A Slice of Life

How can a building bring together a diverse new community in a developing neighbourhood?

A slice of life – of everyone’s life - is food. It transcends culture, language, and age. Situated in the West Donlands, a developing neighbourhood with a wide variety of ethnic heritages, the Slice of Life Library and Community Hub encourages community involvement, collaboration, and interaction across the life cycle of food, emphasized through program and circulation. A hydroponic garden leads straight to a communal kitchen, which seamlessly flows into an indoor/ outdoor cafe, providing a platform for diverse cultures to be shared and celebrated. A bright and open library program, as well as an accessible green roof, offer moments of both socialization and rest, and a stepped sunken courtyard helps ground the building.

The library occupies a triangular shape that faces southeast, engaging the surrounding pedestrian space and forming an unabridged path from one side of the block to the other

The exterior space of the southeast side of the building is lowered, forming a stepped sunken courtyard that ties together the exterior and interior

The second floor is extruded to provide shade for the courtyard below, and structural south-facing louvers regulate solar gain and light penetration

A green roof, benches and skylights are added to the library to maximize natural daylight and enhance the building’s connection with nature