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canadian architect
Published since 1955, Canadian Architect is a magazine for architects and related professionals practicing in Canada.
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    Reimagining Urban Leadership
    Photo credit: City of EdmontonCities rarely behave the way we want them to. Urbanist William Whyte illustrated this in the 1980s when he studied the behaviour of park-goers in New York. Despite planners carefully arranging chairs in unique and novel ways, people instinctively moved them around to suit their own needs. Similarly, the worn paths we see cutting through park lawns are not part of the original design they are desire lines, revealing the routes people naturally choose, rather than those intended by urban planners. This highlights a fundamental truth: how we plan and design a space often doesnt align with the way people truly live and move through it.As a PhD candidate in urban and regional planning, I have been delving into this disconnect between intention and execution. Theres often a chasm between what urban planners envision and what is actually realized. Many plans, no matter how meticulously crafted, remain unfulfilled, leading to a cognitive dissonance between our aspirations and the final product, and contributing to frustration and disappointment from the broader community. Despite their best efforts, planners often find that the systems they work within do not operate the way they had hoped. In many prairie cities, the plans and strategies drafted by urban planners often end up collecting dust on forgotten shelves, never to be revisited.John Forester, a key figure in the study of power and its influence on the practice of planning, famously noted that If planners ignore those in power, they assure their own powerlessness. This statement underscores a vital point: urban planners are not merely neutral technicians but are embedded in complex political environments. They should aim for more than just managing permits and enforcing processes they should be agents of change, actively challenging the status quo. Yet, not every planner sees themselves in this role. This raises the question: What is the true role of a planner in a city? And more specifically, in Edmonton?Planners, no matter how skilled, can find their work stymied by organizational constraints, and even the best plans can falter when political and economic realities intervene. As we approach another election year, much attention will be focused on elected officials, yet we should also consider the questions we ask of the city builders who work within administrative spaces. While decision-making may rest with politicians, it is within the administration and public-private partnerships where expertise and leadership traverse election cycles. These city builders planners, administrators, architects, and engineers wield significant influence and should not only be part of the conversation but should lead it.In 2018, I moved to Edmonton for this very reason. While my hometown of Winnipeg was bogged down by a decades-long debate over the infamous Portage and Main intersection, Edmontons planning landscape was thriving. Administrators and planners were shaping the discourse, pushing boundaries, and driving urban change. I was drawn to this energy and eager to learn what enabled such leadership among Edmontons city planners. What inspired them to push through and make urban transformation possible?That question led me to consider: what makes planning in Edmonton different from Winnipeg? In Winnipeg, planners often feel powerless, constrained by municipal government structures. In contrast, in Edmonton, planners seemed to embrace their role, actively pushing for change and progress.Through my research, I attempt to understand the role of central figures like planners in prairie cities such as Edmonton and Winnipeg. Drawing on Timothy Rowleys social network analysis theory, I have discovered that planners are either commanders, compromisers, subordinates, and/or solitarians, and each play different but vital roles in shaping the urban narrative.Commanders, often the public face of planning, have the power to initiate dialogue, shape the direction of planning efforts, and guide the process. Compromisers are the peacekeepers, helping resolve conflicts and facilitating compromise among stakeholders. Subordinates, though less visible, provide support by listening and synthesizing the concerns of both the public and officials. Solitarians are the researchers and analysts, offering clarity and detailed knowledge that can guide more informed decision-making. Together, these diverse figures form a web of influence, creating a robust environment for urban change.How can we, and should we, make space for these diverse players? And is Edmontons planning environment still supportive of innovation and leadership? Understanding and creating room for all types of city builders is essential to successfully plan and shape our cities. It enables us to adapt and adjust our plans as cities evolve and as people shape their communities. This approach empowers planners, working within diverse constraints, to discover their authentic voice and influence, foster collaboration, and understand the significance of their work in driving meaningful change. It encourages creativity within our administrations, opening pathways for transformative action. Moving forward, I believe that embracing the complexity of governance and acknowledging the varied roles of city builders is key to shaping the future of our urban landscapes.Jason Syvixay is Vice President of BILD Edmonton Metro, and a PhD candidate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta.The post Reimagining Urban Leadership appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Canadian Architects most read news posts of 2024
    Another year has come and gone and were rounding up the top 10 most read news posts of the year.From the many updates on the beloved Ontario Science Centre and Ontario Place to a review of the Well in Toronto, here are the top most-visited news posts of 2024 in order.Removal of trees in progress at Ontario Place on October 3, 2024, around 5 pm. Photo by Jason Ash10. Amid 865 trees coming down, Province releases 95-year lease with ThermeThe highly contested redevelopment of Ontario Place, a waterfront property in downtown Toronto, came to a head this fall with the abrupt demolition of the trees and structures in a large part of the property. The workwhich included the removal of every single tree on the western portion of the waterfront siteis part of the approximately $200-million in work that taxpayers are funding to prepare the land for Therme, an Austrian spa company, to develop a stadium-sized indoor waterpark on the site.The 7.7-acre site formerly housed The Globe and Mails facility, and is located in the midst of the densifying King West area. To the south, it adjoins the future Rail Deck District, a five-tower complex that is being planned to cantilever over the VIA and GO train corridor.9. The Well, Toronto, Ontario: Review by John LorincThe Well, a much anticipated and heavily publicized collaboration between RioCan and Allied Properties REIT, opened in Toronto this year. Several design firms were involved in the project, including Hariri Pontarini Architects, Urban Strategies, CCxA, BDP, architectsAlliance, Wallman Architects, and Adamson Associates. Journalist John Lorinc reviewed the complex, and explains its significance for Toronto urbanism.Ontario Science Centre. Photo by Amanda Large8. Cost of Ontario Science Centre temporary location exceeds cost of roof repairsOn June 24, 2024, Infrastructure Ontario put out an RFP for a commercial/retail space to house a temporary Science Centre until its planned new facility at Ontario Place is complete. Canadian Architect editor Elsa Lam noted that the temporary location, which would not be open until 2026, would put the Science Centre in a location that was significantly smallerand likely much more remotethan its current site. She also analyzes how the cost of the temporary location would exceed the cost of making necessary repairs to the existing Moriyama-design Science Centre.Courtesy the Future of Ontario Place Project Cinesphere pods and lagoon from the west7. Ontario Place project at risk as Canada ignores engagement requirements with Indigenous PeoplesA release issued by the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) stated that it believes that the Federal government has failed to meet Indigenous engagement obligations for the Ontario Place project on Torontos waterfront. The release noted that if the Government of Canada fails to fulfill its responsibility to engage and collaborate with Indigenous Peoples, the multi-billion-dollar Ontario Place development project could face significant delays.Construction fences were erected on Friday, June 21 around the perimeter of the Ontario Science Centre, following a provincial announcement of the Centres immediate and indefinite closure. Photo by Elsa Lam6. Ontario Science Centre doesnt require full closure: A close reading of the engineers reportJust after the Ontario Science Centre was abruptly closed, Canadian Architect editor Elsa Lam released a deep dive into Rimkus engineers roof report, which was used to justify the closure. Her analysis suggests that the buildings key exhibition areas could continue to operate safelyeven if the Ontario government choose not to invest in any structural roof repairs by the fall.Credit: Henry Saxon Snell Fonds, John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection, McGill University Library5. McGill University researchers say modern temperature control and ventilation design could be transformed with historic techniqueResearchers from McGill University say that by revamping a forgotten heat recovery technique used in the design of Montreals Royal Victoria Hospital, modern temperature control and ventilation design could be transformed.The current Ontario Science Centre on Don Mills Road, in Toronto. Photo by BuBZ at English Wikipedia Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30565824. TSA issues open letter on Ontario Science Centre closureOn June 21, 2024, the provincial government announced that the Ontario Science Centres landmark 1969 building, by Japanese-Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, would be closed immediately, for an indefinite period of time. Organizations including Canadian Architect, ACO, and the TSA rallied quickly to voice their opposition to the closure.The Ontario Science Centre. Photo by James Brittain, Courtesy Moriyama Teshima Architects3. The true cost of repairing the Ontario Science Centre is much, much less than what Infrastructure Ontario has been sayingand the proof is in its own documentsTwo figures have been cited by the Ontario Government: $478 million and $369 million. The actual number is much lessaround $200 million, or just $24 million for tackling priority repairs to keep the museum open for several years to come, writes Elsa Lam.A pedestrian bridge linking the front building to the main exhibitions has been closed since June 2022. Photo by James Brittain, courtesy Moriyama Teshima Architects2. As Province edges towards demolition of Science Centre, documents point to a manufactured crisisThe documents issued by the government on July 11 point to known issues and minor problems that can be easily resolved, providing further evidence of a manufactured crisis surrounding the closure.Photo credit: Steven Evans1. Provincial government agrees to pause demolition at Ontario PlaceOn July 10, 2024, the Ontario government agreed to halt demolition pending the results of Ontario Place Protectors (OPP)s challenge to the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act on July 19. Unfortunately, after the groups challenge was unsuccessful, demolition continued. OPP has appealed the ruling.The post Canadian Architects most read news posts of 2024 appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Toronto Society of Architects rolls out fifth annual Gingerbread City
    Photo credit: Toronto Society of ArchitectsThe Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) is rolling out its popular Gingerbread City showcase for the fifth consecutive year. The TSAs Gingerbread City, which consists of both a virtual and in-person exhibit, invites architects and gingerbread lovers to celebrate architecture and city-building through whimsical and edible creations.CN Tower by The Change Bakers (Photo credit: Gingerbread City 2024)This year, the housing crisis was top of mind as bakers submitted a diverse array of housing solutions from mid-rise cooperative projects of all shapes and sizes, to New York style brownstones and single-family detached homes.There is also a thoughtful reminder of the many Torontonians experiencing homelessness and the importance of building housing for everyone.Ace Hotel by Rob Shostak (Photo credit: Gingerbread City 2024)In addition to housing related submissions, the showcase features some local landmarks including two CN Towers and the recently completed Ace Hotel.Kids Main Street, which is returning as part of this years virtual showcase, is a mixed-used streetscape featuring over 30 faades designed and built by children, ages 2 to 11, and completed during in-person workshops held earlier this month.60 Richmond Co-Op by Jol Len Danis (Photo credit: Gingerbread City 2024)The workshops were an opportunity to learn what makes a vibrant streetscape and have some family fun. The result features everything from a fire station to a costume store, cafes, restaurants, toy stores, and a myriad of ice cream shops.TSA Gingerbread Citys virtual showcase and in-person display opened on December 17, 2024, with an in-person preview happening at The Maker Bean Cafe on December 14.The in-person display will remain available until January 10, 2025, at The Maker Bean Cafe, located at 1052 Bloor Street West, Toronto.To visit the virtual showcase, click here.The post Toronto Society of Architects rolls out fifth annual Gingerbread City appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    New Ontario Science Centre at Ontario Place to open in 2029, auditor general says
    A woman waits outside the new temporary pop-up Ontario Science Centre located in Sherway Gardens mall in Toronto, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteThe timeline for opening a permanent newOntarioScienceCentreappears to have been delayed, with infrastructure officials telling the auditor generals office thecentreis expected to be up and running in 2029.When Premier Doug Ford announced last year the planned move for the attraction, from its east Toronto location to a redevelopedOntarioPlace on the citys waterfront, thesciencecentresaid the new facility would open in 2028.In June, when the government announced the abrupt closure of thesciencecentreover structural concerns with the roof, its press release said theOntarioPlace facility would open as early as 2028.Now, according to a report earlier this month from Ontarios auditor general Shelley Spence on theOntarioPlace redevelopment, the new building is expected to open in 2029.That information was provided to the auditor generals office by InfrastructureOntario, a spokesperson for the auditor said.Jason Ash, co-chair of the group Save OntariosScienceCentre, said its a shame that there will be no permanentOntarioScienceCentrefor at least an extra year.Its really a whole generation ofOntariochildren who are not going to have access to world-classscienceeducation that theOntarioScienceCentrehas provided for 55 years, he said.Simply put, theOntarioScienceCentrewas unique in that the majority of its business actually came from Ontarians, with tourism coming in second place. SoOntariokids arent being served and tourists are not going to get a great experience either in the meantime.Two requests for comment from Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma went unanswered, with a spokesperson ultimately replying to a third by saying she would not be responding.Due to the request submitted by the Leader of the Official Opposition to the Integrity Commissioner on October 16th, 2024, Minister Kinga Surma has been asked not to comment and will respect the process at this time, Ash Milton wrote.Miltons reply came after Surma answered at least a dozen questions in question period on the auditor generalsOntarioPlace redevelopment findings.NDP Leader Marit Stiles integrity complaint focused largely on terms and negotiations that led to a 95-year lease for Therme to build and operate a spa and waterpark atOntarioPlace, but also alleges irregularities with the plan to relocate thesciencecentre.Stiles suggests, based on information previously uncovered last year by the auditor general, that the government wanted to have thesciencecentreatOntarioPlace and integrate parking promised to Therme with thesciencecentrebuilding in order to dispel public concerns over the project.This is yet another expensive project that nobody asked for with a plan that no one is buying, Stiles wrote in a statement this week.We could have revitalized the existingScienceCentrefor a fraction the cost. Ford and Surma boasted about the newScienceCentreopening in 2028, but that sounds like more false promises from a flailing government.A spokesperson for InfrastructureOntariosaid the procurement process for the newcentrecontinues, with the request for proposals stage expected to wrap up next fall.A firm date for the completion of construction will be posted once a contract is awarded, and the opening date will depend on the centres timeline for moving into the new building, Karen Evans said in an email.The overall plan for delivering the vision remains unchanged, she said.That audit found that it will now cost more for the government to build a newOntarioScienceCentreatOntarioPlace than it would have to maintain the site it abruptly closed earlier this year.The cost estimate for building and maintaining a newsciencecentreatOntarioPlace has increased by nearly $400 million from the governments spring 2023 business case for relocating it, the auditor said, meaning it will cost approximately $1.4 billion higher than the $1.3-billion estimate for maintaining the attraction at its east Toronto location.The increase is due to higher design and construction costs, life cycle and maintenance costs, and ancillary costs that have added up because of changes to the scope of the planned building and about $61 million in cost escalations, Spence wrote.Michael Lindsay, at the time the president and CEO of InfrastructureOntario, said he didnt agree that building a newsciencecentrewill cost more than rehabilitating the old one, noting that project would also be facing inflationary price increases.Lindsay provided some reasoning for possible delays in a briefing on the day thesciencecentrewas closed.The language (of as early as 2028) probably just reflects the realities of procurement and construction, he said.Were going to be talking to our counterparties through the procurement about what it would take to construct a newsciencecentre, how long that might be, and so I think the plan remains the plan. That language probably just points at the reality that further conversation with our market is coming about what its going to take to both procure and then build the newsciencecentre.Ontariois planning to have a temporarysciencecentreopen in the interim, but has not provided any public updates on that process since it issued a request for proposals in June.That RFP showed the province is looking for retail or commercial space of about 50,000 to 100,000 square feet much smaller than the original buildings 568,000 square feet with a start date of no later than Jan. 1, 2026.The RFP also showed that the province wants a lease of up to five years for the temporary space, plus three options to extend the lease for one year each, which would allow the government to operate asciencecentrein a temporary home until 2034, Ash said.Thesciencecentreis currently operating two pop-up exhibits at HarbourfrontCentreand the Sherway Gardens mall in Toronto.The post New Ontario Science Centre at Ontario Place to open in 2029, auditor general says appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    ArtsCommons Transformation expansion breaks ground
    Rendering: KPMB ArchitectsFollowing three years of planning and design, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), ArtsCommons and The City of Calgary have announced that the ArtsCommons Transformation (ACT) expansion has broken ground. This marks a significant step forward in the delivery of the arts-focused infrastructure project currently underway in Canada.Since revealing the architectural designs for the ACT expansion in April, CMLC, as Development Manager for the ACT project, has been working with our construction and project management teams to develop a strategic and efficient construction management plan for the project, and to secure approval for our Development Permit this fall, said Kate Thompson, president and CEO of CMLC. A groundbreaking is an exciting moment in any project it represents the culmination of years of advocacy, design, approvals and planning, and marks the beginning of really bringing a project to life. We cant wait for the ACT expansion to begin to take its place in Calgarys iconic skyline.Construction on the ACT expansion, designed by KPMB Architects, Hindle Architects and Tawaw Architecture Collective, will begin in January 2025. Construction will be managed by EllisDon with project management by Colliers Project Leaders, and is expected to be completed in 2028.The ACT expansion is the first of the three campus transformation phases to begin construction. The other two phases include the Olympic Plaza Transformation (OPT) project, which is now fully funded, and the ACT modernization, for which efforts are underway to secure the remaining required funds.Photo credit: KPMB ArchitectsTo finally be able to break ground on this once-in-a-lifetime project, with such an unprecedented level of public and private support, sends a strong message to the world about the importance ofarts and culture to a citys well-being, as well as to Calgarys position on the global stage, said Alex Sarian, president and CEO of ArtsCommons. Earlier this year we were humbled to announce both the Government of Albertas $103 million commitment, and Dave Werklund and familys record-setting $75 million transformational gift which, combined with the $320.5 million of already secured funding, brings us to over 75 per cent of our fundraising goal for this $660 million downtown cultural campus. As we prepare to unveil our rebranding to Werklund Centre in 2025, I am overwhelmed by the sense optimism that comes from building the future of our city together.Design is currently underway for the Olympic Plaza Transformation (OPT) project, which is aiming to create a more modern, inclusive and accessible arts-focused outdoor gathering space as part of the contiguousArtsCommons campus upon its completion in 2028. The design for the Olympic Plaza Transformation project will be revealed in the late first quarter of 2025.CMLC and The City of Calgary have also launched a series of digital experiences to archive Olympic Plazas 1988-2024 chapter, including the Olympic Brick Finder, the Olympic Plaza Interactive Experience and the Olympic Plaza 3D Perspective. All three tools can be found here.The Olympic Plaza will close at the beginning of January 2025 to facilitate construction and site fencing will be installed around the entirety of it at that time before beginning site demolition. 8 Avenue between Macleod Trail and 1 St S.E. will remain open for the majority of construction, and access to the existing ArtsCommonsfacility, the Burns Building, the Public Building and the Dominion Bank Building will be maintained at all times.The City of Calgary will continue to work with event organizers to identify alternate locations for events during construction. The City of Calgary has also launched a resource to help Calgarians find other parks, public washroom and skating amenities in downtown through construction.The post ArtsCommons Transformation expansion breaks ground appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Auditor Generals Report, Part 6: Procurement
    Demolition continues at Ontario Place. Photo by Steven EvansThe majority of Auditor General Shelley Spences 121-page Value for Money audit of the Ontario Place redevelopment centres on procurement. We found that the CFD [Call for Development] process and realty decisions were not fair, transparent or accountable to all participants as would be required by the Realty Direction, the CFD document, and best practices, writes Spence.That language echoes the words of previous Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, who analyzed changes to the Greenbelt in a 2023 report, concluding that the way the government proposed changes to the Greenbelt was not publicly transparent, objective or well-informed, and was inconsistent with the vision, goals and processes of the Greenbelt Plan, as well as previous amendments to the Greenbelt boundary.Summarizing the Ministry of Infrastructures decision-making on Ontario Place, the report points to how, for example, despite published guidance that contact with government officials was prohibited during the open period, some participants were invited to meet with government officials and high-ranking political staff during the CFD open period. These communications included nine e-mails and one call between a Vice President at Infrastructure Ontario and Thermes legal counsel, an introduction of Therme to the transaction advisor leading the Call for Development, and an invitation to an event at the legal counsels firm. Minutes of these meetingsas well as separate meetings between the VP and other participantswere not kept, so there is no way to know what was discussed, let alone assess whether all participants had equal access to the same information.Rather than following the Provinces standard procurement law, directives, or best practices, the 2019 Call for Development, as well as an earlier call in 2017, were categorized as real estate transactions. This is unusualother large waterfront developments, in both Ontario and abroad, have proceeded as procurements. In any case, the current process also did not meet the lesser requirements of the Realty Directive, which strives for accountability and transparency. As a result of terms and conditions with considerable ambiguity (for instance, The Government may select one, none or multiple submissions as part of the process), a few participants did not invest a significant amount of time and resources into their submissions, sending in a one-page response.The assessment process itself, in the Auditor Generals summary, was irregular, subjective, and not always followed. The process used a qualitative scoring framework, with criteria that were not finalized until after the submission deadlinewith the result that a third of the criteria never appeared in the CFD document being referenced by submitters. Criteria were not assigned relative weights, leading to uneven scoring. In many cases, individual assessors scores were very different from each othernot unusual in itselfbut after a consensus meeting that sought to reconcile those scores, some scores were altered two subsequent times. While assessors were required to score all areas, there were 126 instances (or 11%) where an objective was left unscored by an assessor. One assessor did not score any of the criteria for Therme prior to the consensus meeting. The process did not include a fairness monitor, whose job as an independent third party involves ensuring that the advertised process is followed, and all parties are treated fairly and equally.One of the submitters, Triple Five Group, was asked to substantially revise and resubmit its submission, which was received 70 days after the submission deadline. This process moved the submission from a consensus score of low and the lead assessor writing that they were unable to assess the submission, to Triple Five Group eventually becoming the primary comprehensive site-wide solution option. In other cases, proponents were selected for a short list or further discussions despite ranking lower than others. Due diligence meetings, in which Infrastructure Ontario sought to clarify information and/or confirm assumptions in submissions, were conducted with only six of the 34 participants, despite four additional participants receiving a high score for Alignment with Governments Vision and an additional 13 participants assessed as receiving a moderate score on this criteria.One of the biggest procedural missteps is that the Call for Developments envisioned two different types of bids: some that would present a comprehensive site-wide solution, and another scenario with multiple single tenants. The same criteria were used to score these vastly different solutions, notes the report. The full implications of the provincial costs of each solution were not presented to key decision-makers, even though by taking on its present role as Master Developer, the province has put taxpayers on the hook for public realm, parking, and last mile transit costs totalling over $950 million for the project. The report notes that several of the site-wide submissions includes designs for the public realm, parking solutions, and/or last mile designs, including, in some cases, provisions to pay for these features.The social and environmental costs of redevelopment were not considered in the redevelopment, eitherand the report makes notes that the governments Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023 exempts the site from key environmental assessments and heritage requirements. As critics have long noted, there was no input sought from the public until after the tenants had already been announced. In the 17 consultations held afterwards, a key sentiment, according to Infrastructure Ontarios own reporting, was why now and whats the purpose; why [wasnt the] public consulted on partner selection.Taking what the public wanted into consideration from the beginning would have made the process more open and transparent to the public and could have prevented many of the issues, lawsuits, media attention, etc. that have occurred, says the Auditor Generals report. Between September 2019 and June 2024, the government has spent $8.5 million on legal fees associated with the 2019 CFD, MZO, lease negotiations and associated work.Related:The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario PlaceThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parkingThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 3: ThermeThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 4: Collateral DamageThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 5: The Future, Continued Privatization of Ontario PlaceThe post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 6: Procurement appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre wins Prix VersaillesSpecial Prize
    tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre. Photo credit: Nic Lehouxtmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre, which recently opened in in New Westminster, British Columbia, has been awarded a Special Prize for Interiors in the Sports category at the Prix Versailles in Paris.tmsewtx, derived from the hnqminm language and meaning Sea Otter House Aquatic and Community Centre, was designed by hcma architecture + design, for all ages and abilities with a focus on community connections, wellness-based activities, and sporting and fitness activities.tmsewtx was shortlisted against six other international sports architecture projects, including the Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre. It is only the third Canadian project to earn recognition in the competitions history, with the other two being the Holt Renfrew Ogilvy flagship in Montreal (Jeffrey Hutchinson & Associates and Lemay, caf by Laplace and Lemay) and the Apple Flagship Store in Vancouver (Perkins & Will).tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre. Photo credit: Nic LehouxThe tmsewtx facility has also recently been certified gold for accessibility by the Rick Hansen Foundation, which reinforces the principles of inclusive and accessible design that were core aspects of the facilitys planning and detailing.tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre. Photo credit: Nic LehouxThe facility is located on the edge of a residential neighbourhood north of the Fraser River, which has been a cultural and economic life source for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.The project, located on the site of the former headwaters of Glenbrook Ravine, which was lost to development over the preceding decades, takes a strong stance toward reconciliation with the natural character of the landscape.tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre. Photo credit: Nic LehouxThe 10,684 sq m / 114,571 sq ft aquatic community centre is Canadas first completed all-electric aquatic facility to achieve the Canada Green Building Councils (CAGBC) Zero Carbon Building-Design Standard. tmsewtx is also the first to use the gravity-fedInBluefiltration system, which reduces the need for chlorine usage and creation of associated harmful byproducts.tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre. Photo credit: Nic LehouxThe post tmsewtx Aquatic and Community Centre wins Prix VersaillesSpecial Prize appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    CCA announces second part of three-part film and exhibition series
    Still from the documentary film Into the Island, 2023 CCAThe CCA has announced the launch of To Build Law, the second chapter of Groundwork, a three-part film and exhibition series exploring the conceptual development and field research of contemporary architects cultivating alternative modes of practice.Groundworkaims to ask how we understand the making of architecture in the present moment, and how architects situate themselves in relation to changing natural and disciplinary boundaries. The exhibition aims to ask questions such as: What to build, or not build? Is a building the end point of architectural production? What to do with the existing building stock? How to intervene in the landscape? and How to engage with the increasing environmental and social complexities of a site?According to a 2020 report by the UN Environment Programme, the construction industry accounts for at least 38 per cent of carbon emissions globally, operating with narrow methods geared toward profit. Buildings are held as assets, torn down, and redeveloped, with limited consideration of community and environmental impacts.The documentary and exhibition To Build Law follows the Berlin-based collaborative architecture practice bplus.xyz (b+) and the Zurich-located chair for architecture and storytelling s+ (station.plus, D-ARCH, ETH Zurich) as they establish a policy lab, HouseEurope!, to propose industry reforms and shift cultural norms.The project observes b+s radical experiments beyond the fringes of conventional architectural practice, during various phases of conceptualization and development of a European Citizens Initiative meant to incentivize renovation over demolition and new construction.Guided by an urgency to understand the ways that architects are enacting change in the built environment, curator Francesco Garutti, alongside film director Joshua Frank, will be presenting a reportage of urban fragments and legal pathways in which architecture reveals itself as an open process of establishing partners, drafting positions, convening meetings, strategizing campaigns, and collecting votes to build a movement that aims to change the conditions of the architectural discipline in Europe.To Build Law is the second chapter of Groundwork, whichlaunched in May 2024 with Into the Island.The exhibition will be on display until September 14, 2025.For more information on the exhibition, clickhere.The post CCA announces second part of three-part film and exhibition series appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Les Jardins de Mtis prepares for 100th anniversary milestone
    Alexander Reford. Photo credit: Ali InayAs Les Jardins de Mtis approaches its 100th anniversary milestone in 2026, it will begin various transitions as it enters a new chapter.As part of this transition, Alexander Reford, general manager of Les Jardins since 1995, will be leaving the general management of Jardins de Mtis.A new general manager will take office in March 2025 and will be accompanied in the transition by Reford, to ensure consistency in operations as well as the overall strategic vision.Following the centenary celebrations, Reford will continue his his involvement in the Jardins de Mtis mission as curator.This development reflects Les Jardins de Mtis goal to combine the legacy of Elsie Reford with a contemporary vision of garden design.Elsie left us blank pages at the end of her gardening notebook in 1958. These blank pages leave it to her successors to carry on her work, said Alexander Reford.The centenary of Les Jardins de Mtis represents an exceptional opportunity to pay tribute to our predecessors, while paving the way for future generations. This transition will breathe new life into our institution while preserving the values for which it is known for.The post Les Jardins de Mtis prepares for 100th anniversary milestone appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    First All Mass Timber Acute Care Hospital in North America Breaks Ground in Ontario
    Rendering: Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton, OntarioThe Quinte Health Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton, Ontario, which has officially broken ground, will be the firstallmasstimber acute care hospital in North America upon completion in 2027. The new hospital is designed by HDR and currently under construction with M. Sullivan & Son and Infrastructure Ontario.This healing environment will serve its community with advanced medical technologies, energy-efficient operations, biophilic design principles, a low-carbon masstimber structure and access to nature throughout the facility.The new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital is more than a modern healthcare facility its a reflection of the remarkable pride this community has in its hometown hospital spanning more than a century, said Stacey Daub, president and CEO, Quinte Health. Transitioning from an older outdated building to an innovative,allmasstimber structureallows Quinte Health to meet the latest standards in healthcare and provide a safer, more resilient space that serves both our community and the thousands of visitors drawn to the beautiful region each year.The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospitals clinical capabilities will include 23 inpatient beds, an emergency department, diagnostic imaging, procedures, comprehensive ambulatory care services and healing gardens.Its sustainable infrastructure will feature geothermal energy, solar panels, green roofs, electric vehicle ready parking, and a high-performance building envelope for future electrification and net-zero carbon emission status.Rendering: Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton, OntarioLocated in the heart of Picton, Ontario, the new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital will be adjacent to the existing hospital, which will remain operational during construction.It has been an amazing journey with Quinte Health and the Prince Edward County community to be able to bring such a groundbreaking energy and carbon reduction approach to the design of acute care facilities, said Jason-Emery Groen, design director, HDR, Canada. Through a multidisciplinary approach to building trust among key stakeholders, agencies and Authorities Having Jurisdiction, HDR was able to shift age-old limitations into phenomenal opportunities, not only for this community, but the future of healthcare design and beyond in North America.The post First All Mass Timber Acute Care Hospital in North America Breaks Ground in Ontario appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    DesignTO Announces 2025 Programming
    DesignTO, Photo by Simon LiaoThe DesignTO Festival will be returning to Toronto to celebrate its 15th anniversary.The festival, which will be taking place from January 24 to February 2, 2025, will feature over 100 free events, installations, tours, talks and exhibitions by more than 300 designers and artists.Its incredible to see how much weve grown, said Jeremy Vandermeij, executive director and co-founder of DesignTO. Weve welcomed over one million attendees, reached 2.6 billion people through media, supported more than 6,500 artists, and generated $120 million in tourism spending. And theres more to come!DesignTO supports a vision of design that is more than aesthetics, but that rather aims to be a tool for problem-solving, solution-building, organized change, experimenting, innovating and evolving toward a better future.This years festival will put a spotlight on how design impacts joy, justice, and sustainability.From immersive experiences that help the community slow down and reconnect to artworks addressing endangered creative practices, DesignTO will offer many ways to participate in the festival schedule.The festival will kick off with an official launch party on January 24, which will feature a one-night-only installation by Toronto-based artist Asli Alin. It will also offer guests an opportunity to see REVIVE, a DesignTO-curated group exhibition featuring the work of seven local and international artists and designers.From January 1 to 31, 2025, there will be an exhibition of photos that explore ideas of the self through costuming by Toronto-based, Ghanaian-Nigerian photographer and visual artist Delali Cofie on five digital screens at Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge and Dundas Square).The festival will also feature Studio Rats immersive inflatable installation and lighting concept quilted from reclaimed waste plastics at 55 St. Clair Avenue West, and a site-specific installation at the Mason Studio Cultural Hub that emphasizes sensory extremes.Amazon Sucks window display byOrganized by DesignTO in partnership with the Toronto Society of Architects, Ideas Forum: Labour in Architecture will take place virtually. It will feature five fast-paced presentations representing diverse organizational structures, including co-operative, union, and employee-owned. It will also feature a BIPOC Portfolio Collaboration hosted by Gensler, and an installation by Christopher Rouleau called Amazon Sucks that will take place at 918 Danforth Ave.Mini Sunbed by Bartosz MuchaThis years DesignTO festival will also feature a talk on sustainability, a design exhibition called Dwell, that will offer opportunities to slow down and connect in Union Station and Wind Up Radios video and sound installation/cautionary message from the Server Farms of Miscellanea at the Drake Hotel.For more information and to view the full schedule, click here.The post DesignTO Announces 2025 Programming appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Vancouver Art Gallery to take new design direction
    Image credit: Herzog & MeuronThe Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) announced that it will not be going forward with the design of its proposed new building and will be bringing in a new architecture partner.Estimates for the the project have now reached $600 million. Anthony Kiendl, VAGs CEO and executive director announced on December 3, 2024, that Herzog & Meuron has been removed from the project, which is taking a new direction.Following the temporary pause of on-site construction activity announced at the end of the summer, we have been reassessing the projects direction. Throughout this process, we have been listening to feedback from our supporters, artists, Members and stakeholders, who are helping to shape the next phase of this transformative project, said Kiendl.In the statement, Kiendl went on to state that VAGs goal is to create a building that embodies a diverse and inclusiveartistic vision while ensuring financial sustainability within a fixed budget.Kiendl also noted that VAG recognizes that inflation has put tremendous pressure on their plans, and as a result, it has become clear that they require a new way forward to meet both their artistic mission and vision and practical needs.For the past decade, we have had the benefit of collaborating with the esteemed Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron on plans for a newGallery. We are grateful for our partnership with them, which has helped shape our thinking around what a museum could look like in the 21st century and provided valuable research that can be applied moving forward, said Kiendl. However, in view of our reassessment, the Gallery Associations Board has made the difficult decision to part ways with Herzog & de Meuron.The statement also noted that at its last meeting, the board approved updated Strategic Priorities that will guide the gallery as they move forward. These underscore our commitment to build a new cultural hub that will be the heart of our communities and serve and inspire diverse audiences, said Kiendl.Kiendl concluded by stating that in the coming months, they will schedule a series of opportunities at the gallery to share more about the next phase of the project and discuss it with its members and communities.The post Vancouver Art Gallery to take new design direction appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Auditor Generals Report, Part 5: The Future, Continued Privatization of Ontario Place
    The construction of Thermes stadium-sized waterpark, the doubling in size of Live Nations concert venue, and the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre are considered to be the first phase of the redevelopment of Ontario Place. The Auditor Generals report also notes that a second phase is planned. In a May 2020 Treasury board submission, the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries noted that The approach to Phase 2 is currently under consideration and contemplates the development of a large-scale entertainment destination on a portion of the East Island and mainland.A second phase of privatization would, like the first phase, entail considerable public investment. The Auditor Generals report notes that in an earlier briefing to the same ministry and to the Premiers office, Infrastructure Ontario stated that the government would be responsible for lagoon in-fill on the East Island for a larger-scale tenant for the future phase.A September 2020 illustration, obtained by Global News, appears to show Ontario Places Brigantine Cove paved over to enable a later phase of development at Ontario PlaceDocumentsobtained by the NDP and shared by Global News earlier this year appear to confirm that Phase 2 would potentially involve filling in and paving the lagoon, also known as Brigantine Covethe body of water between Budweiser Stage and Trillium Park. The purpose would be to add to the land available to build on. An August 2022 briefing prepared for the Premiers office describes this as Phase 2: Potential Future Development Opportunity (up to 25 acres).According to Global News, a September 2020 document explains that Phase II contemplates development of a large-scale entertainment, retail and restaurant destination on a portion of the East island and mainland.What could that large-scale entertainment venue, retail and restaurant destination look like? One possibility for the nature of the developmentand perhaps even the eventual developer that will be selectedis hinted at in the Auditor Generals report. One of the applicants proposing a comprehensive development on the Ontario Place site as a whole was a company called Triple Five. Triple Five initially received a low score in all categories of evaluation and was noted as having Insufficient Information Provided to Assess. But after the consensus evaluation meeting, a VP from Infrastructure Ontario reached out to Big Five to request clarification on submission details, and exchanged a series of further e-mails and phone calls with thema process that was not pursued for any of the other 10 participants who had similarly provided Insufficient Information to Assess. Triple Five resubmitted their presentation 70 days after the deadline, receiving revised higher scores.Triple Five is a company that, according to its website, has developed, owns, and manages the worlds first, second and third largest tourism, retail and entertainment complexes of its kind, including the West Edmonton Mall, Mall of America, and the American Dream indoor amusement park and luxury shopping mall.Will the Phase II addition to Ontario Place be an outpost of the West Edmonton Mall? The Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) for the property only explicitly prohibits residential, hotel, and casino uses and in fact lists retail stores and eating establishments as permitted uses. And it would be easy enough for the government to explicitly add shopping mall, nightclub, or whatever they please to this list, as its part of a regulation which can be adjusted without approval from the Legislature, with little recourse for public debate or opposition.A view of Studio TLAs design of Ontario Places public realm. Infrastructure Ontarios estimates for this work, exclusive of site servicing, shoreline repair, and soil remediation, have increased tenfold from $50 million ($1.8 M/acre) in 2021 to $500 million ($18 M/acre) in 2024. Does this set the stage for the further privatization of Ontario Place?Following the MoneyThe Auditor Generals report revealed substantial increases for public realm spending, both for Thermes project and in the provincially-led portions of the site.As noted in an earlier post, the day before the lease was released, Therme apparently confirmed with Infrastructure Ontario that they would be spending $700 million on their projectup from the $350 million stated in their Call for Development submissions and in subsequent documents dating from 2019 to 2024. This included a projected spend of $200 million on public realm workup from $10 million in previous documentsan astounding increase of 2000%.This may be, at least in part, an effort to conceal the direct subsidy that the Province is providing to Therme for the construction of these park areas. In addition to constructing a parkade whose spots will be mostly reserved for Therme (over $280M), demolishing the West Islands buildings and trees ($40.4M), and completing site servicing of Ontario Place as a whole ($391.9 M), the Province is contractually obliged to provide an additional $25 million in direct subsidies to Thermes construction work$10 million for its public realm, and $15 million for its shoreline work.As the Auditor General noted, there is no stipulated minimum spend for construction by Therme in its 297-page contract, so whatever figures are released publicly are of no material consequence to Thermes actual construction budget.However, Thermes original projected spend of $10 million on public realm certainly would have raised eyebrows when the lease revealed a $10 million public subsidy that conveniently offset that amountand on top of that, showed that the Province was contributing $15 million towards Thermes shoreline work. This directly contradicts public claims, by the Province and Therme, that the Therme deal was justified in part by the Austrian company paying out of its own pocket for the construction of public parkland. The announcement that Therme is now, supposedly, spending $200 million on parks and public land conveniently conceals the $25 million public subsidy, and restores the narrative that Therme is paying for public parklands, even if the truth may turn out differently.Is a similar narrative twist in the works for East Island? Infrastructure Ontario has stated that its current estimate for the public realm at Ontario Place is now $500 million, up from its $50 million estimate three years ago. It told the auditor generals office that early estimates prior to a fixed design may have reflected early concepts including a basic park of Trillium Park level of design and that estimates may not have taken into consideration the considerable site rehabilitation requirements.However, the majority of site rehabilitation requirementsincluding soil rehabilitation, shoreline reconstruction, and even the construction of roadsare accounted for in a separate line item. The $500 million budget amounts to some $18 million per acre, or $413 per square foot. At this price, the entirety of the public realm could be paved in high-end Italian marble. By comparison, the rehabilitation of Torontos Portlands amounted to approximately $1.5 million per acre, the construction of Trillium Park (including the raising of the land by a metre) cost around $4 million per acre, and the construction of Corktown Common (including the raising of the land to create a 8.5-metre-high flood protection berm) cost around $7.5 million per acre.I do not intend to discourage spending on public space, but the number appears to be very large. It raises the question:Has the number been inflated to set the stage for the further privatization of Ontario Place? It is conceivable that the Phase Two development and privatization of East Island will entail an arrangement similar to that of Therme: in which a new private partner is given free rein on a large portion of land, in return for offsetting the cost of building something akin to privately-owned public spaceeven if that cost-transfer may, ultimately, be an illusion.Related:The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario PlaceThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parkingThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 3: ThermeThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 4: Collateral DamageThe post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 5: The Future, Continued Privatization of Ontario Place appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    SSAC Calls for Martin Eli Weil and Phyllis Lambert Prize Submissions
    Photo courtesy of canada-architecture.org.Submissions are now open for the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (SSAC)s two student prizes.The Martin Eli Weil Prize is awarded each year to a student who submits an essay on the role played by the built environment in Canadian society. The $250 prize and certificate will be awarded at the SSAC Annual Conference, where the winner will be invited to present a lecture on their essay. The winning essay will also be published in the Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. The deadline for submissions is February 12, 2025.The Phyllis Lambert Prize is a biennial award presented to a PhD candidate or recent graduate with the best doctoral dissertation on the subject of the built environment in Canada. The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2025.For more information, click here.The post SSAC Calls for Martin Eli Weil and Phyllis Lambert Prize Submissions appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Auditor Generals Report, Part 4: Collateral Damage
    Today, I look at two further areas of interest from the Auditor Generals report: the insights it provides about the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place, and the continued environmental destruction that we might expect to see taking place at Ontario Place.A recent photo of Ontario Places West Island, showing the removed trees and structures as the site is prepared for Thermes indoor waterpark and spa. The parking lot in the foreground is the site designated for the half-sized replacement for the Ontario Science Centre. As a size comparison, Thermes facility will occupy a footprint comparable to the Rogers Centre, while the mainland building for the new Science Centre is 88% smallerabout the size of that stadiums infield. Photo by Steven Evans.Planning continues for relocation of Ontario Science Centre to Ontario PlaceEven if the Auditor Generals office has questioned the value-for-money proposition of the relocation of the Ontario Science Centreboth in its 2023 and now its 2024 reportplans are continuing apace to move the storied institution to a half-sized new facility at Ontario Place.The new price tag of over $700 million for a new Science Centre includes an underground loading zone. To meet functional requirements for the Science Centre, this will likely be a two-storey underground space that also accommodates a bus loop, as well as car drop-off, bus entry, and shipping/receiving for Therme.The report notes that there was only a single bidder on the $5 million contract for a planning, design, and compliance consultant for the new Science CentreWZMH Architects is the consultant that was selected for this work. Their Output Specifications document is expected to be completed by early 2025, and the RFP planned to be released to up to three vendors in January 2025, delayed from the original projected date in the RFQ of Fall 2024.While the government has stated in the past that a new Science Centre at Ontario Place would open as early as 2028, it has now told the Auditor General that the new building is expected to open in 2029. The RFP for a temporary location suggests that a new Science Centre would not be ready until as late as 2034.That temporary location for the Ontario Science, which the government had promised to secure quickly, has not been publicly announced, although a memo to Science Centre employees indicated that it may be selecting a conference facility in Mississauga. Meanwhile, the presence of the Science Centre is currently limited to temporary pop-ups at Harbourfront Centre and Sherway Gardens.The Auditor General evidently sought to find out how much the closure of the Ontario Science Centre cost the public coffer but was refused access to this information. This withholding of information was clearly against protocol, prompting the Auditor General to issue a reminder to the government that as independent auditors, we require access to all information that could have an impact on our financial statement audit.While the Auditor General came short of stating that renewing the legacy location of the Ontario Science Centre would represent better value-for-money than relocating it to Ontario Place, the ballooning costs for a new Science Centre supports this conclusion. Moreover, the fact that key financial information about the closure was withheld from the Auditor Generals office strongly suggests that the unjustified closure was more expensive than anticipatedmaking the unpopular closure and relocation an even worse proposition to taxpayers.Continued environmental destruction at Ontario PlaceAs of October 2024, the report notes, 1,491 trees have been removed from Ontario Place. The Province is planning to remove an additional 298 trees, for a total of 1,789 trees. Only 149 trees (or 8% of the original tree inventory at Ontario Place) will be conserved on the site, the report notes. A 2022 arborist report prepared for Infrastructure Ontario had anticipated that while the Therme project would entail the removal of all trees on the West Island, 25% of the overall trees at Ontario Place would be protected.Most of the Auditor Generals recommendations were accepted by the government, but these largely consisted of pledges to improve of procurement practices in the future. The government rejected the sole recommendation concerning the current Ontario Place projecta recommendation that it implements mitigation measure identified in a draft 2023 Heritage Impact Assessment report. In its response, the Ministry of Infrastructure curtly notes the site is exempt from the Ontario Heritage Act.The recommendations of the draft 2023 Heritage Impact Assessment report seem to be relatively modest in the scope of a $2.2 billion project, but based on the governments response, we should not expect to see them implemented by matter of course. Those recommendations were as follows:Site-wide native planting and new landscape features (e.g., berms) to address the removal of extant vegetation, trees and landscape features. It is anticipated that approximately 2,900 trees will be planted within Ontario Place.New pathway system to improve accessibility, support pedestrian circulation and address the removal of the extant pathway systemNew pathway nodes and plazas with vantage points for views, to address the removal of vantage points within the extant pathway system and the obstruction of views by new buildingsNew aquatic habitat and boardwalks to create the opportunity for close-range experiences of water and mitigate the removal of the extant waterbodiesNew accessory structures that interpret the design and history of Ontario Place to address the removal of extant buildingsThis series will continue with two more parts, looking at the Call for Development process and the possibility for future, continued privatization plans at Ontario Place.Related:The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario PlaceThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parkingThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 3: ThermeThe post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 4: Collateral Damage appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Acton Ostry Architects Announces New Director, New Principals and Expanded Leadership Team
    Left to right: Mark Simpson, Alex Percy, Russell Acton, Derek Fleming, Mark Ostry, Matt Wood, Ruth Chau, Michael FugetaActon Ostry Architects (AOA) has announced the appointment of an expanded leadership team for the practice.AOA is welcoming Ruth Chau as director of operations, Derek Fleming and Michael Fugeta as principals, Chei-Wei Tai as senior associate, and Rodrigo Alba and Andrew Carnochan as associates.We are extremely pleased to announce Ruth Chau as director of operations. Ruth has been with AOA for almost two decades, smoothly managing the behind-the-scenes work that has been vital to the success and growth of the practice, said founding principal, Mark Ostry.Left to right: Michael Fugeta, Ruth Chau, Derek FlemingNew principals Derek Fleming and Michael Fugeta both share a passion for design excellence and a keen interest in innovation that has meaningfully shaped many AOA projects and strengthened the fabric of the practice, said principal, Alex Percy.Left to right: Chei-Wei Tai, Rodrigo Alba, Andrew CarnochanWe are very pleased to recognize Che-Wei Tai as senior associate for his longstanding leadership, and Rodrigo Alba and Andrew Carnochan as associates at AOA, said principal, Matt Wood.The post Acton Ostry Architects Announces New Director, New Principals and Expanded Leadership Team appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Auditor Generals Report, Part 3: Therme
    The current post looks at what we might expect of Thermes development, based on new information provided in the Auditor Generals report.While the Auditor Generals report has described the Call for Development process for Ontario Place as not fair, transparent or accountable to all participants, the government has held steadfast to its plans. Public management professor emeritus Sandford Borins has summed this up in a post he entitled Ford to Auditor-General: Drop Dead. It is clear, writes Borins, that the Government is going to ignore the report.So if its full speed ahead for the Ontario Place redevelopment and for Thermes waterpark, what can we expect to see in the months and years ahead?Demolition work is ongoing at Ontario Places West Island. Photo by Steven EvansAcceleration of work, early handover to ThermeBased on a review of e-mail correspondence, the Auditor General found that Infrastructure Ontario has been in active discussions since early 2024 to move the handover date up by 11 months, to May 31, 2025, from the original hand-off date of April 30, 2026.If the site is handed over to the tenant earlier, once Therme has obtained its excavation permit, it would eliminate the Provinces ability to terminate the lease for convenience, notes the Auditor General. Pulling out of the lease before the handover will carry a $30 million penalty. However, after the excavation permit is issued, pulling out would be near-impossiblethe Province would be required to provide a five-year notice period after 10 years of operations, and pay for the demolition and rebuilding of Thermes facility at a different provincial site agreeable to the Austrian company.While the government apparently gave Infrastructure Ontario direction to terminate the exploration of early site handoff on November 4, 2024, the work has likely already been completed to secure an early hand-off. Demolition on the West Island was sole-sourced, at an added expense of some $10 million or morethe demolition cost $40.4 million, compared to initial estimates of $5 to $10 million and a later estimate of $31.5 million for this work.The work may arguably have been accelerated to close Thermes window to end the lease agreement. If interim utility services are not provided by December 31, 2024, Therme could exercise a right to terminate the lease, and, if the government did not have the site ready to hand over in 180 days, Therme could pull out from the project and charge the government $30 million in liquidated damages.Will Thermes Facility be a white elephant?Public management professor emeritus Sandford Borins, whose analysis I referred to earlier, believes the Therme facility may turn out to be a classic white elephant.This is based in part on the Auditor Generals notes that the proponent was selected with little scrutiny. Red flags were raised by a senior advisor at Infrastructure Ontario that Therme Group was not cash flow positive and prior to December 31, 2019, had an equity value of less than one million euros. These concerns were not addressed before the lease was signed, 12 days after the senior advisor raised these issues. In its submission, Therme presented six projects as evidence of its track record. No due diligence was done by Infrastructure Ontarioif it was, it would have revealed that five of those six projects were not actually owned and operated by Therme.The amount of rent that the Province will receivesome $1.1 billion over 95 years, or a more paltry $163 million in todays dollars, accounting for inflationis tied to the success of the project. The Province accepted Thermes estimates of the number of visitors it expected1.6 million visitors in Year 1, and up to 2.7 million visitors in Year 10 (some 7,400 visitors per day)without any attempt at independent verification. The Auditor General estimates that Therme will break even on the project after 21 years, which Borins notes is a long time.What will Therme really spend on the project?Thermes capital investment in the project may, in fact, be less than expected. When the lease was made public, a press release from the Province stated that Therme would be making $700 million in capital investments, including $500 million to build the waterpark and spa facility, and $200 million going towards creating 16 acres of public space. This includes a $25 million contribution by the Province to the bill for work on Thermes shoreline and public realm.But in previous documents from 2019 to April 2024, Thermes investment was expected to be half that amount$340 million on the facility, and only $10 million on the public realm, for a total of $350 million. Infrastructure Ontario says that the day before the lease details were released, Therme confirmed the doubling of the overall estimate to $700 millionan increase of 2000% on the public realm costs, and 147% on the facility costs. But as the Auditor General notes, there is no contractual obligation with the government for Therme to invest any specific amount in the project, let alone $700 million.While Thermes 297-page lease is explicit about the amount it must spend in advertising ($7.5 million during its first six years of operation), it does not stipulate a minimum amount of capital investment that Therme must make in the project itself. This contrasts with the Provinces lease agreement with Live Nation, which specifies a dollar amount as the minimum capital investment to be made by Live Nation, the Auditor General notes.Moreover, Infrastructure Ontarios ability to monitor the build is undercut by the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, one facet of which removes requirements for municipal permitting.The number of jobs that Therme is expected to create has already gone down from 2022 estimates, from 3,290 to 2,000 during construction, and from 848 to 800 during operations. As Borins has noted, in Ontarios current strong economy, these job numbers are, in any case, an illusion: If people werent employed building and operating the spa, they would be employed doing other things.A commercial village in Therme-built public areas?The public areas that Therme is constructing arent entirely public: the lease gives Therme the exclusive right to conduct commercial activity and programming on up to 30% of these lands. Journalist John Lorinc has noted that the document gives Therme considerable latitude to commercialize these areas beyond the walls of the spa building and notes that the province has thoughtfully indemnified Therme for anything that happens in these public areas that results in a lawsuit.The Auditor Generals report provides a hint at what these areas might end up looking like. In 2023, the Minister of Infrastructures Office directed Infrastructure Ontario to enter negotiations with Ontario Live, despite concerns about an earlier submission by the group, which has close links to Premier Doug Ford. These negotiations identified Ontario Live as the preferred partner for establishing food and beverage services, people-moving infrastructure, and other amenities on the East Island. While contract discussions with Ontario Live were curtailed this Julypossibly because of the upcoming Auditor Generals reportthere is nothing to prevent the group reappearing as an operator of commercial spaces in Thermes public areas.It is plausible to imagine Ontario Live, or another group, constructing something similar to what Ontario Live originally proposed for the East Island, but now in the areas around Therme: a commercial development including twelve restaurants, office space, and a marketplace, in addition to creating programming for special events.Next week, I will examine what the Auditor Generals report reveals about further privatization plans for Ontario Place, and the continued planning for the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre.The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario PlaceThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parkingThe post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 3: Therme appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Framing complete for dome of new Yellowknife mosque
    The Yellowknife Mosque by Guy Architects Ltd, Yellowknife, N (Photo credit: Ibrahaim Elladen)The dome of the new Yellowknife Mosque designed by Guy Architects, recently completed its framing. While the dome does not possess significance within the mosque, it aims to be a symbolic representation of the vault of heaven.According to R. Wayne Guy, principal of Guy Architects, the Islamic Community wanted the dome to be reflective of the Northwest Territories by acknowledging the land and the people of the region. Inspiration for the dome was taken from the beaver dam, in which interlocking linear wood elements formed its structure. It was also inspired by the eighth century Iberian Islamic tradition of muquarnas. In Islamic architecture, these geometric embellishments are used to symbolize Gods presence.The design team used the technique of intarsia to join pieces of wood to form the design.As traditional muquarnas had conical stalactites that hung from the ceiling, our architectural/structural engineering team used a corbelled structure to replicate this, said architect Wayne Guy. Sprung from the clerestorey drum via the intrados to the skylit oculus, the domes geometry provides perspectival attenuation by a proportional reduction of the size of the triangular tympana as they approach the zenith.Our design team is deeply honored to have participated in this significant project, and we congratulate the Islamic Community on your sustained and tenacious effort to establish this new place of worship.The post Framing complete for dome of new Yellowknife mosque appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parking
    In Part 1 of this series analyzing the Auditor Generals 2024 report on the Ontario Place Redevelopment, I broke down how the project has gone from costing the public $400 million to involving over $2.2 billion in taxpayer dollars.Todays post concerns one of the biggest ticket items in that cost: the proposal for new parking at Ontario Place. I have titled the post the billion dollar question as the estimated cost of providing the parking required in the Provinces leases with Therme and Live Nation ranges from over $280-million to over $1.3 billion dollars.The signed lease with Therme requires that the Province will construct 1,600 parking spots for Therme within 650 metres from Thermes entrance. The Auditor Generals report notes that the Province has also agreed to make 1,200 spots available to Live Nation, within 750 metres of its entrance. There is some overlap between the spotsseveral hundred of the Therme spots will be ceded to Live Nation on concert nightsbut overall, the Province has agreed to build a 1,800 spot parkade.Back in 2021, the plan was to create a five-storey underground parkade on the south side of Lakeshore Boulevard, up against Lake Ontario, with the relocated Ontario Science Centre on top of it. In fact, as the Auditor General noted last year, the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre itself was presented to key decision-makers as primarily to justify this site-wide parking solution.Information from the Auditor Generals report points to the probable demolition of the Better Living Centre at the CNE to fulfill lease obligations to Ontario Place tenants Therme and Live Nation.We have now learned that Infrastructure Ontarios total capital cost for a five-storey underground parkade, beneath the half-sized Science Centre, is over $1.3 billion. Value-engineering this to a four-storey parkade would still cost $975 million.Infrastructure Ontario has, due to these high costs, turned to examining options for parking at Exhibition Place, across the street. The Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, passed as part of the New Deal for Toronto, gives the Province broad range to extract lands from the City that would enable the Ontario Place redevelopment, and parking arguable falls within this scope.There are two large existing surface lots on the south side of Exhibition Placeone just south of BMO Field, and one southeast of BMO field. The southeast lot has been approved for redevelopment as a 7,000-seat e-sports stadium, developed by OverActive Media and designed by Populous, making it an unsuitable candidate for a new parking facility.The parking lot directly south of BMO field is key to Exhibition Places marquis event, the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)it houses the entirety of the midwayas well as being key to the IndyCar Series (formerly the Molson Indy), during which it houses grandstands, general viewing areas, and vendors. It is also a key staging and parking area for other conferences and events held at Exhibition Place. Therefore, any new parking on this site would need to be below-ground. Infrastructure has estimated the cost of a two-storey underground parkade here, providing some 2,125 spots, at over $800 million.Infrastructure Ontario currently has two recommended options, which are less costly, to fulfill its parking obligations. The first is a four-storey above-ground parkade at Exhibition Place. Alternatively, they suggest a single parking level below the new Ontario Science Centre, paired with a three-level above-ground parkade at Exhibition Place. These options are priced, respectively, at over $280 million, and over $400 million.While no site is specified in the documents, I have spoken to several experts familiar with Exhibition Place who conclude that the only feasible site for an above-ground parking structure would entail the demolition of Better Living Centre, a modernist structure designed by Marani, Morris & Allan in 1962.The Auditor Generals report does note that the Province would own the parking garage, and would therefore also collect revenues for it. Financially, the parking structure would be expected to break even in 28-35 years. But, other investmentssuch as in healthcare, education, and affordable housingalso involve spending money now, and expecting net financial benefits in the future (such as from the quantifiable benefits of a healthier and more educated population, better able to be productive members of society). Does investing hundreds of millions in a parkade make sense?It would be fair to also ask whether this substantial investment in parking makes sense given the proximity of Ontario Place to the expected terminus of the Ontario Linea major public transit nodeand the existing traffic congestion in this part of downtown Toronto. In short, Toronto drivers already know that Lakeshore Boulevard is a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam for most of the day. Does it really make sense to encourage an additional 1,800 people to drive to this area each day?The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario PlaceThe post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parking appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERITThere is a sense of conviction in the use of the geometry to create a simple volume and a very rational plan, while incorporating a very large and complex program. The play of berm and cutouts is successful in reducing its apparent size, and in allowing activities to relate to the exterior landscape. The resulting distinctive form achieves a harmony with the other stand-alone pavilions in the park. The use of copper introduces a material that is reflective at first, contributing to the sculptural aspect. As the copper ages, it will allow the volume to blend into the park.Andrea Wolff, jurorThe copper-clad sports and recreation centre sits in Edmontons Coronation Park. An underground passage connects it to an existing pool, allowing the paired facilities to function as an indoor triathlon centre.LOCATION Edmonton, AlbertaThe new kid on the blockEdmontons Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centreaims to play nicely with notable architectural neighbours, while bringing high-performance sport and community recreation together under one roof. Part velodrome and part community athletics hub, the centre is the latest addition to a 35-hectare 1950s city park.Sports courts are encompassed by the velodrome track, allowing for dynamic views of the centres different activities.Three existing buildings surround it. The smallest and most charming is Canadas first public planetarium (1960). The other two are rock stars. The Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre (1967) a cable-stayed icon of organic modernism, resembles a gorgeous, partially collapsed glass tent; originally called Coronation Pool, it was renamed after its architect, in 2005. Douglas Cardinals science centre (1984), now part of the Telus World of Science, still looks like a spectral seashell/flying saucer, although additions have made it more earthbound than it used to be.In this illustrious and assertive company, the sleek, elliptical new Sports and Recreation Centre keeps a relatively low profile. It nestles into three large earth berms that, as the award submission states, optically reduce the height of the building, allowing the existing projects to maintain their standing in the park.A running track rings the facility, with windows offering panoramic views of the surrounding park.Behind this deferential exterior, however, theres a lot going on. A tunnel linking the new Sports and Recreation Centre to the Peter Hemingway centre enables the two facilities to operate in tandem as an indoor triathlon centrea unique entity, and a valuable one for a city with very cold winters. Velodromes are highly technical facilities where competitive cyclists race at speeds up to 85 kilometres per hour on steeply banked oval tracks. Integrating a velodrome into a community recreation centre makes political sense because it mitigates the potential for an expensive, highly specialized sports facility to become a taxpayer irritation. What is novel about the new Edmonton facility is that its Union Cycliste Internationale-sanctioned cycling track is positioned a full storey above the community centres ground-level infield courts. Below and outboard the cycling track, but also above the recreation centres courts, is the four-lane running track. By making the cycling track fully visible from recreational activity levels, the design aspires to generate broader community interest in a sport that has yet to acquire a wide Canadian following.A sectional perspective shows the relationship between the running path, velodrome track, sports courts, and supporting spacesa first-of-its-kind approach to a facility containing a velodrome.The open, central community space is divided into two levels, with a flexible urban court for informal recreation and gathering below the upper-level basketball courts. Washrooms and change rooms are tucked under the upper-level courts. Stairs, informal riser-style seating, and best of all, two long, shiny metal slides (!) link these two levels. Other indoor amenities like multiple fitness studios, a caf, and childcare space further contribute to programming for users of all ages and abilities.Outside, the landscape design for the new facility expands the range of outdoor activities available at Coronation Park. Still respecting the mature parks existing context, the refreshed landscape improves wayfinding on a site that became fragmented over time as successive developments eroded the clarity of the parks original plan.CLIENT City of Edmonton | ARCHITECT TEAM hcma Michael Henderson (MRAIC), Darryl Condon (FRAIC), Paul Fast (MRAIC), Michael Rivest (MRAIC), Darin Harding, Derek Harris, Jennifer Sparks, Carter Gallant, Wendy Li, Jasmine Lam, Genevieve Simms, James Kokotilo, Nathan Keebler, Marcus Van Vliet, Alice Rooney, Aaron Bohnert; Dub ArchitectsMichael Dub (MRAIC), Bobby Harris (MRAIC), Gene Dub, Cass Milford, Stephen Smolski, Ciaran Bonar, Chris Woodroffe, Graeme Haunholter; Faulkner Browns Michael Hall, Sherief El-Salamani, Paul Rigby, Archie Wang, David Noble, Andrew Parkin, Shirley Lui, Cristina Ubeda | STRUCTURAL Fast + Epp | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Williams Engineering | CIVIL WSP | LANDSCAPE PFS Studio | AREA 16,500 m2 | BUDGET $150 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2026ENERGY USE INTENSITY (EUI) 122.5 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY DEMAND INTENSITY (TEDI) 28.9 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY (GHGI) 49.2 kg CO2e/m2 | WATER USE INTENSITY (WUI) 0.56 m3/m2/yearAs appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Open: East Village Public Washroom & Pickleball Court
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERITThis entry extracts a lot of impact from a simple palette of bold paint and steel mesh. The design exceeds the clients expectations by combining a sporty public washroom and pickleball court. Public safety is addressed by reconsidering accepted conventions. One example is exposed washbasins against a glass wall to celebrate an everyday activity in a light-hearted, performative way. DArcy Jones, jurorThe washroom facility is located at the end of 7th Ave SEa site selected for its visual connection to the centre of Calgarys East Village neighbourhood.LOCATION Calgary, AlbertaThe Open is a public washroom that is under construction in the East Village of Calgary. It is the winning submission of a national public design competition hosted by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. The hybrid architecture and landscape architecture facility marries sport with utility, aiming to transform a functional program into a meaningful urban place.A pickleball court and tiered seating activate the facility, encouraging everyday stewardship.The architects chose to locate the washroom at the end of 7th Avenue SE, close to existing utilities and intersecting pathways, where it could reinforce the urban edge of both the park and the neighbourhood. To bring an animating activity to the building, the 3,000-square-foot facility houses both a new public washroom and a single pickleball court. This pairing of programs makes the structure large enough to have a presence amongst its 12-storey neighbours, yet light enough at street level to feel transparent and safe within the urban park.This modest piece of public infrastructure has a social placemaking element that is intended to serve a multi-generational demographic in Calgarys burgeoning East Village. Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in North America, and a free outdoor court brings an active use to the facilitycountering the common perception of public washrooms as dank, territorial, and in some cases dangerous places. In the architects conception, the project is a mullet: business up front, party out back.A protective fence adds transparent, light massing to the facility, giving it a more robust presence.The facility is wrapped with a teal metal screen, and the court is painted with vibrant colours and court lines. At the end of the court, tiered seating encourages spectators to linger. A sedum-planted, wedge-shaped roof nods to the nearby Rocky Mountains.The firms experience with public washroom design over the past fifteen years has shown them that isolating these facilities or turning them into indestructible bunkers only reinforces negative perceptions. If we intend to make amazing public spaces, then we need to start by composing places infused with value, purpose, activity, and delight, they write. One can attract all kinds of activity through design, intentionally or otherwise.ScreenshotCLIENT Calgary Municipal Land Corporation | ARCHITECT TEAM Peter Sampson (FRAIC), Liz Wreford, Taylor LaRocque, Sean Vandekerkhove (MRAIC), Noel Sampson, Andrew Lewthwaite (MRAIC), Maggie Bonnetta, Samantha Scroggie (MRAIC), Breanne Baydock, Evan McPherson, Paul Susi | LANDSCAPE Public City | STRUCTURAL Entuitive | MECHANICAL AME | ELECTRICAL CGM | CIVIL Aplin Martin | AREA Project area280 m2; Building area45 m2 | BUDGET $2.2 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION January 2025As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post The Open: East Village Public Washroom & Pickleball Court appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Northcrest Unveils Winners of Beyond the Tarmac Open Call
    Credit: AltohelixNorthcrest Developments has announced the winners of their inaugural Beyond the Tarmac Open Call that took place this past spring, which marks a milestone in the transformation of the cultural identity of the former Downsview Airport site in north Toronto.Back in April, Northcrest launched a call for artists, creatives, programmers and event producers to reimagine parts of YZDs taxiway600 metres of the tarmac that leads to the 2-kilometre runwayadjacent to airplane hangars.Following an enthusiastic response to the call for submissions, three projects have been selected to bring art experiences to the heart of the YZD site in 2025.The winning installations, Runway Rivers by local artist John Notten, Street Art by One Day Creates, and Wonderful by Reset x RebuildTO, will be designed to attract locals and tourists, while creating spaces for social interaction, learning, and exploration.The Beyond the Tarmac installations are a cornerstone in our vision to make YZD a hub where culture, art, and community seamlessly intersect, said Mitchell Marcus, executive director of site activation and programming, Northcrest Developments. As we transform a place for airplane manufacturing into a place for people, our hope is that we can open our doors to the citys most creative minds to bring ideas to life that couldnt happen anywhere else, turning our industrial landscape into a vibrant place of creativity. This open call is one of the ways that we can ensure that we reach the broadest possible group of creators with a platform for them to dream and funding to have those dreams realized.Credit: John NottenRunway Rivers by John Notten, which will be launching next June, was inspired by Torontos lost rivers. Runway Rivers will offer visitors an interactive experience where they can float on canoes along painted pathways on the tarmac. This installation aims to combine art with history and geography, and offers a playful yet educational journey that explores the environmental significance of Toronto. John Nottens art installations have been showcased across Ontario, including in the Toronto Nuit Blanche program.Credit: One Day CreatesStreet Art by One Day Creates will be launching next July. This event will showcase some of Canadas top street art talent alongside international artists making their Canadian debut. It will also provide an inclusive space to experience the energy and creativity of street art in a new context.Credit: + AIWonderful by Reset x RebuildTO will be launching next April, and aims to blend cutting-edge audio technology with storytelling to create an immersive experience that takes visitors on an audio-guided adventure through one of the Hangars at the YZD site. Through a combination of 2D and 3D visual elements, visitors will be able to take a journey through an imaginative playground, and engage with each other and the immersive elements.The Beyond the Tarmac installations will open to the public in spring and summer 2025. Northcrest envisions the Beyond the Tarmac program as a recurring initiative. Over the years, the program will continue to invite artists to YZD to imagine new art installations, community events, and public art initiatives as the development evolves.In 2025, alongside the Beyond the Tarmac installations, YZD will host a variety of activations, including seasonal and ongoing art installations, recreational activities, and community events.The post Northcrest Unveils Winners of Beyond the Tarmac Open Call appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario Place
    This article is part of a four-part series examining findings from the Auditor Generals Report, released on December 3, 2024. Future parts will be posting in the coming week.On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, Ontarios Auditor General released its 2024 report, including a 117-page long analysis of the Ontario Place Redevelopment, on Torontos waterfront. The projectwhich includes a stadium-sized waterpark and spa by Austrian developer Therme, and expanded concert venue by LiveNationhas elicited public concern related to its privatization of public space, environmental impacts, and procurement process. The planned redevelopment is also linked to the closure of the Ontario Science Centre, which the government plans to replace with a half-sized facility at Ontario Place.The Auditor Generals office noted that the public cost of the Ontario Place redevelopment has ballooned from when the call was launchedlargely because key costs were not included in assessing the submissions. While initially, the government anticipated spending $335 million to $424 million preparing the site, the total tally for the project currently amounts to over $2.237 billion in taxpayer dollars.Where did the extra $1.8 billion in costs come from? This bill includes the much-discussed parking garage. In the governments lease with Therme, the Province has agreed to construct a 1,800-spot parking garage, with 1,600 spots reserved for Thermes use. Its lease with LiveNation includes 1,200 parking spots. While the initial plans anticipated a 5-storey below-grade parking garage under the new Ontario Science Centre pavilion, the cost for this structure was estimated by Infrastructure Ontario to come in at over $1.3 billion dollars. The two currently preferred options are priced, respectively, at over $280 million and over $400 million.The cost of a new Ontario Science Centre has gone up nearly $400 million. This results largely from additional scope changes. Those big-ticket items were, in my assessment, known but deliberately omitted from the initial business case. They include building a tunnel-and-bridge connection to the Pods, the construction of a basement level with loading dock, and the need for excavation and structural foundation work. The new cost estimates suggest that even in the Provinces faulty business case, the scales would now be tipped in favour of the cost-effectiveness of retaining and repairing the existing Science Centre, rather than replacing it with a new one.More costs arise from an increase to the costs of demolition on the West Island, and increase in costs for restoring the Pods and Cinesphere. The Auditor General notes that the original contract for repairs to the heritage structures was awarded via an RFP, but that when the work was delayed, the work was transferred to another contractorwithout an open procurement, and at a cost of $64 million, in addition to the $32.9 million already paid to the first contractor. That same second contractor was also sole-sourced for the contract for the West Island demolition, at a cost of $40.4 million (up from an initial estimate of $5-10 million).The Province will also be on the hook for higher costs of site servicing and site preparation, including contributing over $20 million to the Therme shoreline and public realm, and over $60 million to relocate a two combined sewer outflows, one of which impacts Thermes planned beach, and the other of which is expected to conflict with proposed underground construction.According to the Auditor General, the government has spent $8.5 million on legal fees, related in part to the controversy elicited by advancing redevelopment plans that are not based on meaningful public consultation.The biggest part of the added expenses is an increase to the costs of public realm developmentover $500 million for parks, paths, roads, facilities, and landscape, at Ontario Place, up from an estimate of $50 million in 2021. This is, says the Auditor General, directly linked to the governments decision to act as master developer for the site. But this was not pre-determined: in the Auditor Generals analysis, seven of the 10 comprehensive site-wide submissions from the Call for Development included a design for the public realm, three of which included a provision to pay for the public realm. Her offices report also notes that Seven included a parking solution, three of which included a provision to pay for parking.In deciding to select participants responsible for developing parts of the site (Therme, Live Nation, and corcreo), rather than the full realm, the Province was also deciding to bear these extra costs. However, no estimates of the cost of this work were prepared or presented to key decision makers. There will be additional costs to maintain and operate these spaces.This $2.237 billion in investments would, in theory, be offset by revenues from Therme. However, as the Auditor General has pointed out, the $1.1 billion in rent payments that the Province has cited is in nominal dollars, over a 95-year period. The present valuethat is the concept of todays dollars being worth more than tomorrows dollars because of inflationmeans that these rent payments, today, are only worth about $163 million.Zooming out, it is worth taking a moment to consider the implicit promise of privatizing large sections of Ontario Place. Such a move was objectionable to many critics, but the government held fast to the idea that it would result in substantial savings to taxpayersmaybe even, some might have expected, a free ride, or close to it. As it turns out, a privatized Ontario Place is not free: in addition to giving away this waterfront land, the Ontario Place Redevelopment puts Ontario taxpayers on the hook for over $2 billion.The post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario Place appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Annex House
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERITIn an era of increased need for housing, particularly the missing middle, the Annex House project prioritizes hidden density in an established neighbourhood. The project is designed with a unique character that minimizes visual impact from the street while prioritizing access to natural light for all the units, including the lower level. While the proposal to split the project into five units may be challenging, the increase from a single-family home to three unique suites begins to address the need for this housing typology in an ever-growing city. Matthew Hickey, jurorThe Annex House offers a model for the gentle densification of existing Toronto neighbourhoods.LOCATION Toronto, OntarioSome of the major challenges with gentle density are related to access. Multiplexes on narrow lots often forfeit a significant portion of the main elevation to establish a shared entrance. The default alternative is to impose a hierarchical, tradesmans entrance condition on the occupants of the rear dwelling, who must enter their home from the backdoor. Narrow lots are the norm in Torontos central, well-established Annex neighbourhood, and recent changes to the citys bylaws have simplified permitting for laneway houses, garden suites and multiplexes. Annex House resolves the equal-access issue by placing the entrances for each unit along a shared pathway set within its side-yard setback, granting a pleasant entry experience for all residents, whether they arrive on foot from the main street or by car from the laneway garage.WAO implemented four strategies to allow three distinct units to co-exist on the narrow Annex lotall with privacy and surprisingly generous access to natural light. One: all primary living spaces in the main houses two interlocking units and in the laneway unit face onto the shared courtyard. The more private orientation makes it possible for extra-large glazing units which maximize daylight and views. Two: a masonry perimeter wall wraps around the pathway that provides access to all three residences; this reinforces the semi-private character of the exterior common spaces and brings the two buildings together to form a unified architectural experience. Three: taking cues from the mansard roofs and dormer windows of the historic Annex homes, the entire upper volume of the main house reads as one vertically-stretched, dormer-set mansard on the street elevation. The mansard overhang provides shading for the large floor-to-ceiling windows and a canopy condition above all three entrance points. On the courtyard-facing elevations, balconies are carved into the sloping roofs of the main house and laneway suite; providing private exterior spaces for each unit. Four: working within building code restrictions that limit openings on the side facades, Annex House augments access to natural light by introducing an 8-metre-long skylight above a triple-height space, with openings on the adjacent rooms to maximize light penetration. Similarly, lightwells at both ends of the lower unit draw daylight into the basement-level spaces.A laneway suite occupies the rear portion of the lot.The cladding combines conventional brick on the lower levels with cover brick on the sloped upper storeys. Although the cover brick and the regular brick were produced from the same clay, the unit shape of the upper-storey cladding creates a similar effect to timber siding, making it appear lightermore roof-likethan the masonry base below.The design is crafted to bring daylight to all of the units, including the basement dwelling.Annex House is now in construction and scheduled for summer 2025 completion. The submission notes that with minor modifications to the main houses floor plan, the projects current three-unit configuration could be converted into four or five units.The ground floor of the laneway unit includes an office with views to the shared courtyard.CLIENT Withheld | ARCHITECT TEAM Harry MX Wei | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Contact & Continuity Inc. | STRUCTURAL Kieffer Structural Engineering | MECHANICAL Zaab Consulting | PLANNING Galbraith & Associates | AREA 300 m2 | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION Spring 2025As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post Annex House appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Bibliothque de Mont-Laurier
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERITThe jury appreciated the architects structural, spatial, and compositional commitment to an organizing grid. This design approach can be relentless or unremarkable when handled without variation. This projects strategy yields a range of nuanced spaces with different light conditions, offering an alternative to overglazed public spaces. DArcy Jones, jurorThe reciprocal frame creates a waffle-slab-like grid of wood ceilings, visible throughout the interior.LOCATION Mont Laurier, QuebecNestled in the heart of the Hautes-Laurentides region, at the gate to northwestern Quebec, Mont Laurier is a municipality of 15,000 surrounded by forests and mountains. The regions growth was historically driven by the provinces developing forestry industryan industry celebrated in Mont Laurier Librarys innovative use of wood.ScreenshotThe design features local engineered wood in an exposed reciprocal waffle frame, the first of its kind for a cultural building in Canada. The reciprocal framing system is a repetitive assembly of short glulam beams of identical eight-foot (2440 mm) lengths. These members, which are tied together by simple connections, cross and support each other in a balancing act that is then delicately placed on round, pin-like columns.ScreenshotThe bi-directional structural pattern of wood is organized in a rigorous four-foot (1220 mm) grid. This measurement is the width of the standard sheets of plywood used as the architectural decking of the system. Overall, the system is designed to minimize waste and maximize the use of the primary resource of local engineered product. The criss-cross woven wood beams are fully visible on the library ceiling, appearing like a pixelated quilt.The buildings cladding includes steel fins that emphasize the interior structural frameworks four-foot grid.The gridded framing system architecturally integrates services including lighting, fire protection, acoustics, and IT. It is mirrored by the use of a raised floor system, which includes a displacement ventilation and air-conditioning system, optimizing thermal comfort for occupants. Through the design process, meticulous attention was paid to the efficiency of the programmatic layout, and its alignments with the grids of the both the structure and floor.The wood ceiling grid integrates acoustics, lighting, fire protection, and other services. A courtyard brings natural light and vegetation deep into the floorplate of the library.This reciprocal framing concept is conceived as a full-scale prototype for a fully reproducible, factory-prefabricated system. The proposed structural system allows for the complete deconstruction of the framework and reuse of the glulam modular framing elements. The research and design of these mass timber components is being followed by Quebecs Ministry of Forests, Fauna and Parks. The concept is part of a vision to reduce the production of GHGs in the construction industry through designing for disassembly, stimulating reflection on the lifecycle of building components and on the potential for the decarbonization of our industry.CLIENTVille de Mont-Laurier | ARCHITECT TEAM Stephan Chevalier (MIRAC), Sergio Morales (MIRAC), ve Beaumont-Cousineau, Alexandre Mass, Julien Daly, Harvey Samuel, Olivier Brasseur-Trottier | STRUCTURAL Latral | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Pageau Morel | AREA 1,325 m2 | BUDGET $10.9 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2025GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY (GHGI) 218 kg CO2e/m2ScreenshotAs appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post Bibliothque de Mont-Laurier appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    va-Circ-Ct Library
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERITThis design demonstrates an understanding of the community, the character of the neighbourhood and the importance of preserving the existing Hibernia Park. The building footprint is reduced by stacking the program on three levels and allowing the public functions to spill out on the ground floor. The strength of this project lies on its relationship to the existing building and the park. The fluid organic forms at the ground floor open to the park, while the structured upper levels and asymmetrical, yet structured approach to the elevations act as a foil to the formality of the stone faade of the existing fire hall building. The low-budget, industrial approach to the structure adds to the charming and inviting nature of the building, and informs the expression of the faade. Andrea Wolff, jurorThe buildings elevated form creates a covered outdoor plaza.LOCATIONMontreal, QuebecThe physical and symbolic heart of Pointe-Saint-Charles, a historically working-class area in Montreal, is Hibernia Park and its old fire hall. 50 years ago, the community fought to preserve the fire hall as a means to oppose development of a boulevard that would cut the neighbourhood in two. They stopped the boulevard, saved the fire hall, and transformed it into their municipal library.Adjoining the historic fire hall, the main entrance opens into a lofty agora space connected to the sheltered outdoor area. Plentiful bike racks encourage active transportation.The present addition will almost triple the size of the existing library. The City of Montreal conducted extensive public outreach and programming sessions with the local community prior to launching a competition for its design. However, the competition process excluded any ties between the designers and the community. To maintain the activist spirit of the community, the architects transformed their working process, inventing citizen-avatarspeople exchanging books, elderly people in a dance class, a teacher with their pupilsand role-playing their opinions in the developing work.The tip of the addition includes nooks that invite lounging and socializing.This exercise significantly refined the design. The program called for a two-storey addition, but to safeguard the park, the team proposed a compact three-storey library that reinforces the alignment of the fire hall. Elevating a portion of the addition creates a sheltered outdoor space, connected to an interior meeting area. The interior spaces of the library are oriented towards the park.From a sustainability perspective, the design prioritizes the use of simple systems and materials with local supply chains, including two-storey trusses that use less steel, a ribbed slab with reduced concrete, and exposed mass timber deck and joists. Bricks removed from the existing building will be reused as paving under benches and bike racks, and the stone extracted for geothermal wells will become sub-grade for the parks hard surfaces.Moreover, the design encourages active transportation and urban agriculture, both of which are popular in the neighbourhood. The outdoor agora includes an abundance of bike racks, as well as public access to bike repair tools and compressed air; planting areas are part of the roof terrace and park, while the library itself hosts a seed library and gardening classes. We have tried to make a library that says: move your body, eat fresh food, and share with your neighbours, write the designers. If this project creates even a small change in the transportation and consumption habits of its users, it will increase social cohesion and reduce the neighbourhoods carbon footprint two orders of magnitude more than a net-zero building could achieve here.ScreenshotCLIENT Ville de Montral | ARCHITECT TEAM Lapointe Magne & AssocisKatarina Cernacek, Pascale-Lise Collin, milie Maumy, Ocane Perham, Florian Vadjoux, Qiang Fu, Martin-F. Daigle, Soubhi Jabal. LUF Architectes Sudhir Suri, Jennifer Benis, Edith Beauvais-Sauro, Foti Boulougaris, Aradhana Gupta, Bahia Burias, Camille Debuisne, Chlo Deblois, Ariane Ducharme | STRUCTURAL L2C Experts-Conseils | MECHANICAL Dupras Ledoux | CIVIL Vinci Consultants | LANDSCAPE NIPPAYSAGE | AREA 3,075 m2| BUDGET $21.6 M | STATUS Construction documents | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION Fall 2027ENERGY USE INTENSITY (EUI) 97.22 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY DEMAND INTENSITY (TEDI) 26.94 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY (GHGI) 2.33 kg CO2e/m2 | WATER USE INTENSITY (WUI) 0.081 m3/m2/yearAs appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post va-Circ-Ct Library appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Warehouse Park Pavilion
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCEWhimsical, yet structured, it is easy to imagine how this pavilion will become an icon for the city and create a gravitational pull for park users. The boldness of the vaulted roof structure and its consistent rhythm defies the organic shape in plan. With its strong monochromatic colour, it creates a distinctive, warm presence in the park. Andrea Wolff, jurorThe dramatic cantilevered roof extends beyond the enclosure to create a covered outdoor space. Inside, amenities include universal washrooms, a multi-purpose gathering space, and a kitchenette.LOCATION Edmonton, AlbertaArchitecture is what separates a pavilion from a shed. Gh3*s building for a pending park on the western edge of Edmontons downtown has a modest and largely utilitarian program: it contains washrooms, community multi-purpose space, mechanical and electrical rooms, storage space, and staff space. But this welcoming, emphatically red little building, topped with a yoo-hoo of a barrel-vaulted, cantilevered roof, looks set to become an instant local landmark. Warehouse Park Pavilion speaks, as its award submission notes, to a time when park pavilions were celebratory.A sheltered colonnade invites informal gatheringsReclaiming a former car dealership precinct as public green space, Warehouse Park aims to reconnect this part of Edmonton with its Indigenous roots. The name O-daymin, gifted by a local Elder to the ward in which the park is located, means strawberry or heart-berry in Anishinaabemowin. The berry-red pavilion on the west side of the park will embrace and define the Warming Plaza (a.k.a. west plaza), a community space centred around a fire pit, and face toward the main, strawberry-shaped open lawn to the east.Washrooms occupy individual rooms for increased safety.The parks geometry and organization generated the pavilions footprint. While the building encloses 270 m2, its irregularly shaped roof canopy stretches out to cover 400 m2, providing bountiful sheltered outdoor space in a configuration that aligns with surrounding park pathways. The pavilions large glazed areas, in combination with its relatively narrow width, allow for transparency and clear views from the alley along its west edge through to the public plaza to the east. Its robust exterior materialstempered laminated glass and powder-coated steelare graffiti resilient and resistant to vandalism.The pavilions form and colour make it a beacon viewed from across the clearing, and an anchor on the west side of the park.This projects barrel vaulting tips the hat to historic modern buildings in Edmonton such as Jasper Place High School and the Westwood Transit Garageand affirms that this ancient structural form lends itself anew to contemporary applications. The vaulted ceilings and interior walls, washrooms (including partitions) and event space are clad with red-stained marine grade plywood. Lest the sites immediate past be forgot, the exterior areas of the pavilions cast-in-place concrete floor have an acid-etched, aggregate-exposing finish that mimics the old car dealerships durable terrazzo flooring, patches of which still remained in place after initial attempts to clear the site. (Interior public-area floors are polished concrete.)The building is passively ventilated with no cooling; its deep roof overhang reduces solar gain and associated cooling loads.Glowing a warm red even on a cold winter night and inviting all visitors to pause for a moment to enjoy its scalloped roofline, Warehouse Park Pavilion provides basic amenities with an uplifting generosity of spirit.CLIENT City of Edmonton | ARCHITECT TEAM Pat Hanson (FRAIC), Raymond Chow (MRAIC), Elise Shelley, John McKenna, Joel Di Giacomo, Richard Freeman, Petra Bogias, Alison Huo | LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN LEAD CCxA | LOCAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE / STRUCTURAL / MECHANICAL / ENGINEERING / CIVIL / TRAFFIC AECOM| LIGHTING Ombrages / clairage public | PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS Twenty/20 Communications | AREA Building270m2 ; Park17,800 m2 | BUDGET Pavilion$5.6M; Entire Park$35.3M | STATUS Under construction| ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2025ENERGY USE INTENSITY (EUI) 179.16 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY DEMAND INTENSITY (TEDI) 23.5 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY (GHGI) 1.38 kg CO2e/m2 | WATER USE INTENSITY (WUI) 2.22 m3/m2/yearAs appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post Warehouse Park Pavilion appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    11 Brock
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCEThe need for supportive housing is at a crisis point across Canada. 11 Brock Avenue not only addresses this need, but does so in a way that understands the effects of good design and the critical need for a baseline of net-zero and low carbon in building construction. This project prioritizes community through the design of an interior single-loaded corridor that promotes access to light and views to the communal spaces along the courtyard. The street faade expresses the rigour of mass timber construction, while still being playful and achieving a balance between opaque and transparent surfaces. Matthew Hickey, jurorThe design aims to create a distinct, yet contextually sensitive addition to the Parkdale neighbourhood. The ground-level landscape includes native shrubs and trees, and hardscaped areas for seating and bicycle parking.LOCATION Toronto, Ontario11 Brock Avenue is one of five projects resulting from a City of Toronto partnership with the Federal Government to create urgently needed supportive and affordable housing under the Rapid Housing Initiative. Targeting housing-ready sites, the initiative funds projects that are fast-tracked from project start to occupancy within 18 months.Located in Torontos central-west Parkdale neighbourhood, 11 Brock Avenue will provide 42 new supportive and rent-geared-to-income residential units on a corner lot that has been vacant for years. The buildings fine-grained, four-storey Brock Avenue faade is vertically divided into six bands, and animated by a couple of curves reminiscent of an old rolltop desk. One band demarcates the main entry by rolling inward above it; an adjacent band unrolls above the ground at bench height, creating an informal seating platform. Along the buildings west and north facades, its landscaped border amps up visual interest by oscillating in plan between planting beds and hardscaped areas for seating and bicycle parking.The tiered courtyard adjoins support spaces and common uses on the ground floor, and above, is wrapped with single-loaded corridors to the apartments.Several other congenial ideas coalesce in and around the buildings tiered, south-facing courtyard. At grade, the buildings dining hall and lounge, lobby corridor, and staff spaces all face onto a compact courtyard patio, providing the eyes on the street that help make this secluded space feel like a safe, sociable hub. The laundry room, conceived here as a social space rather than a purely utilitarian one, also has a courtyard view. A series of outdoor areas cascade down towards the ground-floor patio: the topmost tier is a garden terrace, with picnic tables and raised accessible community-garden planting beds. Single-loaded corridors wrap the outdoor space on three sides, and include large window-boxes with seating, so that residents can sit by a window with views to the shared social area.Screenshot11 Brock Avenue is an all-electric, mass timber building, designed to meet net zero and low embodied carbon requirements. A wide band of extensive green roof aids in retaining stormwater and promotes biodiversity; the roof has also been designed to support a planned, future photovoltaics installation.The layout of the residential units is optimized for simplicity and efficiency, and ensures privacy by not having any units face each other. Using a regular grid layout and repeating stacked suites improves the efficiency of the design and the speed of construction. More than 30 percent of the homes this project provides are accessible suites.CLIENT Govan Brown and Associates Ltd., City of Toronto | ARCHITECT TEAM Aaron Budd (MRAIC), Sam Dufaux, Joseph Khan, Hayley Imerman (MRAIC), Hugo Flammin, Jessica Daga, Evan Wakelin, Aziza Asat, Jina Lee, Luke Kairys, Valerie Hough, Bonnie Chuong, Hillary Eppel, Huy Pham | TRANSPORTATION BA Consulting Group | AREA 1,055 m2 | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2025As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post 11 Brock appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Best podcasts and films for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition
    The past year saw an abundance of films and podcasts of interest to Canadian architects. As the holidays approach, were rounding up this years best ones.You may also be interested in this round-ups companion posts: our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide,2024 Book Round-Up Part One and 2024 Book Round-Up Part Two.Films:Still from Your Tomorrow documentaryYour TomorrowFilmed over 100 days in this public space on Torontos waterfront, Ali Weinsteins feature-length documentary captures the final year of Ontario Place before its planned transformation into a private spa and waterpark. Find out more here.Arthur Erickson: Beauty Between the Lines (Image credit: ADFF Vancouver)Arthur Erickson: Beauty Between the LinesThis documentary debuted to sold-out audiences at the ADFF film festivals in Vancouver and Toronto. Directed by Ryan Mah and Danny Berish, it offers an in-depth exploration of the extraordinary life of one of the 20th centurys most iconic and influential modernist architects. The documentary weaves personal anecdotes and professional milestones to uncover the untold stories of Arthur Ericksons journey, from his celebrated public achievements to his private struggles.Still from the documentary film Into the Island, 2023 CCAGroundworkMade by the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Groundwork is a three-part film and exhibition series that explores the conceptual development and field research of contemporary architects cultivating alternative modes of engagement with new project sites. Find out more here.Podcasts:Image credit: OAAArchitecturally SpeakingThis podcast series, launched by the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA), was designed to make the built environment more accessible to the public by exploring aspects of design and construction and discussing current issues such as climate change and housing. Find out more here.Beyond the BuildHosted by Jonathan Jacobs, this podcast offers in-depth interviews with Canadian design professionals speaking about their design practices, personal journeys, and more.The Claims-Free ArchitectSponsored by Prodemnity, the Claims-Free Architect podcast takes a deep-dive into situations faced by licensed architects and architectural practice owners which lead to claims against them. While directed to Ontario architects, its scenarios are relevant to practicing architects across the country.BevelHosted by Peter Sobchak, editor in chief of Canadian InteriorsandBuilding magazines, Bevel features talks with industry leaders and thinkers about ideas and issues facing the design world today.Related:2024 Holiday Gift GuideBest books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 1Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 2The post Best podcasts and films for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Montreal Old Port Infill
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCEThis quiet infill project feels inevitable and fresh. The design strikes an intelligent balance between the modern and the historic as it rebuilds and abstracts the footprint of a previous structure that burned down in 1959. A modern mansard roof doubles as a shroud for unsightly mechanical equipment, a change in stone texture marks the parapet of the previous building, and each floors efficient planning responds to the stairs and exits of the adjacent building. DArcy Jones, jurorRounded corners refer to the original building on the site, which burned down more than 50 years ago; a change in stone texture marks the earlier buildings parapet line.LOCATION Montreal, QuebecAn 18 x 80-foot sliver of real estate in Montreals Old Port district has been vacant since 1959, when the modest 19th-century warehouse that formerly occupied the site burned down. To state the obvious, any land parcel that has remained a pocket-size parking lot for more than six decades in this bustling tourism, dining, and shopping district must be fairly resistant to redevelopment. However, the owner of both this corner lot and the mixed-use heritage building adjacent to it determined that an infill building would be viable if it shared elevator and stair access with its neighbour to the east. Architecture cologiques efficient design makes this happen, and it addresses the sites challenges with urbane grace.Historic drawings and photos served as key references in the design.Due to the topographys southward slope, the existing building has five storeys along its Rue de la Commune faade, which overlooks the St. Lawrence River, and only four on its north faade, along Rue Saint-Paul. It has retail tenancy at street level on Saint-Paul, and on the first two floors along Rue de la Commune, with two levels of office space above that and a residential loft on level five. The infill building will have a similar disposition of retail space, plus five apartments on its upper four levels, ranging in size from a studio to a three-bedroom unit. The top two apartments are each two-floor stair-connected units, with an upper-level terrace. A mansard-like roof, echoing the form of many others in the district that became Montreals main port in the 1600s, tucks the mechanical equipment out of sight.Openings on all elevations respond carefully to the adjacent building.While clearly a building of its own time, the infill structure subtly alludes to its predecessor, echoing the fire-destroyed buildings rounded corners and marking the height of its parapet with a shift in stone texture.Best known to date for rural, single-family residences, architecture cologique founder Etienne Lemay demonstrates a deft touch on this project for mixed-use infill in a heritage district. And as his firms name suggests, this building will have a small footprint, sustainably as well as literally: its above-ground structural system will be cross-laminated timber; its heating and cooling will be geothermal.Diagrams show how the previous structure informed the composition of the faades.CLIENT Pierre Bouvrette | ARCHITECTS Etienne Lemay, Odile Lamy | STRUCTURAL Latral | MECHANICAL Canope | CODE Technorm Inc. | AREA 965 m2 | BUDGET $4.5 M | STATUS Design development| ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2026As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post Montreal Old Port Infill appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Confederation Centre of the Arts Revitalization
    WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCEThoughtful, elegant, and inclusive. This strong intervention into the Brutalist architecture of the Confederation Centre of the Arts is an example of how 1960s architecture can be elevated to todays standards of community. Prioritizing a street-level entrance changes the proportions of the existing faade, creating an entry that feels like it has always been there. The additional masses reference the heritage forms while skillfully creating contrast through materiality, considered fenestration, and a slight reveal that allows the forms to visually slide past each other. Ultimately, the new intervention strengthens the entire site. Matthew Hickey, jurorA new entrance opens up the Brutalist building to the street, while new additions are skillfully inserted between the existing volumes of the former library.LOCATION Charlottetown, Prince Edward IslandThe Confederation Centre of the Arts (CCoA), in Charlottetown, PEI, is a textbook example of how an initially acclaimed effort by architects of one generation to design something noble, egalitarian, and enduring can look exclusionist and problematic several decades later.Designed by Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold and Sise and completed in 1964, this Brutalist National Historic Siteconceived as Canadas national memorial to the Fathers of Confederationoriginally consisted of library, theatre, and art gallery buildings, extruded up through a podium edged with terraced planters, and framing a sunken courtyard. The original intent of Brutalist architecture, as Abbott Brown Architects notes in the award submission, was to dislocate it from the normative iconography of power and make it accessible and empowering to all.A stage-sized rehearsal and production hall occupies a new volume, situated on a former covered plazaToday, however, the CCoAs physical inaccessibility and aloofness feels alienating and out of step with Canadas heterogeneity. Prior to design work on this project, Abbott Brown co-sponsored a conference at which artists and others from diverse backgrounds explained why the very cultural centres meant to embody their voices felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming. Drawing from the insights of that gathering, the Phase 1 Revitalization will transform and expand the former library pavilion into a new National Cultural Leadership Institute, which will offer a hub for convening on important Canadian issues, arts and cultural learning programs, as well as spaces for Canadian arts creation and hosting community events.A cross-section shows how the mass timber addition sits under an existing free spanning waffle-slab roof.Abbott Browns intent is to preserve the integrity of the original architecture, while subverting its impenetrable character. New construction is restricted to the interstitial zones between the existing volumes, and to the adjacent plaza. Removing a swath of the perimeter terracing along Richmond Street, inserting new glazing, and situating a new atrium floor at grade opens one of the pavilions directly to the street. Within, the mass timber structure of the new connecting volumes takes the chill off the existing expanses of exposed concrete. Removing portions of the original Level 2 and Level 3 floors and inserting a translucent, load-bearing stair just below street level creates new atrium space at street level. The interstitial interventions also establish a new opening to the CCoAs sunken Garden Courtyard.Mass timber bridges and structural elements weave through the existing volumes, introducing barrier-free access routes and adding warmth to the concrete heritage building.In contrast with the original complexs monolithically blank sandstone exterior walls, the cladding of the new additions combines generous glazing with panels formed from irregular, glazed, terracotta ribs. While keeping within an overall bone-white tonal range, the ribs will vary in profile, texture, and glazing. In this way, the manufactured panels will recall the subtle variations that are celebrated in the traditions of Japanese and Korean handcrafted ceramics. The cladding itself is a subtle, luminous mosaic, offering the onlooker lively shifts and divergent impressions at different scales, the award submission states. It is an intentional, experiential metaphor for the complexity and diversity of contemporary society.Targeting CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Design certification, this first phase of the CCoAs revitalization preserves most of the existing mass-concrete structure, while introducing large central skylights, stack-effect ventilation, PV rooftop arrays, and many other strategies for improved energy performance.ScreenshotCLIENT Confederation Centre of the Arts | ARCHITECT TEAM Alec Brown (MRAIC), Jane Abbott (MRAIC), June Jung, Katelyn Latham, Karen Mills, Blake Klotz, Brittany Dwyer, Camila Lima, Saejin Lim, Celina Abba, Leanna Letterio, Kaley Doleman, Jack Ziemanski, Tony Rukongwa, Will McInnes | STRUCTURAL/CIVIL SCL Engineering | MECHANICAL MCA Consultants | ELECTRICAL Richardson Associates | LANDSCAPE NIPPAYSAGE | QUANTITY SURVEYOR QSolv | SUSTAINABILITY reLoad Sustainable Design | CODE LMDG | ACOUSTICS Fox Technologies | CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT Brighton Construction | AREA 4,000 m2 | BUDGET $60 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION May 2026ENERGY USE INTENSITY (EUI)116 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY DEMAND INTENSITY (TEDI)34.9 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY (GHGI)24 kg CO2e/m2 | WATER USE INTENSITY (WUI) 0.17 m3/m2/yearAs appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post Confederation Centre of the Arts Revitalization appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Viewpoint: Technical Women
    Dima Cook speaks as part of a day-long BEAT event on women architects in technical roles. Photo by Romina MehrbodSpecialized technical skillssuch as expertise in sustainability, computational design, heritage, energy modelling, and construction detailingare often associated with male architects. As Vice Chair of the Advisory Committee of BEAT (Building Equality in Architecture Toronto), I had the pleasure of supporting a recent seminar that aimed to counter that bias. The day-long event featured five women who have developed in-depth technical knowledge as a key part of their career journeys.The days moderatorand the curator of the panelwas Jennifer Davis, strategic business development lead at WZMH Architects. Jennifer spoke about how she began stacking skills sets in a succession of personal and professional projectstaking on construction detailing in architecture offices, then applying those abilities to her own public art projects, which in turn led to the development of a proficiency in proposal-writing. At WZMH, she wrote her own job description for a role where she creates business development opportunities based on the firms technical expertise. A recent project involved leading a publication and presentation series that showcases the firms extensive experience in re-cladding towers.Dima Cook, a principal and director at EVOQ Architecture, described how, early in her career, she lucked into being part of a project team rehabilitating the Harbour Commission Building in Old Montreal, which she had studied in university. Over time, she built up the expertise and appetite for detailed on-the-ground investigation that characterize her work. She has long had the benefit of a female mentorheritage doyenne Julia Gersovitzbut still encounters friction on construction sites, where crews are predominantly male. I come across the guy who says, Ive been mixing mortar for 30 years, says Dima, and I say, so have I, and were doing it my way.Kendra Kusick is a project manager and digital tools expert with Teeple Architects. Her work is also research-intensive, involving diving deep into Excel spreadsheets and Revit errors, often through online forums, and persisting until finding a solution. She advocates for the value of good work to speak for itself, referring to times when her office has taken up efficiency-oriented processes shes developed, without her having to explicitly advocate for their adoption. But she is also on guard about being pigeonholed in her specialty, or taking on tasks because others are complacent about learning basic skillsa sentiment echoed by the other panellists.Sophie Tremblay, an associate at LGA Architectural Partners, built up her abilities through hands-on work detailing energy efficiency retrofits for a series of city-owned social housing projects. Wanting to go further in developing her expertise in envelope detailing, she approached the partners to support training for Passive House certification at an advantageous time: the firm had just missed a few opportunities because they didnt have a certified Passive House designer.Olivia Keung, an associate at Moriyama Teshima Architects, came to a specialty in sustainability out of a desire to make the greatest positive impact in the profession. The intersection between social and environmental sustainability is evident in projects she is involved withincluding an expansion to Sudburys Science Northas well as her committee work as sustainability advisor for the City of Torontos Design Review Panel, and on the RAICs Advisory Committee for Promoting Equity and Justice.Advocating for women to take on more technically oriented roles is part of Olivias passion: early in her career, she observed how men were often picked to take on meatier tasks and projects, and how that led to them making quicker gains in expertise, status, and salary. If they can do it, so can I, she concludedas did the other panellists. They hope to inspire other women to follow in parallel pathsand to encourage allies in the industry to support the diversity of people looking to put in the time, hard work, determination, and brain power needed to gain specialized technical expertise.As appeared in theDecember 2024issue of Canadian Architect magazineThe post Viewpoint: Technical Women appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    A Balanced Approach: Jury Comments on the 2024 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence
    The 2024 Canadian Architect Awards were tightly contended. Over two days of deliberation in October, jurors Andrea Wolff, Matthew Hickey, and DArcy Jones considered 143 entries to arrive at a selection of four Awards of Excellence winners and six Award of Merit winners. They also considered 35 student entriesthe top architecture thesis projects in Canada as nominated by their schoolsto select three Student Award of Excellence winners.Photographer Lisa Stinner-Kun joined the jury to select one Photo Award of Excellence winner and two Photo Award of Merit winners. In our newly introduced Student Photo category, one entry was selected to receive a Student Photo Award of Excellence.The jurors for the 2024 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence were Matthew Hickey, Lisa Stinner-Kun, Andrea Wolff, and DArcy Jones.This years winners expertly balance design ambition, sustainability considerations, and a humanistic social vision. Going beyond the expected resolutions to a given program, they dug hard to develop design solutions that leveraged existing contexts, minimized environmental impact, and were generous in their provision of amenity.These qualities are especially evident in the winning projects which work closely with existing buildings. There is growing industry-wide realization that, in terms of sustainability, the greenest buildings are those that are already built. According to the AIA, around half of the current work of architects involves adaptive reuse, renovation, or additions to existing structures. The most successful of these projects not only show a deep appreciation of the social, historic, and cultural values embedded in existing buildings, but also integrate these values thoughtfully into new design interventions.The Confederation Centre of the Arts Revitalization, by Abbott Brown Architects, renovates and carefully adds to the 1964 project by Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold and Sisethe first of Canadas Centennial buildings. The project includes needed accessibility and energy upgrades, as well as the additions of a stage-sized rehearsal hall, new classrooms and learning areas for visual arts, theatre, and dance, and artist-in-residence spaces. A new street-level entrance creates a warm, open welcome, subtly softening the Brutalist design. On the West Coast, the revitalization of the Tofino Fish Pier, by Leckie Studio Architecture + Design, transforms a different kind of historic structurean artifact of industrial heritage. The original fish pier housed an ice plant that served the areas deep-sea fisheries. The wooden structure for that ice plant remains at the heart of the design, with its large-scale spaces now being leveraged as gallery and gathering spaces. In a powerful pivot, the former colonial structures are being revitalized for use by Indigenous communities and fishers, recognizing and supporting their legally affirmed harvesting rights.A third project involving an existing buildingin this case, a major additionis located near downtown Montreal. The va-Circ-Ct Library, by Lapointe Magne et associs architectes working in consortium with LOEUF Architectes, expands a library currently housed in a former fire hall; the project restores the envelope of the heritage building and frames it with a triangular addition. Beyond its impressive sustainability figuresan EUI of 97.22 kWh/m2/year, a TEDI of 26.94 kWh/m2/year, and WUI of 0.081 m3/m2/yearthe project conserves large existing trees to shade new spaces, reuses construction waste, and draws on local supply chains. It also encourages community agriculture and active transportation, reasoning that helping to instigate even small changes in the transportation and consumption habits of users can help to reduce the neighbourhoods carbon footprint in an impactful way.One of the winning student projects also engages deeply in the adaptive reuse of a building. Matthew Dlugoszs thesis project, entitled Parkdale Peoples Palace, proposes the renovation of an existing church in a central-west Toronto neighbourhood to become a local community food hub, with layered uses including a co-op grocery store, community kitchen, community garden plots, a flexible dining and co-working hall, and a farmers market.Rosalie Laflammes thesis project, Heritage of a Rural Patrimony, demonstrates a similar sensitivity to its contextin this case, the rural centre of Petite-Rivire-de-Saint-Franois, Quebec. Casting an eye to rural industry, it proposes a centre for reviving traditional artscombining areas for boat building, carpentry, maple syrup manufacturing, and preparing eels harvested through weir fishing. Like the program, the architecture of the paired buildings draws on vernacular forms and local materials.NinetySeven Victoria, by bnkc architecture + urban design, was noted by the jury for its design of a single campus providing transitional housing, mental heath and addiction support, and community food programs.Although it did not quite make the cut, another project that was much discussed by the jury was NinetySeven Victoria, by bnkc architecture + urban design. Located in Kitchener, Ontario, the project addresses the absence of affordable housing with an initiative to create a campus of carea grouping of buildings that combines transitional housing, mental health and addiction support, and community food programs. The project includes a renovation and addition to an existing warehouse, as well as a new building on the host organizations current site. The jurors applauded the approach of evolving a warehouse into a courtyard-centered campus, although they felt that the addition to the existing building could be handled with a more elegant touch.Another group of winners that deal closely with their immediate surroundings in exemplary ways are urban infill projects. Montreal Old Port Infill, by architecture cologiques tienne Lemay, is a slim building that replaces a previous structure that burned down in 1959. While just 18 feet wide, it makes subtle allusions to its predecessor, adopting the previous buildings rounded corners and marking the height of the previous parapet with a change in stone texture.Two infill projects are among the Toronto project winners. Annex House, the first built commission by Harry Weis firm WAO (Wei Architecture and Objects) combines three homes on a single-family lot. Units in the main house are interlocked and arranged to prioritize access to natural light, including on the lower level. The design aims to fit in, rather than stand outelegantly integrating extra density into an established neighbourhood.Located in Torontos Parkdale neighbourhood, 11 Brock Avenue, by SvN Architects + Planners, aims to deliver 40 new supportive and rent-geared-to-income residential units on a vacant lot. The units are grouped around a courtyard, providing daylight and a dedicated outdoor space for residents, while the street faade is a lightly playful composition, accented by soft curves that transform into a canopy and bench-height informal seating to extend a warm welcome to residents and neighbours.SvNs design for Cabin Communities was notable for its considered vision for pre-fab, modular tiny homes that could be grouped together on vacant municipal sites to offer transitional housing.A second project by SvN was also discussed by the jury, although in the end they felt that a more convincing deployment on an actual site would have been needed to consider it more thoroughly as a possible winner. Cabin Communities addresses the lack of options for unhoused people in Toronto by introducing prefabricated, mass timber cabins that could be rapidly built and deployed in neighbourhood vacant lots. The cabins are grouped around a central shared space with access to a community kitchen, dining area, washroom facilities, and laundry. Designed using Passive House principles and with residents comfort in mind, the cabins provide dignified, secure temporary homes as a step for residents to transition into more permanent housing.Programmatic innovation is at the heart of several other projects. Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, by hcma architecture + design and Dub Architects, in collaboration with FaulknerBrowns, is a dynamic combination of a velodrome with a community sports huba departure from the usual configuration of velodromes as standalone facilities. The cycling track is positioned a full story above the centres ground-level infield courts, with a four-lane running track looping below and outboard the cycling area. Creating visibility between different sporting uses aims to generate broader community interest in track cycling and triathlon.On a more modest scale, The Open, a project in Calgary by Public City Architecture, adds a sporting function to what might otherwise be a prosaic washroom project. Pairing a pickleball court with a green-roof-capped public washroom helps to generate activity and interest, adding to the vibrancy, visibility and safety of the facility.Student Jose Powers thesis, Ascending Worlds, brings an inventive eye to the space of the residential elevator. Reflecting on the early days of elevatorswhen the new mechanized devices were rendered as luxurious moving rooms, to dispel anxieties about living at heightPower explores the potential of elevators to serve as miniature social condensers. His whimsical catalogue of proposals includes retrofitting elevators as cocktail bars, mini-sized concert venues, and micro libraries.Two final winning projects offer innovation in the realms of construction process and form. Mont-Laurier Library, by Chevalier Morales with LOEUF Architectes, is based on a wooden reciprocal frame structurea kind of waffle slab made out of mass timber. The design is engineered for disassembly, envisioning the future reuse of the buildings materials as its original use changes.Warehouse Park Pavilion, a pavilion by gh3*, is located in an Edmonton park whose design is being led by CCxA. The barrel-vaulted, berry-red structure nods to mid-century styles, while also offering a distinctive contemporary presence. Its red colour alludes to the pavilions adjacency to a fire-pit-equipped warming plazaa space meant to offer respite during wintry weather.The Grounding Meadow, by Ja Architecture, was selected as the winning proposal in a design competition for revisioning the landscape of the Ontario Association of Architects headquarters. The jury admired the integration of landscape and architecture in the design.A final project that drew especial attention from the jury, although it was not ultimately selected as a winner, was Ja Architectures The Grounding Meadow. The project was the winning entry in a recent competition to revamp the landscape design for the Ontario Association of Architects headquarters in north Toronto. It proposes the removal of non-permeable hardscapes and their replacement with a wild meadow that allows for on-site stormwater treatment through filtration and sedimentation. The meadow is overlaid with a permeable metal grid that bridges to the parking and pedestrian entrances. The jurors were intrigued by the design strategy that tightly integrated architectural and landscape thinkingalthough this quality also, they felt, made it difficult to evaluate the project within the framework of an architectural competition.Among the photos, one image by Montreal- and London-based photographer James Brittain stood out: a photo of cole du Zenith, an elementary school recently completed by Pelletier de Fontenay and Leclerc Architectes. They were particularly taken by the images expert compositionwhich didnt feel forced, but rather like a perfect found moment. Another image by James Brittain was also selected for recognition: his image of Provencher_Roys Le Tour du Port in Montreal. The jury noted the compositional strength of an image that includes several existing structures in a way that gives them a sense of purposeful placement, and the natural lighting that allows the tower to appear transparent, rather than reflective.Jacqueline Young of Stationpoint Photographic was the photographer behind the third professional photo selected for recognition. Her image of Douglas Cardinals St. Albert Place was noted for its craftsmanship, visible in the amount of detail brought out, and in treating the shadows as being as important as the architecture itself. The resulting image presents a lovely ambiguity between being an architectural image, and an almost abstract composition.For the first time this year, our Photo Awards of Excellence included a category for students. One image stood out from the dozens received: Jenna Boscs photo of the glise Prcieux-Sang, a Winnipeg church by tienne Gaboury. The jurors found the image remarkable for its technical capture of detail, and for offering a surprising view of a familiar landmark.Canadian Architect offers its congratulations to all of this years winners, and our sincere appreciation for all those who offered their work for consideration by our jury.As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersThe post A Balanced Approach: Jury Comments on the 2024 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    The Winners: 2024 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence
    The 2024 Canadian Architect Awards were tightly contended. Over two days of deliberation in October, jurors Andrea Wolff, Matthew Hickey, and DArcy Jones considered 143 entries to arrive at a selection of four Awards of Excellence winners and six Award of Merit winners. They also considered 35 student entriesthe top architecture thesis projects in Canada as nominated by their schoolsto select three Student Award of Excellence winners.Photographer Lisa Stinner-Kun joined the jury to select one Photo Award of Excellence winner and two Photo Award of Merit winners. In our newly introduced Student Photo category, one entry was selected to receive a Student Photo Award of Excellence.You can read our jurys full comments here.Here are this years winners:Awards of ExcellenceConfederation Centre of the Arts Revitalization | Abbott Brown ArchitectsMontreal Old Port Infill | architecture cologique11 Brock | SnN Architects+ PlannersWarehouse Park Pavilion | gh3* (park design in collaboration with design lead CCxA)Awards of Meritva-Circ-Ct Library | Lapointe Magne et associs and LOEUF Architectes, in consortiumBibliothque de Mont-Laurier | Chevalier Morales ArchitectesAnnex House | WAO (Wei Architecture & Objects Ltd.)The Open: East Village Public Washroom & Pickleball Court | Public CityCoronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre | Joint venture between hcma architecture + design and Dub Architects, in collaboration with FaulknerBrownsTofino Fish Pier | Leckie Studio Design + ArchitectureStudent Awards of ExcellenceHeritage of a Rural Patrimony | Rosalie Laflamme, Universit LavalParkdale Peoples Palace | Matthew Dlugosz, University of WaterlooAscending Worlds | Jose Power, University of TorontoPhoto Award of ExcellenceLcole du Znith | James BrittainPhoto Awards of MeritSt. Albert Place | Stationpoint PhotographicLa Tour du Port | James BrittainStudent Photo Award of Excellenceglise Prcieux-Sang | Jenna Carolynne BoscOn behalf of the magazine and the jurors, we wish to extend thanks to all of our readers who participated in this years awards program, and congratulations to all of this years winners.View the winners in the December 2024 issueSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersThe post The Winners: 2024 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Weeneebayko Hospital Redevelopment Breaks Ground
    Hospital Public Lobby. Photo credit: Kasian Architecture Ontario IncorporatedThe Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) Redevelopment Project in northern Ontario has broken ground, having officially achieved financial close on October 3, 2024.The project aims to help expand and improve access to health care services for people living in the western James Bay and Hudson Bay regions.Kasian, in partnership with Bertrand Wheeler Architecture Inc., was chosen by Pomerleau Construction to plan and design a new $1.8 billion regional health care campus in Moosonee, and a new ambulatory care centre on Moose Factory Island.Upon completion, the new regional healthcare campus will allow WAHA to expand its health promotion and capacity building programs, to better accommodate primary health care services, and to improve access to care for the mostly First Nations communities it serves.The project includes an acute care hospital, a larger 24-hour emergency department, a new 32-bed Elder Care Lodge, modern state-of-the-art patient rooms, expanded mental health and addictions programming space, residences for staff, a hostel for patients and visitors, and a future ambulatory health clinic.In addition to delivering a contemporary healthcare campus, we are proud to have also succeeded to plan and design all the buildings and the site in a way that respects and embodies culturally relevant values, beliefs, and traditions of the Cree First Nations communities WAHA serves, says Kasian senior associate and project manager Brenda Lee.The project faces several challenges and risks not normally experienced with similar projects in southern Ontario, such as the locations remoteness, which requires careful planning around weather conditions. Buildings on the campus that can be constructed with modular units, such as housing, will be prefabricated and shipped via rail to the site.Hospital Dialysis Entrance II. Photo credit: Kasian Architecture Ontario IncorporatedInitial construction is timed to align with the regions short construction season until the building is enclosed and heated, which will allow for work to continue beyond the outdoor construction window. The project is targeting a 2030 completion.Our commitment from the beginning was to ensure that in, addition to these important goals, the project would be viewed as a tangible and authentic act of reconciliation, said Ian Sinclair. If colonialism was about denying culture, then it is our responsibility to act by ensuring the design embodies and celebrates local Cree culture, values, and traditions.The entire orientation of the hospital building on the site aligns with the cardinal directions of the Cree Medicine Wheel. The circular front entry pavilion to the hospital will face east, symbolizing, the start of life, the spring, purity, warmth, light, and new beginnings, inspired by the Medicine Wheel. This circular space reflects the four sacred medicines which include tobacco, cedar, sage, and sweetgrass, guiding the buildings overall layout and wayfinding. A traditional healing space is featured in the lobby, with a two-storey centrepiece and clerestory glazing to symbolize the connection to the Creator.Part of the WAHA corporate logo, the Cree Medicine Wheel, is a symbol of balance as well as the interconnectedness of all things. It recognizes the seven generational views, encompassing the past, present, and future, acknowledging the knowledge and wisdom from previous generations that has been passed down through storytelling and the guidance of Elders.In the Weeneebayko region, there exists a deep interconnection between the land, nature, water, and community. These elements all served as guiding principles for the design of the entire campus.Technical sheetDesign Firm: Kasian Architecture, Interior Design and PlanningClient Name: Infrastructure Ontario, Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA)Project Type: Health campusProject Location: Moosonee and Moose Factory Island, Ontario, CanadaMarket Sector: HealthcareProject Size: Approximately 419,311 square feetContract Value: $1.8 billion CADProject Completion: Design: December 2022-April 2025Design Team Members: Ian Sinclair (Principal), Brenda Lee (Project Manager)Sponsor Lead for IO: David SteinerRenderings: Kasian Architecture, Renderings for Long Term Elder Care Lodge, Patient Hostel and Staff Accommodation by Bertrand Wheeler ArchitectsThe post Weeneebayko Hospital Redevelopment Breaks Ground appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    OAA issues announces jury for SHIFT2025 Challenge
    Image credit: The SHIFT Architecture ChallengeTheOntario Association of Architects(OAA) has announced that the call for entries to the SHIFT2025 Challenge is now open and has announced the jury for the competition.This program is an aspirational ideas competition that aims to highlight the architecture professions distinct contribution to addressing societal issues, with past themes having focused on health, resiliency, and infrastructure. The SHIFT Challenge is open to individuals or teams led by someone who holds an OAA status such as an architect, intern architect, student associate, retired member, or honorary member.This years theme, Reshaping Communities, asks the profession to explore how they can develop sustainable solutions. From urban revitalization and reconceptualization to adaptations responding to climate change and other emergencies, the competition is seeking conceptual, yet possible, architectural ideas for communities that enable all people to find stability, a sense of belonging, and hope.The deadline for submissions isFriday, January 17, 2025.All eligible entries will be reviewed by a jury consisting of: Dr. Elizabeth English, professor at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and founder of the Buoyant Foundation Project,Erica Gomirato, intern architect at Perry + Perry Architects in Sudbury, Shane Laptiste, architect and founder of the Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA) and 2023 Canadian Prix de Rome recipient, Jean Philippe Larocque, co-founder of Larocque Elder Architects and chair of the North Bay Society of Architects (NBSA); and Janet Rosenberg, founding principal of Janet Rosenberg & Studio, and a renowned landscape architect with more than 40 years of experience and award-winning public and private projects.These experts will be joined by a jury facilitator: architect Diarmuid Nash, partner at Moriyama Teshima Architects, professor, former OAA president, and recipient of the 2022 OAA award for Lifetime Design Achievement.The selected SHIFT2025 submissions will be collected in a special publication and shared online, as well as celebrated at next years Conference in Ottawa.To learn more, clickhere.The post OAA issues announces jury for SHIFT2025 Challenge appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    New documentary provides intimate portrait of Ontario Place
    Still from Your Tomorrow documentaryAn Ontario Place documentary called YourTomorrow is having its theatrical premiere next month in Toronto.The premiere will take place on December 6, 7, and 8, 2024, at Hot Docs Cinema located at 506 Bloor Street West.YourTomorrow, filmed over almost 100 days in the public space on Torontos waterfront, captures the final year of Ontario Place before its planned transformation into a private spa and waterpark.Earlier this year, it played at theToronto International Film Festival where it won a runner up Audience Choice award.Still from YourTomorrow documentaryThe documentary follows a group of characters who use and care for this park over the course of a year. The audience sees the space evolve through the eyes of a security guard who has worked there for forty years, a pair of Taiwanese retirees who visit the park daily, and a swimmer and self-described cyborg who leads year-round lake dips.The film documents a transitional moment in the landscape of the city, and asks viewers to consider what modern cities should look like and what a diverse urban society requires to thrive.Still from Your Tomorrow documentaryThe screening on December 6 will be followed by a Q&A with director Ali Weinstein, producer Geoff Morrison, birder Francesca Bouaoun, Ontario Place for All co-chair Norm Di Pasquale and professor and swimmer Steve Mann. The session will be moderated by Hot Docs Director of Programming, Heather Haynes.Ontario Place originally opened in 1971 with a vision of idealism and futurism, and was designed as a family-friendly oasis for those who couldnt afford cottages.Throughout the years, it became a public park spanning 155 acres of car-free land, that was cherished for its architecture, environment, and vibrancy. Weinsteins Your Tomorrow not only reflects on its history and uncertain future, but also emphasizes the importance of such urban spaces, while exploring the impact on the lives of its visitors and staff. The film also prompts a discussion on urban development, community values, and the preservation of public spaces.The post New documentary provides intimate portrait of Ontario Place appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Toronto Society of Architects calling on submissions for Gingerbread City 2024
    Photo credit: Toronto Society of ArchitectsThe Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) has issued a call for submissions for their fifth annual Gingerbread City event, which aims to bring together architects and designers to create unique edible creations that celebrate architecture with a holiday twist.TSA Gingerbread City initially started in 2020 to help bring together Torontos architectural community. This years edition will include both a virtual exhibit and a small in-person showcase at The Maker Bean Caf located at 1052 Bloor Street West in Toronto.Those interested in participating must register here prior to December 2 as there is limited space for the in-person display. Submissions will need to be dropped off on Dec. 11 between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at Maker Bean Caf. All digital submissions will be required by December 11.PastGingerbread City showcases have included everything from iconic Toronto landmarks and landscapes to edible retrofits and residences. This years creations will be on display beginning December 12. There will also be an opportunity to meet the makers at the official launch of this years Gingerbread City on December 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Returning to this years Gingerbread City is also the TSAs popular Kids Main Street workshops, a program for the youngest designers in the family, that invites children to be a part of GingerbreadCity and learn about city building as they design and decorate their very own Main Street faades. Two workshops will be held on December 7 and tickets are currently available on the TSAs website.Gingerbread City is open to all and is free to enter via the TSAs call for submissions, and all makers are invited to take part in this years festivities.The post Toronto Society of Architects calling on submissions for Gingerbread City 2024 appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 2
    The past year saw an abundance of new books of interest to Canadian architectsmany of them authored by Canadian designers. As the holidays approach, were rounding up this years best books.You may also be interested in this round-ups companion post, our2024 Holiday Gift Guide.All Things MoveLearning to Look at the Sistine Chapel by Jeannie Marshall ($35 CAD)In her bookAll Things Move: Learningto Look at the Sistine Chapel, Marshall makes a unique case for considering the Chapel as something other than a religious enclave, scholarly artifact, or checklist tourist attraction. Its all those, of course, but its otherworldly qualities transcend religious, academic, or tour-bus affiliations. Find out more here.An Inimitable Rogue by Storefront Manitoba ($45 CAD)This tribute to the late David Penner features contributions by many Winnipeg area friends, family, and colleagues. It also presents Penners workfrom the poetic expression of the rainwater collection at the Manitoba Electrical Museum to the transparent, translucent, and transcendent qualities of the Penner Cottage. Find out more here.Manitoba Women in Design by Marieke Gruwel ($35 CAD)Manitoba Women in Design tells the story of womens contributions to Manitobas built environment during the twentieth century. These women worked as architects, interior designers, landscape architects, planners, and engineers, and their legacies can be traced across the province. Many of these women and their contributions have been erased from architecture and design histories. This book aims to begin the process of addressing these exclusions by showcasing their lives and careers. Find out more here.Screenshot100 WomenArchitects in Practice by Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder, and Tom Ravenscroft ($90 CAD)This sampling of work by women architects is, according to its authors, a snapshot of innovative architectural practice from across the globe. Contesting the male- and Global North-dominated canon, it includes interviews with women from almost 80 countries, and prioritizes place-sensitive approaches, and equity-minded processes. Find out more here.Platform.MiddleArchitecture for Housing the 99%by 5468796 Architecture ($79 CAD)Winnipeg architecture firm 5468796 is known for working outside of the normthe puzzle-box Bloc 10, the flying-saucer-like 62Mand their first publication is no exception. Rather than a traditional monograph,platform.MIDDLE is a box set of four volumes. Together, the publications components distill lessons learned from 5468796s portfolio of missing middle housing projects, offering context and practical tools for architects to address housing affordability. Find out more here.Fundamentals of Planning Cities for Healthy Living by Avi Friedman and Alexandra Pollock ($46 CAD)The book highlights the disparity in health outcomes observed in underinvested urban neighbourhoods. The lack of access to recreational spaces, healthy food options, and safe pedestrian routes exacerbates issues like obesity, diabetes, and mental health disorders, especially in lower-income neighbourhoods. The authors call for a multidimensional approach that includes strategies like food security, active mobility, green spaces, and inclusive public places. The book also stresses the need for greater cooperation between government, private and healthcare sectors, nonprofits, and more effective public awareness campaigns, underlining the procedural tactics necessary to move the needle for healthier outcomes for our cities and urban populations. Find out more here.Constructing Health: How the Built Environment Enhances Your Minds Health by Tye Farrow ($84 CAD)In this book, architect Tye Farrow invites readers to reframe their understanding of what buildings can do by posing a series of questions, such as: How do buildings make us feel, and how can they make us feel better? A guiding concept is salutogenesisa term proposed by sociologist Aaron Antonovsky to describe the factors and conditions that promote health and well-being, rather than focusing solely on the causes and treatment of disease. Find out more here.Designed Landscapes37 Key Projectsby Alan Tate and Marcella Eaton ($57 CAD)Designed Landscapes: 37 Key Projects, by Alan Tate and Marcella Eaton, is a profusely illustrated exploration of a series of outstanding landscapes, all designed by human handthough many are located within, and skillfully exploit or complement, the natural or vernacular landscapes in which they are located. Find out more here.ResideContemporary West Coast Houses by Michael Prokopow ($55 CAD)A decade ago, Greg Bellerbys bookThe West Coast Modern House:Vancouver Residential Architecture chronicled key developments in West Coast Modern architecture, including several contemporary practices continuing that legacy. The present volume is positioned as a continuation, foregrounding new voices in a selection curated by architect Clinton Cuddington. Find out more here.The Suicide MagnetInside the Battle to Erect a Safety Barrier on Torontos Bloor Viaduct by Paul McLaughlin ($20 CAD)In 2003, theLuminous Veila suicide barrier designed by Dereck Revington Studio along Torontos Bloor Viaductopened. Revingtons full vision did not come to completion until a full 12 years later, when the steel strings were finally illuminated with a ribbon of 35,000 LEDs. As it turns out, the journey to erect the barrier in the first place was also long and hard-fought. Find out more here.HabitatVernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate edited by Sandra Piesik ($65 CAD)Vernacular architecture is generally understood as referring to domestic, native and Indigenous structures. So it is perhaps of little surprise that in our contemporary scapedominated by forms of monolithic scale and proportionmethods of producing vernacular architecture have often been overlooked and marginalized. Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate, assembled by architect-author Sandra Piesik, offers an insightful overview of age-old methods of production, and supports and celebrates present-day efforts that follow in their wake.Find out more here.Livre Valoriser les btiments existantsby Collectif ($40 CAD)Co-written by cobtiment and architects Andr Bourassa and Richard Trempe, this book argues for the retention and rehabilitation of existing buildings as a key tool in fighting and adapting to climate change. Intended as a resource for AED professionals as well as building owners, it takes a deep dive into multiple aspects of the issue: from discussing the upfront and operational energy of buildings, to considering the regulatory environment around adaptive reuse in Quebec, to outlining key design principles for retrofitting building envelopes, structures, foundations, and mechanical systems.Louise Blanchard BethuneEvery Woman her Own Architect by Kelly Hayes McAlonie ($9 CAD)Architect, mother, cyclist, partner: Buffalo architect Louise Bethune was all of these and more. And although she was the first professional woman architect in the United States, her story has remained largely untold. In a notable new bookone of two biographies of Bethune to appear in the past decadearchitect and Canadian ex-pat Kelly Hayes McAlonie offers a comprehensive and compelling account of Bethunes life and career. What may at first glance seem like a minor story in a minor place is, in fact, an inspiring history of everyday professional determination and ethics, situated in a region that was a centre of innovation and wealth at the time. Find out more here.Related:Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 12024 Holiday Gift GuideThe post Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 2 appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 1
    The past year saw an abundance of new books of interest to Canadian architectsmany of them authored by Canadian designers. As the holidays approach, were rounding up this years best books.You may also be interested in this round-ups companion post, our2024 Holiday Gift Guide.Modern Architecture: The Basics by Graham Livesey ($19 CAD)University of Calgary architecture professor Graham Liveseys recently released survey examines technological, stylistic, socio-political, and cultural changes that have transformed the history of architecture since the late 18th century. Broad definitions of modernity and postmodernity introduce the book, which features 24 short thematic chapters looking at the concepts behind the development of modern and postmodern architecture. These include major historical movements, key figures, and evolving building typologies. The book also looks at the changing city during the 19th and 20th centuries, and examines how issues including gender, race, postcolonialism, and Indigeneity are informing contemporary architecture.100 Rooms by RZLBD (Reza Aliabadi) ($35 CAD)As a sequel to The Empty Room: Fragmented thoughts on Space (Actar, 2020), this book by Canadian architect Reza Aliabadi, founding principal of RZLBD, offers one hundred iterations of a square room, each of which tells a different story of the emptiness between the walls. Each spread in the book consists of a plan and a physical model of a room, conceived as an excavation of the geometry and order inherent within an identical square base. The rooms hold no design intentionno scale or functionbut point to the infinite possibilities that emerge from a square. The book is also linked to the 100 series of short videos, which can be viewed on RZLBDs YouTube channel.Too Fun by Leala Hewak ($35 CAD)This LP-sized book explores Raymond Moriyamas brutalist masterpiece, the Ontario Science Centre, through 150 photographs of Hewaks family outings to the playhouse in the months before its closure. The book features text excerpts from architect Raymond Moriyamas typewritten design notes anticipating the creation of the Science Centre in 1969. Where architecture ends and exhibits begin should be blurred, wrote Moriyama. The images have a retro feel: after Leala was told she couldnt photograph visitors (even with their permission), her partner, artist and actor Don Hewak, volunteered to feature prominently in the images. Don experimented with wearing a lab coat for the photos, then settled on a Mad Men-like suit to reference the 1960s era of the building. Leala had only started documenting the exterior of the building when it was abruptly closed on June 21, 2024, so the book also includes images of the site enclosed by blue fences, and of some of the many rallies protesting the shuttering of the beloved institution.As It IsA Precarious Moment in the Life of Ontario Place by Steven Evans ($50 CAD)As It Is: A precarious moment in the life of Ontario Place takes readers on a journey through the landmark site, aiming to capture the essence of the iconic buildings by Eberhard Zeidler and waterfront park by Michael Hough, while painting a picture of Ontario Places uncertain future. The books 102 black-and-white photographs were taken by photographer Steven Evans between November 2021 and June 2023. The images are interwoven with texts by Evans, urban affairs journalist John Lorinc, and AGO curator of photography Maia-Mari Sutnik.Read our review here.Royal Manitoba Theatre Centreby WAF ($30 CAD)Designed by Winnipegs Number Ten Architectural Group, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is a Winnipeg cultural institution. Completed for Manitobas centennial, the award-winning Brutalist building houses Canadas longest-running English regional theatre company. This book contains a foreword by Laurie Lam and essays by Alison Gillmor, Jeffrey Thorsteinson, and Susan Algie.TC Cuadernos by Alison Brooks ($64 CAD)This 386-page monograph charts eighteen built works by Canadian ex-pat Alison Brooks. The award-winning projects, completed in the past 20 years, range from single family homes to masterplans, largely in and around London, UK. The selection includes Brookss recently completed Cohen Quadrangle at Exeter College (the first Oxford College to be designed by a female architect), and Windward House in Gloucester, UK, which was selected as RIBAs 2021 House of the Year. (Brooks is the only UK architect to have received all four of the RIBAs most prestigious architectural awards: the Stirling Prize, the Manser Medal (twice), RIBA House of the Year, and the Stephen Lawrence Prize). The monograph provides a comprehensive documentation of the selected projects, including descriptive texts in Spanish and English, photographs, drawings and key construction details that illuminate each projects tectonic and conceptual intent.An Alliterative Lexicon of Architectural Memories by Alberto Prez-Gmez ($28 CAD)The culmination of a lifetime thinking and writing about architecture, McGill Professor Emeritus Alberto Prez-Gmezs two-volume lexicon offers new ways to engage with architecture and aims to enrich the readers experience of the built environment. Entries include traditional and modern architectural terminology, rendered with a display of philological origins, and enriched with first-person narratives interweaving architectural history and theory with Prez-Gmezs memories and musings on the nature of architectural making.Bah House of Worship by Joe Carter and Nooshfar Anna ($54 CAD)This book tells the story of the architectural design and construction of the worldwide Bah Temples, or Houses of Worship. The Bah global community believes in the unity of all religions, and has constructed a continental House of Worship, open to all, on each continent. Two of these Temples were designed by Canadian architects: the Temple located in Delhi, India, by Fairborz Sabha, and the Temple in Santiago, Chile, by Hariri Pontarini Architects.Iranian-Canadian Fairborz Sabha was asked to design the Bah Temple in Delhi while still in his late twenties. Wishing to create a building that would resonate with the regions rich cultural heritage, he modelled the building as an abstracted lotus flower, symbolizing spirituality and beauty. Following the buildings dedication in 1986, Canadian Architect Arthur Erickson remarked that the Temple was one of the most remarkable achievements of our time, proving that the drive and vision of spirit can achieve miracles.Canadian architect Siamak Hariri led the design of the most recent of the Bah Houses of Worship, perched on the foothills of the Andes in South America. Inspired by the universal experience of light, Hariri sought to create a glowing temple of light, which would be welcoming to people of all faiths.Illustrated by over 500 images of completed temples, construction process photos, and architectural drawings, this book is a deep dive into the design thinking and construction of this remarkable global series of buildings.Set Pieces by Diamond Schmitt Architects ($105 CAD)Diamond Schmitt Architects new volume centres on the firms portfolio of performing arts buildings. Through case studies that spotlight 15 design elements, the book examines how design enhances and transforms the perception of performance. Diamond Schmitt is proud to have designed more than 60 performing arts spaces around the world, and in surveying these projects forSet Pieces, we realized that we did not want to produce a conventional architectural monograph, says founding principal Don Schmitt. Rather than showcase these buildings as whole entities, we wanted to think about the fragments and design moments that make up these spaces and which contribute to a great place of performance. Through the innovative design ideas explored, from David Geffen Halls floating fireflies to incorporating Texan vernacular into Buddy Holly Hall, we hope that readers will find new joy and appreciation in these details which reveal the transformative and emotional power of architecture.Rhythms of Change by Mitchell Cohen ($40 CAD)Rhythms of Change is an accessible and entertaining account of the 20-year-long journey to revitalize Torontos Regent Park. The story is told by Mitchell Cohen, the CEO of The Daniels Corporation since 1984, and a leader in steering the organization as a socially conscious real estate developer. Cohen draws on his background as a songwriter and musician to structure the book: casting the journeys phases as sets of tuning up, initial melodies, and eventually, a crescendo of social infrastructure and a fusion of melodies. The political battles and board room dramas that allowed the development to take its final shape are colourfully recounted, giving insight into the myriad consultations, partnerships, negotiations that were needed to bring the development to fruitionalong with the overarching vision maintained through it all.Casa Loma: Millionaires, Medievalism, and Modernity in Torontos Gilded Age by Matthew M. Reeve and Michael Windover ($50 CAD)Casa Loma: Millionaires, Medievalism, and Modernity in Torontos Gilded Age is the first scholarly book dedicated to this Canadian landmarkthe castle the sits on a ridge near downtown Toronto. Compiling nine essays by six authors from different backgrounds, Casa Loma situates the famous house on the hill within Torontos architectural, urban, and cultural history.Fast + Epp was selected by Cannon Design as the engineer for the Richmond Skating Ovals long-spanning wood roof. Photo by Stephanie TraceyDesign TrailsAdventures of a Structural Engineerby Paul Alexander Fast (Orders upon Request)The book crams in a vast array of Pauls wonderful creativity in timber engineering. The global move among structural engineers and architects to timber for all the right reasons is accelerating, and Paul is far ahead in this game. At its heart, this book is really about celebrating living wood and structural timber in equal measure. If you are looking for inspiration about how to use timber in your designs, then this book is for you. Interspersed with this inspiration is a set of stories about Pauls familys interactions with the life of the timber when it was living wood. This adds to the brilliant use of timberwe all love a good story, after all.Among the exquisite photographs of extraordinary structures, the imagery includes many simple, but illuminating, sketches and photographs depicting key underpinning structural principles to demonstrate what lies at the heart of the final complex-looking outcome. These explanations are gold dust for the reader, explained so beautifully.Read our review here.The post Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 1 appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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