Canadian Architect September 2016

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ADRIEN WILLIAMS

STEVE MONTPETIT

INTERIORS BY ARCHITECTS

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CANADIAN ARCHITECT

SEPTEMBER 2016

8 VIEWPOINT

The Trans-Pacific Partnership will add to a growing list of economies who enjoy reciprocal architectural licensing agreements with Canada.

13 NEWS

Toronto announces plans for elevated Rail Deck Park; RAIC signs open letter to Government of Canada urging a push towards zero-energy buildings.

36 INSITES

Looking back at the evolution of Toronto’s first churches provides cues for the adaptive reuse of today’s ecclesiastical structures, according to Jasmine Frolick.

18 CENTRE CULTUREL DE NOTRE-DAMEDE-GRÂCE A Montreal library and performance centre by Atelier Big City, FSA Architecture and L’OEUF strikes a balance between standing out and fitting in. TEXT ThomasBernard Kenniff

25 AESOP WESTMOUNT Alain Carle brings an eye for detail to a jewel-like boutique for skin care products in Montreal’s west end. TEXT Tanya Southcott

30 SHOPIFY

Reviews of Attunement by Alberto Pérez-Gómez and Places: Public Architecture by HCMA Architecture + Design.

41 CALENDAR

Winnipeg Design Festival; IDS Vancouver; Canadian Urbanism Summit in Toronto.

42 BACKPAGE

A contemporary dance performance is inspired by a new aquatics centre in Vancouver, reports Mark Woytiuk.

CLAUDE-SIMON LANGLOIS

pair of e-commerce offices in Ottawa and Montreal by Linebox Studio whimsically A blends places for work with spaces for play. TEXT Shannon Moore

38 BOOKS

COVER Centre Culturel de NotreDame-de-Grâce, by Atelier Big City, FSA Architecture and L’OEUF. Photo

by Ulysse Lemerise.

V.61 N.09 THE NATIONAL REVIEW OF DESIGN AND PRACTICE / THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE RAIC

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VIEWPOINT

­­EDITOR ELSA LAM, MRAIC ART DIRECTOR ROY GAIOT ASSISTANT EDITOR SHANNON MOORE EDITORIAL ADVISOR IAN CHODIKOFF, OAA, FRAIC CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ANNMARIE ADAMS, FRAIC ODILE HÉNAULT DOUGLAS MACLEOD, NCARB, MRAIC

CROSSING BORDERS The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is most often associated with the free trade of goods, but an important component of the agreement is also the exchange of services—including architectural expertise. It’s the latest in a series of agreements that place Canada firmly in the midst of the globalizing landscape of architecture.

Once ratified, the TPP will potentially open further markets for Canadian architects in the participating Pacific Rim countries: currently the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Chile and Peru. On the flip side, the agreement will, in principle, make it easier for architects from those countries to work in Canada.

In fact, Canada already has Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with several TPP countries. The 1994 NAFTA agreement laid the groundwork for reciprocal architectural licensing between Canada, the United States and Mexico. In 2014, this process was simplified even further: registered Canadian architects from any province with at least one year of postregistration experience can now obtain a license in 42 signatory American States without further credentialing, and vice versa. The process with Mexico is more complex, and includes a minimum of 10 years of experience, submission of a work dossier and an interview.

Last year, a MRA was also signed between Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The agreement takes place under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Architect Project—an initiative that facilitates the crossregistration of senior architects between participating economies. To qualify, architects moving between economies must have at least seven years of experience in practice and pass an interview demonstrating familiarity with local codes, contracts and construction documents. The TPP will likely facilitate future MRAs with other APEC countries.

Canada’s architectural regulators are also negotiating reciprocal licensure with the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) as part of the

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CETA trade agreement, and hope to have

an agreement in place by the end of this year.

Outside of the boundaries of NAFTA, APEC, CETA and the TPP, architectural licensing authorities in Canada are pushing for reciprocity in other countries. A separate initiative, the 2008 Canberra Accord, recognizes the educational equivalency of accredited architecture programs in Canada, Korea, China and Australia—a first step in facilitating the movement of architectural expertise between these countries. Canada’s Broadly Experienced Foreign Architects (BEFA) Program, launched in 2012, helps architects from abroad become registered in Canada.

Such agreements point to the internationalization of architectural practice, and recognize the mobility of talent. Architects from abroad bring valuable skills to Canadian offices. Conversely, working in other countries benefits Canadian architects and their businesses.

Ultimately, as architect Scott Kemp, FRAIC put it to a House of Commons Standing Committee this spring, “allowing the movement of architects between countries or economies will benefit our residential, commercial and institutional built environments.” The development of reciprocal licensure agreements, including through the TPP, he said, “fosters and generates new ideas and perspectives, new connections that can only enrich our profession and, by extension, the public’s interaction and appreciation of architecture, resulting in a better built environment, both domestically and internationally.”

Most Canadian architects will never make direct use of these reciprocity agreements.

They are nonetheless important—both as practical tools, but also on a symbolic level. In an age of growing nationalism, they signal the Canadian architectural profession’s commitment to international mobility, to the exchange of knowledge, and to a multinational future.

Elsa Lam

REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS HALIFAX CHRISTINE MACY, OAA REGINA BERNARD FLAMAN, SAA MONTREAL DAVID THEODORE CALGARY GRAHAM LIVESEY, MRAIC WINNIPEG LISA LANDRUM, MAA, AIA, MRAIC VANCOUVER ADELE WEDER PUBLISHER TOM ARKELL 416-510-6806 SALES MANAGER FARIA AHMED 416-510-6808 CUSTOMER SERVICE / PRODUCTION LAURA MOFFATT 416-510-6898 CIRCULATION CIRCULATION@CANADIANARCHITECT.COM PRESIDENT OF IQ BUSINESS MEDIA INC. ALEX PAPANOU HEAD OFFICE 80 VALLEYBROOK DRIVE, TORONTO, ON M3B 2S9 TELEPHONE 416-510-6845 E-MAIL elam@canadianarchitect.com WEBSITE www.canadianarchitect.com Canadian Architect is published monthly by iQ Business Media Inc..

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NEWS

Spadina Avenue

Bathurst Street

ABOVE The City of Toronto has announced plans to create an elevated park over a set of rail tracks in the downtown core. The City is working to secure the air rights and zoning for the space.

PROJECTS Rail Deck Park plans unveiled in Toronto.

Mayor John Tory and Councillor Joe Cressy have announced the City of Toronto’s intention to protect more than 21 acres of land in the downtown core for the future development of an iconic city park called Rail Deck Park. This initiative is part of the City’s TOcore project, a response to the rapid development and intensification of Toronto’s downtown that is placing pressure on physical and social infrastructure.

Toronto’s western rail corridor from Bathurst Street to Blue Jays Way represents the last opportunity to create a significant signature park to serve Toronto’s growing downtown population. It would also create a legacy for future generations of city residents and visitors.

“Great cities have great parks. As Toronto grows, we need to take bold action to create public space and make sure we build a city that makes future generations proud,” says Mayor Tory. “This is our last chance to secure a piece of land that could transform the way we experience our city.”

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The population of downtown Toronto has the potential to nearly double to 475,000 people by 2041. This population growth is propelled by people choosing to live downtown, a part of the city that currently has one of the lowest levels of parkland compared to other areas in the City. The latter have not seen the rate of growth that the downtown continues to experience.

To protect the rail corridor, the City will have to secure the air rights and create an Official Plan Amendment to ensure it is developed for public use only. A longterm vision would see a park created from decking over the corridor, creating a marquee green space that will serve the high density surrounding neighbourhoods and help connect the city to its waterfront.

Toronto would follow many other great cities that have successfully transformed their rail corridors into iconic spaces, most notably Chicago’s Millennial Park, and Hudson Yards and Manhattan West in New York. The City of Vancouver recently agreed to purchase the Arbutus rail corridor for parkland.

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NEWS

Like a Breath of Fresh Air ABOVE Plans are underway to rebuild Frank Lloyd Wright’s Banff Park Pavilion, erected in 1914 and demolished in 1938.

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Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative proceeds with next phase of Banff Pavilion rebuild.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative has received the green light to proceed with the next phase of the Banff Pavilion rebuild.

The Initiative, whose mandate is to preserve Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy through the reconstruction of various Wright-designed structures, has officially formalized in light of Banff Town Council’s directive to conduct a feasibility study for the project—a move that effectively brings the Pavilion rebuild one step closer to reality.

The multi-purpose Pavilion was originally erected in 1914. Built on a flood plain without mitigation measures, the integrity of the structure was compromised and, amidst much controversy, eventually torn down in 1938. Over the last 35 years, there have been a number of efforts to see it rebuilt. Only recently has Banff ’s Town Council demonstrated a sincere willingness to move ahead.

One of the remaining requirements will be securing adequate funding, which is not a concern for Initiative Founder Michael Miner. Having previously secured capital for a similar project, Miner is confident the Banff Pavilion project will receive huge community support once word of the rebuild reaches Wright supporters.

“Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the greatest creative geniuses of all time.

There is no shortage of adoration for him, which is evident by the outpouring of interest we’ve already received,” says Miner. Included in the list of project advocates are the architect’s grandson, Eric Lloyd Wright, as well as Taliesin Fellows Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer and Arnold Roy. The Pavilion is just one candidate in a list of rebuilds the Initiative plans on tackling. Being a relatively simple structure helped it top the list.

In light of Banff council’s vote, the non-profit Initiative is now accepting donations on its website. www.FLWRevivalInitiative.org

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ZAS Architects to design college for the visually impaired in Saudi Arabia.

Canada and United Arab Emirates-based ZAS Architects + Interiors has been selected by the Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University

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(PMU) to design its new college, the Prince Sultan College for the Visually Impaired.

PMU is a private university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, currently offering undergraduate degrees in engineering, science, business administration, sciences and various masters programs. Strategically partnering with the Royal National College for the Blind for the design of the new College, PMU aims to create an academic program in accordance with international standards and the needs of the local environment. Its mission is to prepare the visually impaired to be self-sufficient through learning and training opportunities, and to qualify students for the community workplace.

Located in the Al Khobar area of the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, phase one of the new 30,000 m 2 facility will accommodate 500 students. Plans for the advanced educational environment include a 400seat auditorium, eight lane lap pool, sports gymnasia, a fully equipped medical centre and residential apartments for 100 students.

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www.zasa.com

AWARDS 2016 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence open for submissions.

For over 40 years, Canadian Architect has sponsored an annual national awards program, the only national awards that recognize projects in the design stage. The Awards of Excellence are open to all architects registered in Canada and to Canadian architectural graduates for buildings designed in Canada and abroad. Foreign architects are permitted to submit, provided they have partnered with a Canadian-registered architect.

This year’s jury includes Patricia Patkau, FRAIC, founding principal of Patkau Architects, David Sisam, FRAIC, founding principal of Montgomery Sisam Architects, and Manon Asselin, MRAIC, founding principal of Atelier TAG. Judging takes place in October and the winning schemes are published in a special issue in December. This year’s final deadline for submissions is September 23, 2016.

Projects must be in the design stage, scheduled for construction or under construction but not substantially complete. All projects must be commissioned by a client with the intention to build the submitted proposal. All building types and concisely presented urban design schemes are eligible.

Awards are given for architectural design excellence. Jurors will consider the project’s physical organization and form, response to context, innovation, and demonstration of exemplary environmental and social awareness. www.canadianarchitect.com/awards

Le CCA tient à remercier de leur appui généreux le ministère de la Culture et des Communications, le Conseil des Arts du Canada, le Conseil des arts de Montréal, la Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts et Hydro-Québec.

Testa & Weiser, Carbon Tower ( prototype ) : rendu extérieur, 2002. AP174 documents d’archives Testa & Weiser, Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montréal. Don de Peter Testa et Devyn Weiser. © Peter Testa et Devyn Weiser Testa & Weiser, Carbon Tower (prototype) : exterior rendering, 2002. AP174 Testa & Weiser records, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. Gift of Peter Testa and Devyn Weiser. © Peter Testa and Devyn Weiser

WHAT’S NEW Eleven organizations urge development of national plan for energy-efficient buildings.

Eleven organizations, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), are calling on the federal government to implement a bold national plan for improving the energy efficiency of Canada’s buildings.

They offer 14 recommendations for key policies and programs for a national plan that would help the government meet climate-change objectives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Canada has an important opportunity to transform the built environment and transition to a low-carbon future while enhancing the performance and livability of Canadian homes and businesses,” they write in a letter to the Minister of Natural Resources, Jim Carr, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna.

The signatories—who represent energy and building professionals, associations, businesses and non-government organizations—are the following: Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance, Pembina Institute, Association Québécoise pour la Maîtrise de l’Énergie, Toronto Atmos-

Canadian Centre for Architecture #archaeologyofthedigital cca.qc.ca The CCA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and Hydro-Québec.

Image: Testa & Weiser, Carbon Tower (prototype) : exterior rendering, 2002. AP174 Testa & Weiser records, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. Gift of Peter Testa and Devyn Weiser. © Peter Testa and Devyn Weiser

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NEWS pheric Fund, MaRS Advanced Energy Centre, Passive House Canada, BOMA Toronto, Council for Clean Capitalism, Environmental Defense, Équiterre and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

“As the leading voice for architecture in Canada, we are proud to be working with the Pembina Institute and other leading built-realm organizations to enable and impel bolder responses to pressing eco-social challenges,” says Jennifer Cutbill, RAIC regional director for British Columbia/ Yukon and chair of the RAIC’s Committee on Responsible Environments.

“As architects, we are often leaders of the multi-stakeholder teams responsible for delivering the pieces of our built realm, and as such we have a responsibility to take a leadership role in advocating and innovating for a shift to more holistically sustainable patterns,” she says.

The organizations note that the total energy consumption of buildings accounts for nearly one-quarter of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“In order for Canada to achieve its 2030 climate target under the Paris Agreement and its longer-term de-carbonization goals, we must significantly reduce emissions of existing buildings and ensure that new buildings are designed for ultra-low emissions,” they write. “We believe the buildings sector offers, to policy makers, some of the lowest-cost, most rapidly achievable greenhouse gas reductions.”

The recommendations include: Updating national model building codes to achieve nearly zero energy new construction by 2030 and working with provinces to facilitate adoption of building codes; developing or adapting national energy codes for major renovations of existing buildings; reforming tax policy to stimulate investment in efficiency; and financial support or supporting other levels of government to incentivize and remove barriers to deep retrofits.

The groups say the federal government should lead by example, noting it owns or occupies over 27 million square metres of floor space across Canada. At the same time, they applaud “the commitment and

world-class leadership” the government has shown on climate initiatives.

“Beyond advocating for reductions and associated incentives, we are advocating for a shift in mindset,” Cutbill says. “We need to move beyond a framework of doing less harm, and collectively shift to one of creating net positive impact. By and large, we do not lack for solutions to the pressing challenges of climate change; rather, we need collective will and more effective integration.” www.raic.org

Gladstone Hotel’s 2017 Grow Op exhibition opens for submissions.

The Gladstone Hotel’s fifth annual Grow Op exhibition, celebrating innovative ideas and conceptual responses to landscape, gardens, art and place-making, is open for submissions.

From community horticultural initiatives to experimental landscapes and disruptive art projects, the Toronto hotel is seeking proposals from individuals and collectives whose work engages with landscape, place and habitats with the goal of creating an experiential, evocative and boundary-pushing exhibition.

Submissions are encouraged from a wide variety of creative practitioners including the following: visual artists, fabricators, craftspeople, planners, historians, arborists, agriculturalists, landscape architects, cooks, ecologists, botanists, performance artists, musicians, filmmakers, scientists, sound artists, gardeners, writers, poets, designers, architects and urbanists.

There are many ways to participate. Room installations, site-specific public space installations (both onsite and offsite), and public programming proposals are all welcome. The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2016, and the exhibition takes place from April 20 to 23, 2017. www.gladstonehotel.com

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5th INTERNATIONAL LAFARGEHOLCIM AWARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

Total Prizes of $2 Million We are committed to sustainable construction and projects that support PROGRESS - PEOPLE PLANET - PROSPERITY - PLACE. LafargeHolcim Awards Silver 2014 – $50,000 USD. Lieu de vie on the new Paris-Saclay university campus hosts a mix of activities including indoor and outdoor sports facilities, food outlets and various public spaces across more than 4,000 sq m of floor area. Using rough materials, robust and long lasting techniques, the “urban shelf” is organized vertically with its different activities superimposed on one another, using the roof as a panoramic playground for football and basketball games. Paris, France

LafargeHolcim Awards Gold prize – $100,000 USD. The central flower and vegetable garden at Benny Farm was always the neighborhood focus of social interaction. At the core of the design is the establishment of participatory models and investment in sustainable construction, centered on common energy, water & waste management. Montreal, Canada

Enter your project in one of these categories: l Architecture, building and civil engineering l Landscape, urban design and infrastructure l Materials, products and construction technologies Professional and Next Generation awards.

LafargeHolcim Acknowledgment Prize – $7,500 USD. The sustainable library and classroom building demonstrates environmental responsibility and stewardship for the student body and the community. Such forces are put to work in an ingenious way by the warped concrete roof that is shaped so as to increase the velocity of air currents, thus eliminating the need for mechanical ventilation. Vancouver, Canada

LafargeHolcim Acknowledgment Prize – $25,000 USD. Heritage Reframed: University building renovation and extension.

The complete DFALD restores the architecture, landscape and urban design within the round of Spadina Crescent. The site’s hydrology is evident in the roof profile, shaped to guide water into pools, bio-swales and ultimately to cisterns for irrigation. Toronto, Canada

For more information: application.lafargeholcim-awards.org

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AVENUE MONKLAND

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SITE PLAN 1 NDG CULTURAL CENTRE 2 LAWN/OUTDOOR THEATRE

3 PARKING 4 B ENNY FARM HOUSING

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FIELD OF DREAMS

A BOLD CULTURAL CENTRE IN MONTREAL’S WEST END IS A PLAYFUL, YET HIGHLY DISCIPLINED COMPOSITION THAT MAKES CLEVER CONNECTIONS TO ITS SURROUNDINGS.

Centre Culturel de Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec AFO (Atelier Big City / FSA Architecture Inc. / L’OEUF s.e.n.c.)

TEXT Thomas-Bernard Kenniff PHOTOS Ulysse Lemerise, unless otherwise noted PROJECT

ARCHITECTS

The new NDG Cultural Centre, just west of downtown Montreal, artfully manages the juggling act of both assertively standing out and respectfully fitting in. Rhythmic barn-red brick stripes rise around the Centre, resonating with both the agricultural past of its site and its contemporary urban context at the corner of the Benny Farm housing development. The architects conceived of a site-spanning carpet of parallel ground lines–imaginary furrows–turned up vertically as the scaffolding for a complex, polychromatic assemblage.

Designed by the team of Atelier Big City, L’OEUF, and FSA Architecture, the Centre resulted from a single-stage design competition in 2010; the design received a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2012.

It is the fourth completed project in a series of competition-procured libraries and cultural centres commissioned through Montreal’s Expansion,

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A brightly coloured façade wraps around the new NDG Cultural Centre. OPPOSITE Exposed structure and a layered use of translucent materials contribute to the assemblage-like composition, lending a lively atmosphere to the library.

ABOVE

Renovation and New Construction program, and partly funded by the provincial government’s Ministry of Culture and Communications.

The competition called for a building that would house three major programs: a library to replace the existing Benny branch, a 180-seat performance venue, and a multipurpose media and exhibition room.

The plan is a straightforward and sensible response: an L-shaped building with the library forming one wing and the performance hall the other. The media room and lobby reside at the hinge point. The overall volume completes the corner of Benny Farm, while framing a courtyard garden and parking, planted with fruit trees and native edibles. The efficiency and restraint of the spatial organization allowed the designers to concentrate their efforts on the architectonics of the building—and for complexity to emerge elsewhere.

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OPPOSITE A grand staircase acts as a gathering spot for library patrons to read, meet and chat. Conceptually, the stair is the inverse of the formal theatre, putting ordinary people in the centre of the action at the heart of the building. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT Exposed steel cross-bracing and CLT walls allude to both industrial spaces and barns; the theatre lobby adjoins an upper-level outdoor courtyard, to the left.

As a start, take the perimeter, made of those red brick stripes along with perforated aluminum panels, both held on galvanized steel frames.

The screen shifts vertically or outward with respect to the envelope at various points to mark entrances, accommodate slivers of landscape, or defer to a diagonal interior stair. To the south, it stops altogether to reveal the light blue volume of the performance hall. At the main entrance, the screen rises at the gateway to a two-storey-high forecourt, roofed with translucent glass.

Inside, Hal Ingberg’s Chromazone, produced by way of the scheme’s one-percent-for-art allocation, modulates the entry of daylight into the richly toned lobby. Ingberg’s glass installation resides between the lobby and an exterior courtyard on the mezzanine level, reached by an orange staircase in concrete and steel.

To the left, the cultural centre wing is organized with offices, circulation and services wrapping the performance hall. The hall— a black-box space with retractable seating—is the deepest of its type among Montreal’s cultural centres, and was specifically designed for dance. Large, sliding glass doors to the west connect the stage with a garden, so that performances can spill into an exterior theatre. The area is shaded by a giant silver maple preserved from the original farm, reportedly the largest tree on the site.

The library wing is organized around a central void, with content zoned by age groups. From the lobby, visitors trace a path up and through the building that passes through service, periodicals, children’s, adult and teen zones, the latter hanging over the entrance. Part of the

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children’s area is tucked under the central stairs, a move that creates a unique space while also mitigating noise. Generous, brightly coloured steps jut out of the far corner, connecting the children’s and adult sections—one of several carefully designed vertical connectors.

The main focus of the library is its central space, ringed by circulation and filled with a flight of wide, habitable stairs. The stepped platforms invite people to sit and read, or have casual conversations, yet simultaneously place them in full view. In effect, the architects have created a public theatre that puts readers in the spotlight at the heart of the library—the clever inverse of the cultural centre’s performance hall.

As Marie D. Martel, advisor on libraries to the City of Montreal, puts it, the central void has been “hacked” to creatively remedy the absence of a community room in the building.

The whole project is structurally and formally guided by the striated field of the ground—those imaginary furrow lines that formed the datum of the project from the start. These lines, traced perpendicular to Monkland Avenue, are developed vertically as they touch the perimeter of the building in several ways, underlying the patterns of the building’s triple-skin. The first exterior skin is the strong urban face of the project; the second is made up of the curtain wall system, inside structure, and CLT wall and roof panels; and the final interior skin is composed of galvanized steel frames, holding expanded steel sheets in alternating orientations.

This multi-layered envelope geometrically connects the building’s interior with its exterior, while creating a marked contrast between the two.

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Made from dichroic glass, an art installation by Hal Ingberg brings a rainbow of iridescent tones to the main entry area. The piece adjoins an upper terrace, which acts as spillover space for the second floor theatre lobby. BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT Conceived as an indoor reading garden, a colourful staircase joins the first floor children’s library to the upper floor adult section; the exposed structure allows natural light to fill the library.

STEVE MONTPETIT

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The exterior rhythm of the architecture is clear, with collisions between parts of the assemblage kept discreet. The rhythms deployed within, on the other hand, collide with diagonal members and other volumes, so that the reading of the whole demands sustained attention. From the outside, the building can be seen as both resting on, and emerging from, its striated ground field; inside, it is completely entwined in a complex of lines.

The materials for the project range widely, but they are carefully used.

On the inside, structural steel, glass, ceramic tiles, galvanized steel, and exposed and lacquered concrete are balanced with the warmth of the CLT panels and coloured laminates. The majority of the building systems are left exposed, with a network of pipes and ventilation units populating the ceiling spaces and shell.

The work of Atelier Big City has long been associated with an intuitive and playful way of working with colour, and the Centre is no exception.

The polychromatic hues are integral to the architecture rather than con-

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trasting or neutral. Colourful painted surfaces and laminates are matched to the tones of raw materials used elsewhere. Colours both code the space and are a full-fledged dimension of its tectonics.

Overall, the assemblage quality of the whole is appropriate. With its Cedric Price-like atmosphere, it resonates with the transition of libraries towards becoming “third places� for leisure, socializing, learning and making. Its striated and heterogeneous architectural language seems to suggest the (sometimes chaotic) world of free, open access to information—in contrast to a smooth, quiet aesthetic that could be associated with streamlined information flows. The project presents itself as both an architectural object and a work in progress.

This may be a good thing, since some parts of the project require further refinement. As it stands, certain key elements of the competition-winning scheme have been compromised or simply abandoned. For instance, a decision to move the security checkpoints to the two exterior entrances,

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ABOVE, TOP TO BOTTOM A covered courtyard creates a sheltered gathering place at the main entrance; the rhythmic pattern of red stripes continues around the building, modulating to reflect changing interior and ground conditions.

rather than having them at the interior library entrance, means that checked-in books can flow freely in the entire building—but also that the media room and café cannot open up directly to the forecourt, as planned for originally. Adjoining the forecourt, the design envisaged exterior stairs jutting out on a diagonal towards a bus stop—the exterior version of the stairs connecting the children’s and adult zones inside. During a recent visit, groups of school kids sat on the grass next to the bus stop, exactly where the stairs—which were removed for planning reasons during design development—would have been. Although the completed project is remarkable in its respect of the original scheme, revisiting and renegotiating these competition-phase ideas would improve it even further.

Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that this ambitious project was developed and constructed during a difficult time for the City of Montreal and its districts. The inquiry into corruption in the construction industry means that public projects built during the past 10 to 15 years are undergoing intense scrutiny. This is a time of well-founded skepticism towards civic institutions and politics.

In this climate, a design team with considerable respect for the local community has realized a project that achieves something vitally important for the city and its people—as well as for the province’s architecture.

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SCHEMATIC SECTION

As one of the prime interfaces between individuals and the municipality, the NDG Cultural Centre affirms the relevance of architecture for urban communities. Its furrows may have been scored in uneasy terrain, but from them grew an exemplary project of tremendous civic importance.

Thomas-Bernard Kenniff is a professor at the UQAM School of Design in Montreal.

He holds a PhD in Architectural History and Theory from the Bartlett School of Architecture and a professional M.Arch from the University of Waterloo.

CLIENT ARRONDISSEMENT CÔTE-DES-NEIGES—NOTRE-DAME-DE-GRÂCE, VILLE DE MONTRÉAL

|

ARCHITECT TEAM ATELIER BIG CITY—RANDY COHEN, HOWARD DAVIES, EMILY LAFRANCE, PHILIPPE

LAROCQUE, TRIANA DIMA, JUSTIN NGUYEN, MUHIDIN KADRIC, SÉBASTIEN ST-LAURENT, VI NGO. FSA ARCHITECTURE INC.—ANDRIJ SERBYN, GERALD SOIFERMAN, ÉTIENNE GIBEAULT, ALI MOJTABAVI, JESSICA CUEVAS, ERIC JOFRIET, ALEX KRAVEC, BRIGITTE MERRAN, MOSTAFA AQEL, CHRISTINE LATREILLE, CLAUDIU OLARU, YVES MELIN. L’OEUF—SUDHIR SURI, BERNARD OLIVIER, DANIEL PEARL, RENÉ CHEVALIER, ARADHANA GUPTA, MARK BRIGHTMAN, HUGUES DALY, MORGAN CARTER, IVAN SYLVA, MATTHIEU SCHLEISS, MARJORIE BOLDUC-PROVOST. | STRUCTURAL GROUPE EGP | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL PAGEAU MOREL ET ASSOCIÉS | LANDSCAPE NIP PAYSAGE | GRAPHIC DESIGN PASTILLE ROSE | CIVIL VINCI CONSULTANTS | LIGHTING CS DESIGN | ACOUSTICS SONAR CONSULTANTS | ACCESSIBILITY SOCIÉTÉ LOGIQUE | ERGONOMICS PATRICK VINCENT | DAYLIGHTING KNOT SHOP | LEED SYNAIRGIS | LEED COMMISSIONING EXP | CONTRACTOR LE GROUPE GEYSER | AREA 4,500 M2 | BUDGET $14.5 M | COMPLETION DECEMBER 2015

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PURE AESTHETIC A PURVEYOR OF SKIN CARE PRODUCTS PUTS A REFRESHINGLY ORIGINAL APPROACH TO DESIGN AT THE CORE OF ITS BOUTIQUES.

Aesop Westmount, Montreal, Quebec Alain Carle Architecte TEXT Tanya Southcott PHOTOS Adrien Williams PROJECT

ARCHITECT

For Aesop, small spaces warrant big investment. Established in Melbourne in 1987, the high-end brand of skin care products opened its first boutique there in 2004. Aesop doesn’t advertise or offer product discounts; instead, it’s made its name as an aficionado of design. It showcases its unique approach to retail architecture with stores in the world’s most coveted shopping destinations, and in its online archive of their creation,

Taxonomy of Design. Working with Montreal-based Alain Carle Architecte, Aesop opened its first signature store in Canada’s cultural capital last winter, in the affluent neighbourhood of Westmount.

Best known for his portfolio of award-winning private residences peppered across Quebec’s countryside, Carle seems an unlikely candidate for this small-scale urban, commercial venture. And yet, both Carle and Aesop share a similar approach to place, finding inspiration in local conditions through in-depth investigation and reflection.

For Aesop Westmount, Carle wove together a conceptual narrative for the store’s interior that draws on water’s prominence in the local landscape and industry, and on its use as a tool for cleansing and contempla-

ABOVE Conceived around the theme of water, Aesop’s Westmount store includes a liquid-inspired video installation by artist Pascal Grandmaison.

Bespoke touches such as birch trunks and a dock-like wooden floor evoke a lakeside setting.

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tion. Historically, Westmount’s development was bound to the waterways surrounding the island of Montreal; in the current post-industrial era, water is more closely linked to recreation and leisure, and is celebrated as a symbol of intimacy and rejuvenation. Using this research as a stepping-stone, Carle creates an experience in the store that is much more tactile than cerebral.

Customers enter the slim rectangular volume of the store from a small recess directly off busy Sherbrooke Street. Once inside, the room unfolds like an abstract winter landscape. The journey begins along the west wall through a dim, darkened space framed by floorto-ceiling antique black glass. Like deep water in winter, the murky surface obscures its depths, recording instead patrons’ subtle silhouettes set against the store interior. A video installation by local artist Pascal Grandmaison integrated into the wall opposite the entry sets a calming tone, with a hypnotizing short film of water droplets f lowing between two hands.

Travelling across the room, customers “come to shore” with a slight step up onto a plank wood floor, reminiscent of floating logging booms or a timber pier suspended above the river. Simultaneously, the ceiling

steps down slightly, like a heavy sky hanging low over icy mountain peaks. The space, brightened by snow-like surfaces of white marmorino stucco and indirect lighting, focuses attention on two large wall niches where Aesop’s simply, yet elegantly packaged product lines sit neatly on nearly invisible shelves.

Three slender birch tree trunks disappear into the floor and ceiling, punctuating the room’s design. Like the mottled skim of the plasterwork, their thin papery skins continue to change over time, often sloughing off to the touch. Reclaimed from a nearby forest, these branches successfully anchor the metaphoric landscape in the local, and mask the discrete service point to the rear.

Navigating this retail space is an embodied experience that culminates above an oversized brass wash basin, cantilevered dramatically into the room from the lip of the storefront window. For Carle, the introduction of this metal alloy links to the mining industry, which he understands as a point of contact between humans and the landscape— and which he sees as a clear counterpoint to the purity of water. For Aesop, a sculptural sink features in each of their boutiques, and is the site where access to their product is mediated through an encounter

ABOVE An oversized brass wash basin cantilevers from the storefront into the space, inviting customers to engage in a ritual-like sampling of the store’s products. OPPOSITE The simply packaged soaps and lotions are neatly displayed in inset wall alcoves, with extra stock slotted into a minimalist grid storage system near the sales counter.

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with knowledgeable staff. Standing at a comfortable distance across this brass precipice, customers are invited to a ritual-like washing of hands and selective sampling of Aesop’s merchandise.

Aesop’s approach of developing a unique, locally relevant design vocabulary for each project is a refreshing alternative to the standardization and uniformity typically associated with retail branding. The subtlety and richness of Carle’s design promote a sense of discovery for the urban pedestrian and newcomer to Aesop, by introducing the brand through a precise choreography of materials and movement. Continuing their collaboration, Carle is currently working on designs for boutiques in Seattle, Houston and Dallas, all cities he admittedly knew little about before embarking on extensive consultation with local historians, architects and archives.

Thus, the opportunity for a Canadian designer to engage American cities by means of a brand is another product of this unique approach—one that fosters cultural stewardship rather than anonymizing space.

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School of Architecture.

CLIENT AESOP | ARCHITECT TEAM ALAIN CARLE, MICHEL LEFEBVRE | STRUCTURAL ZARRABI ET

ASSOCIÉS EXPERTS CONSEILS | CONTRACTOR PROCOVA INC. | ARTIST PASCAL GRANDMAISON | AREA 600 FT 2 | BUDGET $300,000 | COMPLETION DECEMBER 2015

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AT WORK & AT PLAY A SERIES OF WORKPLACES FOR A CANADIAN E-COMMERCE COMPANY BLURS THE LINES BETWEEN BUSINESS AND LEISURE. Shopify Ottawa and Shopify Montreal Linebox Studio Inc. TEXT Shannon Moore PROJECT

ARCHITECT

For many of us, the office is where we spend the majority of our days.

We rise in the morning, commute to work, clock in our eight hours and repeat the process the following day.

At Shopify, this routine is entirely similar—but what happens between nine and five deliberately breaks from the traditional mould. The Canadian e-commerce company challenges and redefines the classic workday by blurring the boundaries between business and play.

“We often spend more time at the office than we do at our individual homes,” says Greg Scorsone, director of internal operations at Shopify.

“Because of this trend, it’s very important to our company that we establish office environments that are comfortable and inviting for all.”

Shopify achieves this goal through the unique design of its offices, located in Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal and San Francisco. For the

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Ottawa-based headquarters, the company partnered with local architecture firm Linebox to give their philosophy physical form. Though the original Ottawa office was modest in size, Shopify gradually occupied seven floors in an Elgin Street high rise to accommodate its growing team.

“With every new floor, we get more and more excited,” says Amanda Ferguson, intern architect at Linebox. “As a firm, we are constantly pushing the limits of what our designs can do, and every iteration feels better than the last.”

Linebox’s approach begins with a different theme for every f loor, in an effort to appeal to the various personalities, interests and tastes of Shopify’s employees. The first floor has European flair, complete with arched windows and red phone booths. A few floors above, a transportation theme repurposes shipping containers as office pods.

A nearby “unveiled” f loor has the same exposed ceilings as the other levels, but also includes architectural details such as a wall made of roofing tiles. The tiles provide a unique interior touch while serving to break up and control sound in the large open space. “We wanted

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OPPOSITE Exposed light bulbs and piping are playfully assembled into industrial-looking luminaires adjacent an employee cafeteria.

ABOVE An indoor go-kart track encourages high-speed racing during coffee breaks at Shopify’s Ottawa headquarters.

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to expose the construction of the ‘unveiled’ f loor in order to show employees how the space is made,” says Josée Anne Pronovost, one of the project’s lead architects. “It’s the most modern, clean and structured theme of all.”

On another f loor, a Canadiana theme pays tribute to Shopify’s roots. Entrepreneurs Scott Lake, Daniel Weinand and Tobias Lütke founded the company in 2004, after developing an online platform to sell snowboards. Upon realizing the potential of their website, they released the platform to allow other developers and companies to build their own online stores.

“The Canadiana floor pays homage to the Shopify founders,” says Courtney Burdette of Shopify. “Linebox designed a little snowboarding chalet to celebrate the original idea.”

Other notable themes include the “retreat” floor (with a cedar-lined, faux-sauna room) and the “urban” floor (with a fully functional go-kart track). A video game room and a giant slide connecting one f loor to another offer similar opportunities for playful breaks.

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A wood-lined meeting space with tiered seating conveys the relaxed feel of a giant sauna; a wide variety of formal and casual spaces, including upholstered nooks, allow employees to choose different places to work according to their mood; colourful roofing tiles are used to form the mural-like cladding for an interior wall; a log cabin room nods to the company’s origins as an online store for snowboarding equipment. OPPOSITE A vibrant blue metal-and-wood scaffold frames an espresso bar and meeting room in Shopify’s Montreal office, lending structure to the open-concept workspace.

ABOVE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

“These types of fun, active spaces are important in a work environment, because they serve as outlets,” says Scorsone. “When you’ve been working on a piece of code for an hour or two, your brain can get fried. If you ride a go-kart or sit down to play a video game, you’re bound to feel better. It’s the equivalent of going for a walk to reset and re-energize.”

“It’s also about camaraderie,” he says. “These playful activities are ice breakers, and if you become closer with your colleagues, you’ll work better together in the long run.”

This sense of conviviality is common across the Shopify offices.

Open concept layouts allow constant opportunities for social interaction, ensuring creative collaborations on a daily basis. In the Ottawa office, interaction is largely achieved through a grand, central staircase that connects the different f loors.

“To build the staircase, we had to cut directly through the existing concrete floor,” says Scorsone, stressing the intensive engineering required for the task. “We removed 180,000 pounds of concrete and

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brought in the stringers—which came from a bridge manufacturer in Thunder Bay—through the windows of the building.”

The staircase quickly became fundamental to the office space. Ferguson says that employees use the staircase more than the elevators, constantly buzzing between the various f loors. Seating areas carved into the steps allow co-workers to pull off and engage in conversation.

“Right from the beginning, Shopify wanted Linebox to develop a design that would encourage accidental collisions,” says Ferguson.

“The staircase achieves this by encouraging people to frequently cross paths.”

Though social interaction is important, the company is also mindful of the need for privacy and seclusion throughout the day. “Our team is very focused on making sure that both extroverts and introverts feel at home in the office,” says Scorsone. “Our office pods have about 15 to 20 people in them, but if you want to work individually for an hour, we have little spaces that you can go to alone.”

“The variety of spaces in the Ottawa office allows people to move

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around and adapt as their moods and energies change,” adds Ferguson.

Cozy, one-person-sized nooks are located on every floor, tucked in corners to take full advantage of unused space. Like the themed floors, some nooks embrace the skyline views and bright light, while others hide in shadows and darkness.

This play on light and dark can be found in other Shopify offices, too. In Montreal, the company occupies a second space designed

by Linebox—a refitted former press hall in a heritage building downtown. With windows on two sides, the f loorplate contains naturally bright and dim spaces.

Pronovost says that although the heritage building has character and charm—including an old brick façade and rounded windows—it was challenging to work on the tighter site. Unlike the Ottawa headquarters, the Montreal office occupies a single floor.

“We had to treat it as one big space, while still creating smaller zones for those employees with different personalities and needs,” she says. “One of the most successful rooms in Montreal is the lounge,

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A two-storey atrium at the entrance to the Montreal office showcases the rounded windows of the heritage façade; a series of private rooms provides space for quiet work and for small meetings; to the southeast of the common area, a work room equipped with beanbag chairs looks out onto downtown Montreal; a coat room includes a spiral staircase leading to a balcony-like perch.

ABOVE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

where the cafeteria, coffee station and games room are located. Everybody tends to congregate into this social space.”

Like the Ottawa office, the success of Montreal’s design was achieved through experimentation and trial runs. Andrew Reeves, partner at Linebox, says that the client encouraged this practice of observing and adjusting. “When we’re designing, we’re constantly realizing that some things can be done better than others,” he says. “Shopify is very understanding and supportive of this trend. The company encourages us to go back and do things again, or to tweak things if our vision doesn’t quite execute the way that we thought it would.”

“How people react to spaces is quite unpredictable,” adds Pronovost.

“It’s important to evolve and to learn from how people use spaces— to be attuned to that and to respond to their needs.”

This sense of evolution in the workplace is not unique to Shopify.

Many of the company’s design features bring to mind Silicon Valley, where high tech corporations have evolved the traditional office into an environment that appeals to millennials. When I toured Shopify’s Ottawa headquarters, the majority of employees appeared to be in their

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20s and 30s, but Scorsone is quick to say that they don’t define themselves as a millennial workplace. “Our goal is to make a space that’s comfortable for everyone, regardless of their age,” he says.

Ultimately, Linebox’s priority is clear: to develop a series of designs that fit Shopify like a tailored suit, supporting the creativity and distinctiveness of the business itself. “We’re always changing, reinventing and rethinking things in the design,” concludes Pronovost, “ just as Shopify has reinvented and redefined how we sell things online.”

SHOPIFY OTTAWA (LEVELS 6-11) — CLIENT SHOPIFY INC. | ARCHITECT TEAM ANDREW REEVES, JOSÉE

ANNE PRONOVOST, AMANDA FERGUSON, JENNA MAW | STRUCTURAL CLELAND JARDINE | MECHAN-

ICAL/ELECTRICAL SMITH + ANDERSEN | CONTRACTOR THE LAKE PARTNERSHIP INC. | KITCHEN WSP

GROUP | AREA 91,679 FT 2 | BUDGET WITHHELD | COMPLETION OCTOBER 2014

SHOPIFY MONTREAL — CLIENT SHOPIFY INC. | ARCHITECT TEAM ANDREW REEVES, JOSÉE ANNE

PRONOVOST, AMANDA FERGUSON | MECHANICAL KOLOSTAT, PAGEAU MOREL ET ASSOCIÉS | ELEC-

TRICAL PAGEAU MOREL ET ASSOCIÉS | CONTRACTOR MARFOLIGA | KITCHEN WSP GROUP | AREA

32,704 FT 2 | BUDGET WITHHELD | COMPLETION NOVEMBER 2015

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at

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building

on

Mon.Nov.30-Tue.Dec.1

connect

#iidex16

iidexcanada.com

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ROBYNNE REDGRAVE

CANADIAN ARCHITECT 09/16

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ALTERED: THE EVOLUTION OF TORONTO’S CHURCH LANDSCAPE TEXT

Jasmine Frolick

An artist’s book documents the evolution of Toronto’s first churches and the land they resided on. OPPOSITE, LEFT TO RIGHT Designed by architectsAlliance, the St. James Cathedral Centre accommodates weddings and other events; a view of Frolick and Redgrave’s installation at the Gladstone Hotel.

ABOVE

WITH CONGREGATIONS DECLINING, MANY OF CANADA’S CHURCHES ARE ON THE VERGE OF CLOSING. BUT CHANGES IN ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS ARE NOTHING NEW—THEY’VE BEEN ONGOING SINCE PIONEER DAYS, ACCORDING TO A DUO OF TORONTO-AREA RESEARCHERS. In the late 19th century, Toronto was hailed as the evangelical centre of the New World, with more churches per capita than any other city.

Since then, the number of churchgoers has significantly declined, resulting in the widespread phenomenon of congregations without the capital to maintain their churches in a state of good repair. The National Trust for Canada, a charity dedicated to preserving historic places, estimates that over 27,000 places of worship throughout Canada will close within the next ten years.

In many cases, a congregation will choose to sell its entire property and amalgamate with another congregation. Or if it is lucky, it may be able to redevelop a portion of the property in order to continue funding its church—like St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, at 73 Simcoe Street, did in 1995 when it sold its manse (c. 1873) and associated lands for the residential high-rise now called Symphony Place.

The redevelopment of churches is a contentious issue in Toronto, often provoking an emotional response—even from those who are not churchgoers. On the municipal level, the City of Toronto aims to address the

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redevelopment of places of worship by developing a new process with the participation of religious stakeholders. This new process, however, has not yet been made public. At the provincial level, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s Heritage Places of Worship: A Guide to Conserving Heritage Places of Worship in Ontario Communities serves to guide decisions about the protection, alteration and disposal of places of worship. Above all, it seeks to help places of worship continue to be active sites in their communities, and discourages mothballing the buildings.

As the adaptive reuse of church buildings becomes commonplace, I teamed up with artist Robynne Redgrave earlier this year to investigate the early era of ecclesiastical development in the city. Our artist’s book Altered: The Evolution of Toronto’s Church Landscape (1797-1834) examines the evolution of religious built form (as well as pioneer religious culture), drawing from letters, sermons and other primary sources. It was presented at Grow Op, the Gladstone Hotel’s annual exhibition on the culture of landscape, along with a sculptural installation.

Before purpose-built church buildings existed in the Town of York

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(as the City of Toronto was known before it was incorporated in 1834), worship services were conducted in the Parliament Buildings or in private residences, when ministers on circuit came through the settlement.

A purpose-built church was considered a luxury during the early years when, for example, it was common for the garrison to distribute food supplies to avoid mass starvation.

In 1807, a two-storey wood frame building known as the Episcopal Church at York was the first church to be constructed in York.

Unsurprisingly, it was an Anglican church, as the government favoured the Church of England by providing it with land and financial grants.

(In exchange, the church acted as an intermediary for the government by communicating government decrees and teaching loyalty to the British crown.) The Town of York’s original church reserve—land granted from the Crown to the Church of England—is bounded by Adelaide, Church, King and Jarvis Streets.

The building complex has continually evolved to meet the needs of its congregation. Designed by architect Thomas Rogers of Kingston, the original Episocal Church at York was replaced in 1833 in order to triple the capacity of the building. Today, the Anglican Church has retained ownership of approximately a third of the land, with some severed properties in the southeast corner of the block, and the bulk now serving as the City of Toronto-owned St. James Park. On the original reserve land is St. James Cathedral, the fourth or fifth church structure on the site (depending on your interpretation of what exactly entails a new building). Most recently, a 2012 addition by architectsAlliance to the historic Parish House (built in 1910 and expanded again in 1958) accommodates weddings and conferences—activities that fund the maintenance of the Cathedral.

In the early days of York, there was widespread support for the construction of churches of all denominations, because the government believed that there was a direct correlation between public worship and the creation of a socially cohesive, politically united population. In asking the Archbishop of Canterbury for a separate bishopric for his colony in 1826, John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, wrote: “Every establishment of Church and State that upholds the distinction of rank, and lessens the undue weight of democratic inf luence ought to be introduced.” The importance of worshipping in a church cannot be understated—pioneers would even switch religious affiliations in order to have access to a dedicated church building.

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But rather than upholding the social hierarchy, the multitude of church choices, along with freedom from the ethnic and familial constraints of the Old World, created an organizational nightmare for the clergy, who wrote that the pioneers were “spiritually ignorant” and “suffering a loss of faith.” The conditions of the New World effectively enabled the pioneers to forge a new social contract with the clergy in York. Clergy were careful to prevent alienation of church members (whose support was vital for church coffers in the generally impoverished society), lest they defect and join a rival congregation. This resulted in significant changes, such as the end of public shaming of deviant church members—a popular practice in Europe. Congregations even influenced logistical details, such as at what time church services would be conducted.

Eight churches were constructed in York—including Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist places of worship—before the town was incorporated as the City of Toronto in 1834. They have all since been demolished.

Of the original church sites, two are extant: St. James and St. Paul’s.

The latter, St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church at Queen Street East and Power Streets, has, like St. James, maintained its religious use. The original church, designed by architect John Ewart, was constructed between 1822-1826 and was replaced in the 1880s when the congregation outgrew its capacity.

How might this history inform the difficult decisions around church alterations today? Even in pioneer days, the financial viability of churches dictated how they physically and culturally evolved—growing, shrinking, changing use and changing ownership. Contemporary Toronto may have the capacity to maintain heritage churches as intact relics, long after their congregations have left. Or it may need to turn to alternate possibilities for the future of these buildings, which allow them to continue their evolution, while maintaining them as active community sites.

By the way, the earliest example of the permanent adaptive reuse of a church building? It was the Baptist March Street Chapel, which became an orphanage known as Newsboys’ Home after it was sold in 1841. Earlier still, St. James Church had gone through a temporary repurposing—it was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the War of 1812.

Jasmine Frolick is a heritage planner working with ERA Architects. The installation

Altered: The Evolution of Toronto’s Church Landscape (1797-1834) was presented at Grow Op at the Gladstone Hotel from April 21 to 24, 2016.

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BOOKS Attunement: Architectural Meaning After the Crisis of Modern Science

By Alberto Pérez-Gómez. MIT Press, 2016.

Architecture is demanding. Buildings must be practically efficient, economically viable, ecologically sustainable, politically sensitive, technologically savvy, formally novel and visually eye-catching. But all this is meaningless if not also cultivating a profound sense of harmony. Impossibly highfalutin? To the contrary, this is architecture’s most fundamental aim.

As Alberto Pérez-Gómez shows, for architectural settings to become fully relevant, they must manifest atmospheres that enable a harmonious, synesthetic experience of human action and place. Harmony here entails a socially active, quasi-erotic experience of “discordant concordance.” Pérez-Gómez compellingly argues that architecture can—and should— allow for bittersweet encounters with worldly order, engendering “nothing less than a possible unveiling of truths” and a powerful “disclosure of human purpose in the face of mortality.”

Key to attaining harmony is overcoming false Cartesian divides between autonomous selves and external realities. This opens the way for “attuning” individuals with their

broader lifeworlds, and architecture with its cultural and natural contexts.

Bolstered by neurobiology and arguments from his prior books (notably Architecture and the Crisis of Modern Science, 1983; and Built upon Love: Architectural Longing after Ethics and Aesthetics, 2006), Pérez-Gómez elucidates architecture’s perennial pursuit of social well-being by creating well-tempered environments. He shows how physical settings sustain embodied consciousness and psychosomatic health.

With examples from Pythagoras to Piranesi, and Hejduk to Zumthor, Attunement chimes with the author’s inspiring knowledge and love of architectural history, philosophy and poetics. Readers demanding more of architecture than gratuitous novelty and market-driven techno-bureaucracy will be not only pleased, but also moved and empowered toward ethical creativity and understanding.

Through engaging discourse, Attunement cultivates our “desire for desire.”

Lisa Landrum, MRAIC, is an associate professor in architecture at the University of Manitoba.

Places: Public Architecture

By HCMA Architecture + Design. Edited by Alexandra Kenyon. ORO Editions, 2015.

While many monographs tend to showcase the radical theories of the eponymous architect or catalogue a firm’s many completed projects, it is refreshing to find a publication which hones in on a specific sector in which the firm excels.

Here, Vancouver- and Victoria-based HCMA Architecture + Design focuses on their large public projects across a spectrum of sectors including libraries, schools and fire stations. Rather than a chronological list, it lays out the firm’s ethos towards urban planning— specifically around what public spaces should and could be—then selects seven projects that demonstrate this in action.

Fittingly, everything here is accessible to a broad audience. The book, and clearly HCMA, remain grounded outside of the theoretical by highlighting the community need at the heart of all their designs.

Essays by both educators and HCMA principals explain and add context to existing work, contrasting the unique challenges presented

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by public plans that enable large groups of people to interact informally, versus those of private builds which accentuate isolation.

This is made clearer by letting us peek inside the firm’s workplace culture, which consistently develops knowledge on topics essential to modern public projects, from industrial design solutions to sustainability and user research.

A truly collaborative environment, all team contributors understand the social potential of these projects to integrate into people’s emotional and functional lives. Instead of assuming that life will adapt to their designs, they create designs well-suited to real-life needs.

Jon Scott Blanthorn is an architecture writer and critic based in Toronto.

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Fiberboard panels manufactured in Canada by MSL meet the most stringent environmental criteria, made entirely from non-toxic natural materials. They are stable, lightweight and easy to install, and have been placed at the top of the ranks for soundproofing, insulation and roofing panels. Innovation in sustainable development continues to be top of mind at MSL, with its newest product being recognized as one of Canada’s top green products of the year by the Canada Green Building Council. www.MSLfibre.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE CANADIAN CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURE

Canam-Buildings: Better Building Solutions

The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) has become a major international point of confluence for architectural and design thinking, research, publication, debate and innovation. Under the direction of Mirko Zardini, recent work includes Archaeology of the Digital, an investigation into the use of computers and toward the CCA’s objective to create an international collection of digital architecture.

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Architecture as Evidence

CanU 8 Summit

To September 11, 2016 This CCA exhibition presents

September 22-25, 2016

a set of materials gathered during a forensic analysis of the architecture of Auschwitz. The material on display is also presented at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.

www.cca.qc.ca

This Edmonton conference considers how resilient, competitive and equitable 21st century cities can be achieved by focusing collective efforts. Speakers include Peter Busby, FRAIC, Claude Cormier, Renée Daoust, FIRAC, and Gil Penalosa.

Rocky Ridge Recreation Facility Tour

Heritage Toronto Awards and Kilbourn Lecture

September 29, 2016

October 17, 2016

www.wood-works.ca/alberta

www.heritagetoronto.org

The project team for this Calgary facility, including architects and engineers, will share their collaborative experiences constructing North America’s largest wood roof structure.

This evening celebrates outstanding contributions made by individuals, corporations and community groups in heritage preservation and education throughout the city.

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CANADIAN ARCHITECT 09/16

CALENDAR

www.canadianurbanism.ca

CityAge: Toronto

Winnipeg Design Festival September 14-17, 2016

The Winnipeg Design Festival cultivates Winnipeg’s rich community of talented and creative individuals, including architects, and shares the products of their creative design processes.

IDS Vancouver 2016

October 6, 2016

The Interior Design Show Vancouver is Western North America’s annual residential design fair, featuring 275 exhibitors showcasing quality products and services.

The CityAge conference returns to Toronto for its 26th edition, with a special focus on how the business of city-building can shape Canada’s future and contribute to a 21st century economy.

PARK(ing) Day 2016

Diarmuid Nash lecture

Denegri Bessai Studio lecture

September 16, 2016 PARK(ing) Day is an annual

September 23, 2016

October 13, 2016 Maria Denegri, MRAIC, and Tom Bessai, MRAIC, are the winners of the 2016 OAA Best

www.winnipegdesignfestival.net

open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to transform metered parking spaces into temporary public spaces.

www.parkingday.org

September 22-25, 2016

www.idswest.com

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the University of Manitoba’s Environmental Design program, a special lecture series launches with a talk by alumnus Diarmuid Nash, FRAIC, partner at Moriyama & Teshima Architects.

www.cityage.org/toronto

Emerging Practice Award. They present a lecture at the OAA headquarters in Toronto. www.oaa.on.ca

POP / CAN / CRIT: Current Conditions in Popular Canadian Architecture Criticism October 21, 2016

This one-day public symposium at Carleton University in Ottawa investigates the conditions of architecture criticism in Canada today. Speakers include Trevor Boddy, FRAIC; Alex Bozikovic; Ian Chodikoff, FRAIC; Maria Cook; Sophie Gironnay; Christopher Hume; Elsa Lam, MRAIC; Shawn Micallef; Rhys Phillips, Hon. FRAIC; Marco Polo, FRAIC; Lisa Rochon; and David Theodore, MRAIC. www.spacing.ca/PopCanCrit

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Sustainable Built Environment Conference of the Americas

Cabanes de pêche

September 19-20, 2016

To September 25, 2016

Presented in Toronto in conjunction with the Green Building Festival, this conference addresses sustainable building and construction, with an emphasis on peerreviewed research. Over 75 presenters will discuss resilient and regenerative urban environments. www.sbcanada.org

Presented in Montreal by La Maison de l’architecture du Québec, this exhibition explores the vernacular micro-architecture of fishing huts. www.maisondelarchitecture.ca

Cersaie International Exhibition September 26-30, 2016

COBRA 2016 September 19-22, 2016

Hosted in Toronto in partnership with George Brown College, this annual construction, building and real estate conference provides a forum for discussion between researchers worldwide. www.rics.org

Held each year in Bologna, Italy, Cersaie is the world’s largest international exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings, serving as inspiration for all areas of architecture and design. www.cersaie.it

Media Architecture Summit

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September 29-October 1, 2016

Know Your Code September 21, 2016

This half-day workshop in Toronto offers a primer on changes to the new 2017 Ontario Building Code, which requires all new houses to reach new performance levels for energy efficiency. www.enerquality.ca

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This Toronto event provides a forum for critically examining the use of public projection, urban screens and media façades. The Summit includes keynote addresses, hands-on workshops, and a Nuit Blanche preview and launch party at Toronto’s City Hall. www.mas2016.net

Find a member near you today at APDSP.org

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BACKPAGE

BLACK RHINO CREATIVE

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SOLID LIQUID ETHER TEXT

Mark Woytiuk

VANCOUVER CHOREOGRAPHER HEATHER MYERS’ LATEST DANCE PIECE TAKES INSPIRATION FROM ITS ARCHITECTURAL SETTING.

The Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in Surrey, BC, boasts the longest spanning catenary timber roof ever constructed. With 55-metre-long glue-laminated beams dangling from rigid concrete columns, the ceiling appears malleable and lax, as if it were a swatch of cloth surging in the wind. Such architectural insinuations inspired choreographer Heather Myers to create Solid Liquid Ether, a sitespecific dance performance that uses the building as both stage and muse.

The performance was sponsored by Vancouver’s HCMA Architecture + Design as part of an artist-in-residence program established to infuse ideas from other creative disciplines into their practice. Partner Darryl Condon, FRAIC, explains that these peripheral explorations help to increase the social impact of the firm’s work by exposing architects to alternative creative perspectives.

While developing the performance, Myers was involved in discussions with HCMA partners and even hosted a movement workshop for the architectural staff, which allowed her to communicate some of the ways that a dancer deals with fundamental issues of spatial design,

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organization and communication. As Condon suggests, the two disciplines have their own respective approaches to symmetry, grid patterns and spatial narrative.

Although the initial plan was to stage the performance at the grand opening of the facility this June, issues with logistics and timing arose.

Instead, the end product is a four-minute film that follows two dancers, gesturing in rhythmic tandem to the structures and surfaces that surround them. To accommodate the revised format, the team brought in Black Rhino Creative, a collective that specializes in cinematography, adding another voice to the project.

In Myers’ account, Solid Liquid Ether enhances the perception of mundane spaces, such as the locker corridor and change spaces where the piece opens. The dancers use architectural geometries as their jumping-off point. The staircase inspires a staccato and rigid style; the round walls of the universal change spaces suggest more bulbous gestures. A scene on the dive tower integrates almost-stationary caesura into a fluid set of movements, juxtaposing the cantilevered aspect of the platform against the undulating lines of the bespoke ceiling above.

ABOVE A pair of dancers spiral through a shallow pool, echoing the swoop of the suspended glulam beams above.

On one level, the dancers direct the eye of the viewer and draw attention to notable aspects of the architecture. On another, they provide a nuanced interpretation of the way the building may be inhabited. This latter benefits the architects by contributing to their understanding of the aquatic centre as a building type, and potentially influencing future designs.

From a broader perspective, the film folds a layer of creative expression over a civic facility that will be a central node for the Grandview Heights community for decades to come.

By providing an interpretation that removes the building from habitual experience, it begins the work of community appropriation that allows architecture’s place-making agenda to take hold. In this respect, Solid Liquid Ether is an innovative way of nudging the fledgling building out of the nest.

To watch Solid Liquid Ether in full, visit www.ow.ly/ pQe13032Chl Mark Woytiuk is a Vancouver-based writer, researcher and intern architect.

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