain-screen cladding that eliminates all thermal bridging. The fibreglass glazing acts as an extended thermal break which,

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The sculptural qualities of mass and void are evident in this view of the building from Richmond Street. TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT A view up towards the sky reveals an open-air walkway cutting through the central atrium; well-considered landscaping and hardscaping imbues the project with a humane presence. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT Cinematic moments are evident in the highly expressed circulation of the building; unit interiors are simply finished with exposed concrete and laminate flooring, while balconies offer much sought-after outdoor space in a dense urban environment.

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in combination with low-E argon-filled units with warm edge spacers, provides optimal performance of the building envelope. A sophisticated mechanical system transfers energy from the warm south side to the cold north side of the building. In-suite heat recovery is provided throughout, resulting in an exceptionally energy-efficient residential building. :: Jury :: This is a socially admirable project that very much transcends the type and stands as an exemplar for urban housing. The building design takes apart the various program components and recombines them into a complex, sustainable and very urban hive of neighbourhoods. It is extremely gratifying to see a social-housing project rise so far above mere accommodation.

CLIENT toronto community housing corporation | ARCHITECT TEAM Stephen Teeple, Richard Lai, Christopher Radigan, William Elsworthy | STRUCTURAL CPE Structural Consultants Ltd. | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Jain & Associates | LANDSCAPE NAK Design Group | LEED CONSULTANT Enermodal Engineering Ltd. | CONTRACTOR Bird Construction Company | AREA 99,565 ft 2 | BUDGET $20.4 M | COMPLETION March 2010

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governor general’s medal winner

Residence for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto

Forming a sinuous line between the Don Valley to the north and the lowrise urban fabric of the city to the south, this new home for the Sisters of St. Joseph articulates both individual contemplative life and the community engagement of the Sisters’ ministries, making relationships to nature and the city to reinforce public and private aspects. These dualities are articulated both in the exterior of the building and the spaces within.

The program includes 58 residential suites accommodating a variety of levels of care, from independent living to long-term care, nursing stations and associated requirements—chapel, dining and kitchen facilities, meeting spaces and community rooms. Private rooms are organized along single-loaded corridors with suites facing the landscape and light-filled hallways looking out to the city. The main communal spaces are located on the ground floor with easy adjacencies to facilitate community spirit.

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Upon entering, one is immediately aware of the thinness of the building and the views of the landscape beyond. Looking through the lobby, the glazed organically shaped chapel sits in a reflecting pool and forms the spiritual and physical centre of the building. The chapel is clearly visible from the entry and its glass construction serves as a counterform to the brick “body” of the main building. Reflected light from the exterior pool washes across the oak fins, filling the chapel with an everchanging quality of light throughout the day. The adjacent lobby sitting area and dining space are all interconnected to form comfortable areas for communal gathering.

The project aspires to a high level of sustainability for ethical reasons. This includes geothermal for heating and cooling, solar preheat for domestic hot water, photovoltaic panels, green roofs, high-quality building envelope, bioswales, naturalized landscape, and permeable paving. In addition, much attention was placed on the residents’ sense of control over their individual environment. This was facilitated by providing cross-ventilation between operable exterior windows and suite windows to the hall. These windows, coupled with individual

PROJECT Residence for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario ARCHITECT Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc. PHOTOS James Dow, Bob Gundu and Positive Imaging

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LEFT From the entry lobby and sitting area, there are continuous views of the reflecting pool encircling the organic form of the chapel.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT The chapel’s undulating glass façade in the naturalized landscape facing the ravine; an aerial view of the entire serpentine form of the building in its heavily treed urban context. RIGHT White oak panels modulate light and views in the glazed two-storey chapel.

heat pumps, give the occupants a high degree of personal control over their physical environment.

The landscaping for the project mediates between the restored forest of the ravine, the building and the city. Corten steel retainers, pathways, decks and green tile walls act as organic architectural transitional elements while indigenous plant materials are used throughout to create meadows between the ravine and the building with meandering barrierfree pathways. The experience of the landscape from within and outside the building, along with the building’s relationship to the city, creates a place that is simultaneously contemplative and connected to city life.

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:: Jury :: This project shines for the care that was brought in creating a loving environment for the elderly. The progression of public to private living spaces is underscored by the transition from urban to natural setting, along a narrow site on the edge of a ravine. The choice of materials and the careful attention to detail further add to the notion of this being a life-supporting environment, in the most profound sense of the term.

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CLIENT Sisters of Saint Joseph of Toronto | ARCHITECT TEAM Brigitte Shim, Howard Sutcliffe, James Chavel, Amy Lin, Andrew Hart, Olga Pushkar, Anne Miller, Carla Munoz, Jordan Winters, Amber Foo, Eiri Ota | STRUCTURAL Blackwell Structural Engineers | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Crossey Engineering Ltd. | BUILDING ENVELOPE R.A. Heintges & Associates | SUSTAINABILITY Dr. Ted Kesik | HERITAGE ERA Architects | LANDSCAPE NAK Design Group | CONTRACTOR Eastern Construction | AREA 90,000 ft 2 | BUDGET withheld | COMPLETION April 2013

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Centennial College Athletic and Wellness Centre PROJECT Centennial College Athletic and Wellness Centre, Toronto, Ontario ARCHITECT Kongats Architects PHOTOS Doublespace Photography unless otherwise noted

Bordered by parking lots and Highway 401 to the north, the site of the Centennial College Athletic and Wellness Centre is adjacent to a playing field and protected ravine conservation area to the east, existing academic buildings and an underused landscaped space to the south, and the existing Student Centre to the west.

A challenging design brief from the Centennial College Student Association called for the existing double gymnasium facility to be renovated and expanded to create a central athletic facility for Centennial College. The new athletic facility was to accommodate multiple programs— both athletic and academic—as well as provide the venue for the College’s yearly convocation ceremonies and the student association’s concerts and events. Added to the project scope was the redesign of the interstitial campus grounds to create the Centennial College Alumni Courtyard.

The existing building’s skin was removed and a new bespoke curtain wall and precast concrete enclosure was added to the expanded building. The building skin took cues from the strength, repetition and persistence of the colonnades of the Greek and Roman gymnasia as a physical embodiment of athletic activity within a historical dialogue.

Careful attention was paid to the placement of opaque, transparent and distorted transparent elements of the façade to create a diversity of views and lighting effects.

Landscaping on the campus consisted of a series of pathways connecting building access points across a sparsely planted lawn. Foot traffic was evidently not limited to the paved pathways and had caused widespread deterioration of the vegetated landscaping. The design initiative

was to create a new continuous surface which would provide a durable and accessible connection between the campus buildings and useful places for gathering and reflection for the College community. Several paving options were investigated, and pervious concrete, a relatively new material, was selected and developed with Lafarge Cement and the Ready Mixed Concrete Association of Ontario for its economic and sustainable benefits. The Alumni Courtyard was further enhanced with native-, drought- and salt-resistant planting and a series of custom luminaires which can be used as benches, guide rails, workstations or bike racks.

The first floor houses recreational and varsity gyms (which also double as event and convocation venues), a climbing wall, sports injury clinic, squash courts, meeting rooms, offices and change facilities. The second floor houses the fitness area, a two-lane indoor running track, and two dance/aerobic/yoga studios. In conjunction with Centennial College’s spa program, a learning treatment centre will be outfitted to accommodate hydrotherapy, aesthetics and massage.

The project’s sustainable design initiatives include: solar heating for domestic water, rainwater recycling for water closets, off-peak icemaking for cooling, high-efficiency condensing boilers, heat recovery, enhanced thermal insulation, radiant in-slab heating, triple glazing with solar-absorbing film, daylight-monitoring light sensors, LED exterior lighting, durable and low-VOC materials, and recycled building materials including the reuse of the existing gym’s wood floors as wall panels for the redeveloped gym.

CLIENT Centennial College Student Association Inc. | ARCHITECT TEAM Alar Kongats, Adam Trotter, Amie Lee, Jasmine Maggs, Derek McCallum, Eric Van Ziffle, Sukie Leung | STRUCTURAL Read Jones Christoffersen | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Crossey Engineering Ltd. | CIVIL Marshall Macklin Monaghan | GEOTECHNICAL AMEC Earth and Environmental | ACOUSTICS HGC Engineering | COSTING A.W. Hooker Associates Ltd. | LANDSCAPE Ryan James | CONTRACTOR buttcon | AREA 5,600 M2 | BUDGET $22 M | COMPLETION September 2012

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:: Jury :: Of the award winners, this project is singular in developing an architecture of enclosure, by way of an innovative glass and concrete envelope. It brings a minimal and elegant resolution to both the fitness facility inside and the grounds outside. The façade’s curved glass surface generates unique perceptual effects and magnifies the transformations in ambient light and atmosphere. Its articulation replays classical principles of a heavy base, column-like elements, and crown.

A new bespoke curtain wall and concrete enclosure takes cues from the strength, repetition and persistence of historic Greek and Roman gymnasia colonnades; students run on the track that follows the perimeter of the building; a view of the Athletic and Wellness Centre from the Alumni Courtyard. BOTTOM LEFT The pink glazed stair balustrade adds a pop of colour, leading students and staff up to the second-floor fitness area.

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Mies van der Rohe Gas Station Conversion Conversion of Mies van der Rohe Gas Station, Verdun, Quebec Les Architectes FABG PHOTOS Steve Montpetit PROJECT

ARCHITECT

Nuns’ Island is part of the Hochelaga Archipelago located immediately southwest of Montreal. Its urbanization followed the opening of the Champlain Bridge in 1962 under an ambitious master plan carried out

by Metropolitan Structures, a real estate giant who had built numerous projects in Chicago with the collaboration of Mies van der Rohe. The new community included three high-rise apartment buildings by Mies’s office and it led, in 1966, to a commission from Standard Oil to design a prototypical gas station. The station consisted of two distinct volumes, one for car servicing and the other for sales, with a central pump island covered by a low steel roof that unified the composition. The beams and columns were made of welded steel plates painted black that contrasted with the white enamelled steel deck and bare fluorescent tubes.

Over the years, the interiors were modified to incorporate a car wash

on the sales side; the finishes, built-in furniture and equipment were replaced and the custom-made pumps removed. It ceased commercial operation in 2008 and the City of Montreal listed it as a heritage building in 2009 before initiating the project for a youth and seniors’ activity centre. This simple program requires an open space for each group to congregate and participate in communal activities.

The seniors’ group occupies the larger volume to the benefit of its 60 members who play bridge, prepare communal meals, dance or invite lecturers. Stacking chairs and tables allow multiple configurations of the room. The younger group occupies the smaller volume, and teenagers meet there daily to play games, listen to music, and organize parties and events under the supervision of educators.

The first architectural task was to meticulously restore the envelope of the building by dismantling and repairing the corroded curtain wall, repointing the brick work and repainting the structure.

The second architectural task was to develop strategies for the new mechanical and electrical needs that would not affect the integrity

The poetic integrity of the Mies van der Rohe Gas Station has been retained in its conversion to a youth and seniors’ activity centre.

In the central plaza, four former gas pumps have been converted to air intake and outtake devices linked via underground ducts to the HVAC system; current users of the facility can appreciate the rigour and precise geometry of Mies’s original vision. ABOVE The stark beauty of black-painted steel beams and columns contrast with a white enamelled steel deck and bare fluorescent tubes.

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:: Jury :: This superb reinterpretation of Mies van der Rohe’s prototype gas station brings an end to years of relative neglect. The precise essential reinvention of this structure as a community space is quite beautiful, right down to the mechanical servicing that reprises the gas pumps of the original. One might imagine that Mies would be happily surprised. It is a restoration without being a slavish reconstruction.

CLIENT Arrondissement de Verdun | ARCHITECT TEAM Éric Gauthier, Marc Paradis, Dominique Potvin, Jaime Lopez, Steve Montpetit | STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL AECOM | CONTRACTOR Norgéreq | AREA 3,625 ft 2 | BUDGET $1.4 M | COMPLETION September 2011

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of the heritage values. Solutions originating from the sustainable development field of research were chosen to achieve this goal. New geothermal wells under the asphalt around the building provide most of the energy required to operate the building, but they also radically diminish the size of the equipment required and eliminate the need for a cooling tower on the roof of the building. New stainless steel gas pumps are in fact air intake and outtake devices that are linked by underground ducts to the HVAC system. They replace the louvres that would otherwise have been installed on the building, and this solution contributes to the pre-cooling or heating of the fresh-air intake.

The third task was to emphasize the building’s inherent qualities and essential values. Formal unity and simplicity is enhanced by making everything black on the teenagers’ side, and white on the elders’ side. The strength of the roof as a unifying device is reinforced by using the same rhythm of linear fluorescent lighting in the interior spaces (T-5 tubes on dimmers). Transparency is achieved by completely opening the view from one end to the other on the long axis and by using low-iron glass.

The project is not about the faithful restoration of a monument but an interpretation that attempts to communicate the essence of an artistic vision formulated by someone else in response to a world that is no longer the same.

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Raymond-Lévesque Public Library Raymond-Lévesque Public Library, Longueuil, Quebec Manon Asselin + Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes en consortium PHOTOS Marc Cramer unless otherwise noted PROJECT

ARCHITECTS

The new main library for the municipality of St-Hubert is situated at the northwest entrance to the Parc de la Cité, the city’s principal civic park covering 50 hectares of land. Straddling city and park, the library acts simultaneously as a gateway pavilion to the park and as an institution, playing an important role in the cultural and civic life of the community.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, St-Hubert’s built environment and cultural heritage has been intimately linked to Quebec’s aeronautic industry. Due to its geographic location, St-Hubert benefits from unique meteorological conditions resulting in a remarkable potential for wind

energy. The architecture of the new library is sculpted in response to this force of nature, poetically materializing and celebrating the presence of the wind while technically seeking to take advantage of this resource for its bioclimatic strategy. Delicately sited between protected wetlands and a red maple forest, the new library explores an essential link with St-Hubert’s natural environment. The architecture of the library metamorphoses the forest and harvests the natural resources of the site. As such, the library is conceived as an interface between nature and culture.

Beyond the formal allegory of the flying carpet, the architectural concept is first and foremost an elementary bioclimatic response to the site’s condition. Its geometry speaks of the renewable natural resources of the earth, the wind, the sun and the rain. From west to east its roofscape folds under the prevailing winds. The giant cut at its centre collects rainwater in a retention basin while the wood blades of its filigree envelope

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The entry sequence to the library is defined by a vast poetic rocky landscape—which also serves as a retention pond for surface water runoff. OPPOSITE BOTTOM Views of the interior courtyard from the second floor. ABOVE Continuous promenade-like circulation creates many opportunities for interesting vantage points—here, looking down into the children’s section; the North Star group study room.

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filter sunlight. The subtle moiré pattern of wooden louvres highlights the apparent movement of the wind through the sequential incline of its blades in response to the trajectory of the sun. Although the wood envelope has increased durability by way of a process of carbonization, it remains a living material whose greying patina will accentuate its beauty and transform the appearance of the building over time.

The programmatic elements are organized in a single continuous movement that unfolds from the public areas to the forest, delineating a central open court. This inner courtyard forms the geographic, social and perceptual heart of the library. The fluidity of the interior spaces and their organization around an exterior common space facilitates serendipitous encounters and catalyzes human relations. Acting as a contemplative space and oasis, the court is a visual connector but also maintains physically and acoustically separate program elements. While encouraging deep penetration of natural light, the court facilitates orientation, organizes different collections, and ensures the tranquility of the main reading room. In the winter season, a carpet of snow accentuates the luminosity and peaceful quality of the library’s interior spaces. :: Jury :: The building’s response to its unique park setting is greatly appreciated. As a courtyard building, it achieves a scale that is befitting the park. It also forms a crucible for social interaction amidst a loose suburban fabric. Light and visual transparency are celebrated in this inventive, economical and thoroughly rigorous architectural design.

CLIENT Ville de Longueuil | ARCHITECT TEAM Atelier TAG —Manon Asselin, Katsuhiro Yamazaki, Thomas Balaban, Matt Balean, Laurie Damme Gonneville. Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes—Nicolas Ranger, Michel Bourassa, Carlo Carbone, Gérard Lanthier, Guylaine Beaudoin, Maxime Gagnon, Charles André Gagnon, Serge Breton | STRUCTURAL/CIVIL SNC-Lavalin | MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL Martin Roy et associés | CONTRACTOR Corporation de Construction Tridôme | AREA 4,000 M2 | BUDGET $11.5 M | COMPLETION January 2011

9 4 1

6

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11

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Ground floor

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10m

1 entry hall 2 café 3 multipurpose room 4 press/periodicals 5 main counter 6 offices

7 technical services 8 children’s space 9 mineral garden 10 retention pond 11 courtyard

+11.43m rooftop highest point

+4.08m upper level

+0.0m ground level –0.4m Cousineau Blvd level –4.0m basement level

reading room entry hall

teenagers’ library

technical services

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product showcase Ultratop® PC High-Performance, Polishable Concrete Topping.

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Ultratop PC is a high-flow, quick-setting, self-leveling, cementitious topping optimized for diamond polishing. Suitable for both interior and exterior use, Ultratop PC is designed to be applied at depths of 3/8” to 2” (10 mm to 5 cm) thick. It cures quickly for fast-track resurfacing and polishing of concrete floors.

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The Coltlite louver window, available exclusively from Bilco in North America, is a dual-purposed ventilator that provides buildings with both day-to-day and smoke control ventilation. Easily installed in the façade of a building, the high-performance ventilator is durable and complements any architectural design.

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Low carbon cement that can reduce the same amount of CO2 as planting 23 million trees Contempra™ decreases CO2 emissions by 10% while producing concrete of comparable strength and durability to concrete produced with regular Portland cement. Once adopted for all suitable applications, Contempra™ is expected to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 900,000 tonnes annually. This is equivalent to planting 23 million trees.

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SNX 51/23: A Glass Industry First New Guardian SunGuard SNX 51/23 boasts an unbeatable combination of high light transmission, low solar heat gain and low reflectivity. Triple silver SNX 51/23 glass is an excellent choice for architectural projects across North America, and meets the most stringent energy codes with a SHGC below 0.25. SNX 51/23 has a neutral blue appearance, giving architects a new option to build with light.

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Formica Group, the inventor of laminate, has been surfacing spaces for 100 years.

Today, we globally lead the industry in the design, manufacturing and dis­ tribution of surfacing materials, from high-pressure laminates, specialty laminates and solid surfacing, to sinks, commercial casework, and other re­lated products. We believe great design is meant for everyone, and we provide surfacing solutions and services for both commercial clients as well as homeowners. www.formica.com

Designed specifically for the Canadian HVAC market, Mitsubishi Electric’s City Multi water-source system provides optimum occupant comfort while substantially minimizing installation and operating costs with its 2-pipe VRF technology, now available in 575 volts. Energy efficient, flexible design, compact, and quiet, City Multi water-source is an effective alternative to geothermal systems and is best fitted for high-rise applications. www.ExploreVRF.ca

Fractals Seating Group Boldly innovative and visually compelling, Fractals includes a lounge chair, ottoman/bench and settee with a low or higher back that creates a degree of surround and privacy. Fractals was conceived with two criteria in mind — to support individuals and teambased workers in open/collaborative environments, and to provide a modular program that, in its articulation, creates a new level of planning. www.teknionstudio.com

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Chicagoisms

A Barrier to Fire.

Not Inspiration.

Fire-Rated Aluminum Window And Door Systems For beauty, the best in safety and design flexibility look to Aluflam. Built to blend effortlessly with non-rated storefront and curtain wall systems, our virtually limitless portfolio includes true extruded aluminum vision doors, windows and glazed walls fire-rated for up to 120 minutes. You’ll see why we’ve become the favorite of architects and installers alike. Aluflam gives you a barrier to fire, not inspiration.

April 5, 2014-January 4, 2015

This exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago explores the rich architectural and urban history of Chicago by identifying five fundamental principles that powered the city’s distinctive evolution: Vision Shapes History, Optimism Trumps Planning, Ambition Overcomes Nature, Technology Makes Spectacle, and Crisis Provokes Innovation. www.artic.edu/exhibition/chicagoisms

Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival May 1-31, 2014

This annual month-long event features well over 1,500 Canadian and international artists and photographers exhibiting at more than 175 venues throughout Toronto, and is devoted to celebrating and fostering the art and profession of photography through a diverse range of programs.

Highlights include Michael Awad’s The Entire City Project at the Royal Ontario Museum, and In Character: Self-Portrait of the Artist as Another at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, featuring the works of Cindy Sherman, Sophie Calle and Rodney Graham. http://scotiabankcontactphoto.com

Art as Therapy

ates from the University of Manitoba, used campus projects to experiment with new technologies and materials for constructing modern buildings.

Construction Law Best Practices Conference May 7, 2014

This one-day conference at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites will teach the fundamentals of construction and contract law and how project structures and contractual considerations can impact the success or failure of a project. A panel discussion on best practices includes views from a contractor, architect and project manager. www.constructionlawconference.com

DX Talks: Daan Roosegaarde May 8, 2014

Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde speaks at Toronto’s Design Exchange at 6:30pm. Using smart materials and microchips, Roosegaarde builds interactive landscapes that explore the relationships between space, people and technology. Working with a team of designers and technical experts at his social design lab, Studio Roosegaarde, he specializes in public space commissions, creating installations that respond to sound and movement. www.dx.org

May 3, 2014-March 1, 2015

British philosopher Alain de Botton and Australian art historian John Armstrong selected 40 works from the AGO collection and arranged them according to five themes as discussed in their recently published book Art as Therapy, namely Love, Sex, Nature, Politics and Money.

Accompanying these works will be interactive strategies designed to connect visitors to the art on a personal level. www.ago.net

University of Manitoba Modern May 5-June 30, 2014

Aluflam USA Phone 714-899-3990 | Fax 714-899-3993 Email info@aluflam-usa.com www.aluflam-usa.com

This exhibition at the Millennium Library in Winnipeg showcases modern architecture and landscapes on the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry Campus, an exceptional sample of the city’s postwar development. Architects, many of which were also gradu-

Building Envelope Forum May 8, 2014

Join an expert panel and industry colleagues from 8:00am to 5:00pm in examining innovative new ways to improve the durability of new and existing building envelopes at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites. www.buildingenvelopeforum.com

Digifest 2014 May 8-10, 2014

Canada’s premier international digital culture festival focused on the future of digital innovation is coming to Corus Entertainment on Toronto’s waterfront, featuring an expert-packed speaker lineup including architects, app designers, creators and entrepreneurs who will showcase digital and technological discoveries that will reshape some of today’s pressing urban challenges. www.torontodigifest.ca

Scott McFarland: Snow, Shacks, Streets, Shrubs May 14-August 10, 2014

Toronto-based artist Scott McFarland has recently expanded his photographic gaze to include urban scenes and streetscapes, and approximately 40 of these recent large-scale photographs will be on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario. www.ago.net

Getting on Track: Sustainable and Inclusive Prosperity for Cities May 15-16, 2014

The Global Cities Summit takes place at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto, featuring municipal leaders from the Global City Indicators Facility’s (GCIF) network of member cities, business leaders, senior government officials, leaders from the United Nations and other international agencies, scholars, and planning and design professionals for two days of plenaries, panel discussions, case studies, networking opportunities, and an innovations marketplace. www.globalcitiessummit.com

Doors Open Toronto May 24-25, 2014

Since its inception in 2000, Doors Open Toronto has attracted more than two million visits in nearly 600 unique locations across the city. The 15th annual Doors Open will offer residents and visitors an opportunity to take a peek behind the doors of almost 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city.

2014 RAIC Festival of Architecture May 28-31, 2014

Carrying the theme of The Next Century | Go Flat Out‚ this year’s RAIC Festival takes place at the Fairmont Winnipeg, enabling architects, interns, students and associates to network, discuss issues related to the practice of architecture, celebrate achievements and socialize. www.festival.raic.org

www1.toronto.ca/doorsopen

Doors Open Winnipeg Architecture Fringe Festival

May 31-June 1, 2014

May 27-31, 2014

Acting as a complement to the RAIC Festival of Architecture in Winnipeg, the AFF includes a variety of dynamic events such as Pecha Kucha, AFF Film Night, and Table for 1200. The goal of the AFF is to extend architectural discussion into the community, stimulate public awareness and debate about architecture and design, connect with allied design disciplines around the city, support local businesses, and celebrate architectural achievements. http://storefrontmb.ca/aff2014/

Heritage Winnipeg presents the 11th Doors Open Winnipeg. This free annual event celebrates Winnipeg’s unique spaces, architecture and history. Doors Open will take place over the weekend and will showcase more than 80 remarkable buildings and sites. http://doorsopenwinnipeg.ca

Matthew Barney: Drawing Restraint May 31-September 28, 2014

View select video works at the Art Gallery of Ontario from Matthew Barney’s acclaimed ser-

ies Drawing Restraint, a significant and long-term project in which Barney proposes that artmaking is parallel to athletic training, in that the development of form occurs through resistance. www.ago.net

Building Lasting Change June 2-4 2014

The national conference of the Canadian Green Building Council takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and will examine the value created by sustainable building, real estate and neighbourhood development. www.cagbc.org/2014conference

Luminato June 6-15, 2014

Under the artistic direction of Jorn Weisbrodt, the annual Luminato festival will animate the city of Toronto with music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature and film. www.luminatofestival.com

For more information about these, and additional listings of Canadian and international events, please visit www.canadianarchitect.com

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neo-neon TEXT

Jennifer Laforest

A new project at the edge of Edmonton’s Warehouse District brings neon back to its urban home.

In 2002, Edmonton heritage planner David Holdsworth noticed an old neon sign on 97 Street in the process of being dismantled from a former commercial building.

The sign originally belonged to a local furniture exchange—once a common business in Edmonton. As the central town in a large agricultural region, Edmonton was bustling in the early 1900s. By the time the 1930s rolled around, the capital of Alberta had experienced its second population boom and businesses were capitalizing on the local culture of swapping and bartering for secondhand furniture. The Canadian Furniture Company sign averted the dump that day.

Today, the Canadian Furniture Company sign is one of 12 carefully restored intricate neon artifacts that make up Edmonton’s outdoor Neon Sign Museum. Located at the corner of 104 Street and 104 Avenue, the Neon Sign Museum occupies the entire face of an

unadorned utility building, across from a construction site soon to become Rogers Place Arena. The restored neon signs are secured to a metal frame in a cascading composition stretching across the façade. At first glance, the illuminated advertisements are a glaring presence—and of course, that’s the point.

At the time that Holdsworth stumbled across the Canadian Furniture Company sign, he was working on revitalization plans for Edmonton’s warehouse district. Comprised of simple four-storey commercial Edwardian brick buildings, the downtown neighbourhood was the city’s central hub for retail goods and shipments during the 1920s and ’30s.

Today, the warehouse district has gradually been revived as a new heart of downtown Edmonton with the introduction of a highly successful farmers’ market, new condo towers, and several independent shops and cafés.

Over the past decade, Holdsworth gradually

Above An outdoor museum was created via salvaged neon signs that now animate the brick façade of a utility building in Edmonton’s warehouse district.

amassed a collection of disused neon signs for the City Archives, and convinced the City to restore them for public display in the warehouse district. In all, the Museum is designed to accommodate up to 30 signs.

The oldest artifact in the collection—and Edmonton’s first-known neon sign—was designed for Darling’s Drug Store in 1928, only five years after neon signs first emerged in North America. It originally appeared on the corner of Jasper Avenue and Second Street.

Since the heyday of neon-sign advertising in the 1950s, neon signs have become primary metaphors in discussions about modernity, consumerism and stardom. The Museum emphasizes neon’s contribution to the collective memory of downtown Edmonton and safeguards these artifacts as valuable representations of local economic histories.

Jennifer Laforest is a planner and writer living in Edmonton.

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