WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ARCHITECTS MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects + Acton Ostry Architects—Architects in Association
LOCATION Vancouver, British Columbia

Located 10 kilometres west of downtown Vancouver, the four-square-kilometre University of British Columbia campus is nestled within the impressive University Endowment Lands. The new Aquatic Centre will replace the indoor and outdoor pools at the centre of the UBC campus, now undergoing dramatic redevelopment. A new transit plaza will form a large open space to the south and a student centre will be built to the west. The siting of the project creates a new pedestrian precinct, connecting existing athletic venues and a new outdoor field.

A unique hybrid program for the Aquatic Centre organizes the plan, allowing for Olympic-level training while simultaneously providing for continuous community and UBC student use. The 85,000-square-foot program includes a 51-metre FINA basin, a 25-metre diving well with moveable floor, and a warm-water leisure basin. The plan is divided north-south into four “program bars” of change rooms, community aquatics, competition aquatics and bleachers.

The requirement to co-program elite-level training and competitions with daily community use led to a two-sided pool hall divided by Y-shaped columns and a continuous skylight bisecting the building. In section, a translucent screen creates a luminous barrier between the two spaces, reflecting abundant sunlight into the “leisure” side, while providing the required controlled and balanced light into the “competitive” side.

A steel truss structure supports a tessellated standing-seam roof hovering over a ribbon of ceramic-fritted SSG glazing. The height of the roof responds to the functional requirements of the four bands of programming below. The roof form is manipulated to provide weather protection and solar control.

The project is designed to LEED Gold standards and will pursue regenerative neighbourhood goals by integrating with new campus infrastructure developments. The project focuses on daylighting, innovative water reuse and air-quality strategies that are precedent-setting for North American aquatic facilities. A three-compartment cistern will store water from the roof and adjacent transit plaza. The water will top up evaporative loss in the basins, provide for grey-water flushing, and supply a site irrigation system. Chloramine-contaminated air will be scoured from the water’s surface by air flow delivered from a central bench structure, and returned within the upper edge of the perimeter pool gutter. Developed in coordination with on-campus research, this system is intended to provide exceptional natatorium air quality and mitigate the problems of “swimmer’s asthma.” The sectional split brings light deep into the centre of the natatorium plan, where it is reflected or diffused to provide the required natural lighting condition. A continuous ceramic-fritted glazing band on three elevations and sensors for zoned lighting control respond to the level of natural light.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: The architects have succeeded in articulating the relationship of this building to its surroundings. I appreciate the work in section, especially the structure of the building—which is surprising—and which gives an order to the interior that is unexpected.

Michael Green: This project has an ambitious formal organization that responds in part to the campus quadrangle. From a user point of view, it will be a really interesting space to swim in, with nice relationships both inside and outside. This is a project that comes down to material quality; the roof will need to be rigorous and of a good quality.

Tyler Sharp: The project illustrates a creative resolution of a simple program, likely with a modest budget. The architecture is clearly organized in plan and significantly enhanced by the complex wave-like form of the roof structure; a clear abstraction floating above the water below. I am sure that the built form will result in a variety of beautiful interior spaces.

Client University of British Columbia + UBC Properties Trust
Architect Team MJMA—Ted Watson, Viktors Jaunkalns, Andrew Filarksi, Robert Allen, David Miller, Troy Wright, Ricardo Duque, Tarisha Dolyniuk, Aida Vatany, Kristin Ross, Danielle Lam-Kulczak, Darlene Montgomery, Timothy Belanger, Janice Lee, Luis Arredondo, Razmig Titizian. AOA—Russell Acton, Mark Ostry, Adam James.
Structural Equilibrium Consulting Inc.
Mechanical AME Consulting Group | ELECTRICAL Applied Engineering Solutions
Civil Kamps Engineering Ltd.
Landscape MJMA + PFS Studio
Interiors MJMA + AOA
Contractor Heatherbrae Builders Co Ltd.
LEED/Sustainability Recollective Consulting
Aquatic Consultant Water Technology Inc. (WTI)
Area 83,850 ft²
Budget $33 M
Completion Winter 2016

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ARCHITECT gh3
LOCATION Edmonton, Alberta

A Natural Swimming Experience (NSE) is being proposed at Borden Park to replace the existing public pool. It shall provide chemical-free swimming for 400 swimmers and will be used as a skating surface in winter. The 820-square-metre building and site program includes washrooms, change-room facilities, first-aid room, staff areas, concession, children’s pool, deep pool, outdoor showers, beaches, picnic areas, and various regeneration zones related to the pool. Two existing mid-century pool buildings will be incorporated into the overall site design. The proposal builds upon elements of the existing 1950s buildings and is inspired by Modernist style, including a horizontal emphasis and clear integration of building and site that recognizes the cultural heritage of the park.

The early 1900s was the golden age of Borden Park. A destination for family events, it was home to many attractions including fairground activities, a zoo and an outdoor pool. For over 80 years, Edmontonians and visitors have used the Borden Park Pool as a recreational, leisure and gathering space. As part of the larger park landscape, the pool is a key civic space within north Edmonton, and the uninterrupted history of swimming on site from 1924 to 2012 demonstrates the strong social value of the Borden Park Pool complex to Edmonton and the surrounding community. It is a signature element, a project of landmark proportions and leadership, and the first of its kind in Canada. Edmonton will be the first city in North America to build a public recreational natural swim experience.

The pool sits within a raised rectilinear white concrete plinth which also holds two large beaches and the three pool buildings—connecting indoors and out. Sustainable strategies begin by siting the building with the aim of modifying the micro-climate of the pool site. This is particularly important in Edmonton as the swimming season is very short in this northern city. The outdoor/indoor components of the building are oriented to the west to capture the mid- to late-afternoon warmth of the western sun, and the north and northwest boundary of the site is heavily planted to mitigate against cold northwest winds. The entire pool area opens to the south with the pool deck warmed through a structural glass wall by the southern sun.

A Natural Swimming Experience (NSE) is a system consisting of a constructed body of water contained by isolating membranes; no chemicals or devices that disinfect or sterilize the water are used. In an NSE, all clarifying and cleaning of the water is achieved by passing the water through gravel filters and regeneration ponds. The regeneration ponds consist of biological filters and plants rooted hydroponically into the system. Biological principles work to break down undesirable components in the water and transform them into nutrients for the plants. Because there is no soil, plants and microbes must get all of their nutrients from the water, competing for and consuming the nutrients that would otherwise feed algae growth. Filtration in the NSE is therefore achieved in two ways: biological-mechanical (through a constructed wetland and gravel filter) and in-situ (with zooplankton). In this way, the NSE is a balanced ecosystem where the plants, micro-organisms and introduced nutrients work together to create true “living water.”

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: A refreshing essay on the theme of the public pool, without the facile associations that you can sometimes have with pools. This project is very serious, calm and restrained, but also beautiful.

Michael Green: A seductive project: it’s sensuous and looks like it will be beautifully executed with a clean palette of materials and a lovely water-droplet planning concept. A challenge for the design team is ensuring that it serves the diversity of people who will use the space while also addressing some of the program creep that could alter the final resolution. Ultimately, pools are highly animated spaces, and it will be fun to see how that works itself through.

Tyler Sharp: This is a very pure and austere project but not unrelentingly so. It is well-controlled and interesting. I am personally drawn to clear, rational and simple projects such as this. The architecture carries on a great tradition of mid-century infrastructure building in Canada and attempts to contemporize and accentuate the existing condition.

Client City of Edmonton
Architect Team Pat Hanson, Diana Gerrard, Bernard Jin, Raymond Chow, John McKenna, DaeHee Kim, Louise Clavin, Joel Di Giacomo, Byron White, Vaughan Hoy, Ivan Sorensen
Structural/Mechanical/Electrical Morrison Hershfield
Landscape gh3
Interiors gh3
Contractor TBC
Natural Swimming Pool Specialists PolyPlan
Cost BTY Group
Heritage Architects ERA Architects Inc.
Local Landscape Design North
Area 829 m²
Budget $12 M
Completion Spring 2016

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ARCHITECT 5468796 Architecture Inc.
LOCATION Regina, Saskatchewan

The Arthur Residence is a two-storey home for a finish carpenter and an emergency physician situated in the Cathedral neighbourhood of Regina. Originally from South Africa, the owners longed for a private sanctuary that would offer respite from an often mundane prairie city, provide ample space for gardening, and infuse layered and inspiring views into a modest 40-foot infill site on an unassuming residential street.

Where required side-yard setbacks typically result in unconsidered or leftover space, the Arthur Residence is designed to encompass the entire width of the lot. Interior and exterior rooms are carved out of, rather than placed onto, the site. Conceived as a secret garden, the ground floor is surrounded by a concrete fence at the property edge. The fence becomes an extension of the house itself, transitioning from outside to inside across minimal glass thresholds that frame views into narrow side yards and larger gardens filled with lush, overgrown vegetation.

From the sidewalk, a plain gravel path leads to a single break in the fence. Beyond the wall, four courtyards—an entry court, a sunken patio, a main garden and a carport—define three interior spaces: the foyer, the combined living and dining room, and the linear kitchen/utility wing. The house is then divided vertically into living and sleeping quarters, with two unique bedroom retreats—one for guests above the foyer and one for the master bedroom above the kitchen—accessed by separate private staircases.

While the main floor is a protective shell punctured by internal garden views, the second floor is an airy refuge providing secretive, more discrete lookouts over the neighbourhood and existing tree canopy. White plaster walls curve inward like curtains drawn in by the breeze, resulting in triangular voids that allow daylight to softly wash the interior, creating a subtle and luminous atmosphere intended for reading, unwinding and sleeping after long hours spent in pressure-filled environments.

These two distinct territories—of solidity and lightness, of activity and repose—intersect in the double-height living and dining room. Smooth contoured plaster rests on raw cast-in-place concrete, reinforcing the tactile and sensory qualities of material, space and light that form the essence of the house, one which is simple but not strictly minimal.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: I appreciate the tension between the taut skin of the upper floor and the concrete base on which it rests. The presence of natural light inside these volumes that are shielded by the façade allows for an interface between interior and exterior which is quite fascinating. I love this house.

Michael Green: This project deals with this beautiful challenge of daylighting a home in a suburban neighbourhood while still providing privacy. The plan geometry is really interesting, and the seasons will be lovely to experience in the courtyard spaces.

Tyler Sharp: This is a sophisticated project that achieves a nice balance between playfulness and rigorous design resolution. The way in which slivers of wall plane recede to create openings is quite elegant. It will be interesting to see how some of the technical details are resolved in such an extreme climate.

Client David and Jane Arthur
Architect Team Pablo Batista, Brandon Bergem, Ken Borton, Jordy Craddock, Johanna Hurme, Jeff Kachkan, Eva Kiss, Colin Neufeld, Sean Radford, Sasa Radulovic, Shannon Wiebe, Dazhong Yi
Structural Lavergne Draward and Associates Inc.
Area 2,500 ft² plus garage and basement
Budget $750,000
Completion Fall 2015

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ARCHITECT Williamson Chong Architects
LOCATION Huntsville, Ontario

By using natural materials and reinterpreting the traditional forms of the Hanok, the architects created a four-season home that evokes the client’s cultural history while contributing to the evolution of Canada’s regional modern architectural language.

Hanok is a traditional Korean house type hundreds of years old. Customarily located with a mountain in back, facing north towards the water, each Hanok is built according to regional environments such as distance and direction of wind, water, land and mountains. The raw materials used in Hanok construction, such as soil, timber and rock, are all natural and recyclable. The formal planning and structural elements are also environmentally sound. Hanoks have an evolved post-and-beam framework that sits on a stylobate at the bottom, with stereotomic stone-block construction and a specific type of a curved tiled roof called Giwa—the edges of which can be adjusted to control the amount of sunlight that enters the house.

A unique feature of traditional houses was their special design for cooling the interior in summer and heating in winter. Since Korea has hot summers and cold winters, the Ondol—underfloor heating using the direct heat transfer from wood smoke to thick masonry or stone, and Daecheong—a cool shaded hall with a wooden floor, were devised to help Koreans survive the frigid winters and to block sunlight during summer. These primitive types of heating and air-conditioning were so effective that they are still in use in many homes today. These elements are the raw materials of the House on Fox Lake.

Fox Lake is one of Muskoka’s many small lakes. The lands around it saw their first development as homesteads, but the hills around the lake were not particularly suited to farming and by the early 1900s, many of the homesteads were abandoned. Timber became the primary interest in the area, with the Buck-Fox-Vernon corridor being a transportation route for logs and bark. Slowly, through the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, Fox Lake became a recreational site, with a number of small summer cottages developing on the east and west sides.

The ideal site for this modern Hanok is on a ridge formed by granite outcroppings that will make a natural ledge to approach from above, which will then descend down one storey to the lakeside dropoff. It creates a modest upper-level approach and a nestled-in lower level, recreating the Hanok section of open upper levels rooted by a stone base.

The development of the roof line enhances the illumination of the central room while catching lakeside breezes and views. The massing concept for the house is a stacked double courtyard, in which an upper-level wood-clad “light court” is nested atop a lower-level living room that is open to the lake yet enclosed by the hovering wood screen above.

The upper-level approach is toward a one-storey volume, which then drops into a lower-level space which has a widened vista to the lake below. The roof is based on the Hanok’s roof, which traditionally sloped to the interior for drainage to an internal courtyard. The realities of heavy snow and site drainage forced the reconsideration and inverted flipping of the roof volume in this contemporary iteration.

Typically, the roof of the Hanok was highly figural, formed a deep eave for shade, and was materially quite varied depending on the class of the owner—with materials ranging from clay tile to wood shingles. The development of the roof form in this house focused on capturing daylight at optimum angles and controlling runoff while developing a prismatic aperture for the skylight and buildable angles for the prefabricated roof trusses.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: A surprising and refreshing house that takes as a starting point a foreign cultural reference, then adapts it to the Canadian landscape and context with a little abstraction. I appreciate the in-between spaces that this house provides.

Michael Green: The clarity from concept to execution was just outstanding. We hope to see more projects that bring a unique cultural perspective that’s important to Canadian identity and diversity, and that build on those traditions in really provocative ways.

Tyler Sharp: This is an elegant project that is very well resolved formally and intellectually. The resulting design illustrates a clear abstraction and translation of the cultural and historic characteristics of its client.

Client Withheld
Architect Team Donald Chong, Shane Williamson, Betsy Williamson, Chris Routley, Dimitra Papantonis, Paul Harrison, Lucas Boyd
Structural Blackwell Engineering
Mechanical YMSD
Contractor Derek Nicholson Incorporated
Area 3,425 ft² plus deck
Budget withheld
Completion Fall 2015

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ARCHITECTS Atelier TAG + Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes in consortium
LOCATION Saint-Jérôme, Quebec

The implementation of a new performance hall in downtown Saint-Jérôme meets a critical need that has been expressed repeatedly by regional actors. The site is bounded by De La Gare, Latour and Godmer Streets as well as a bike path to the east. It is adjacent to the Place de la Gare Saint-Jérôme and the public market. The new 3,385-square-metre, 875-seat theatre will feature cutting-edge equipment and innovative ecological strategies. Construction will begin during the spring of 2015 and the performance hall is scheduled to open in September 2016.

Responsive to the potential created by the city through the implementation of the new “Place des festivities,” the performance hall consolidates a portfolio of existing civic and cultural buildings that orbit the site. The resulting new iconic performance hall is simultaneously a social catalyst for the immediate community and an important cultural and economic driver for the region—expressing the growing cultural landscape of Saint-Jérôme and promoting the local wood industry.

The orthogonal volume of the given theoretical model from the competition brief is first split open in order to welcome the public square. The foyer, open and transparent, embraces the roundabout and unfolds to entice passersby. The exterior public space bends up to become a grandstand, merging the transparency of the main façade with the animation within. Visible from the adjacent commercial street, the illuminated wood canopy glows at night, announcing a new festive meeting place for the community and defining a new gateway to the snowy Laurentians.

The proposed concept multiplies the theatre experience beyond the precinct of the auditorium. The architecture engages the visitors within a sequence of interconnected interior and exterior spaces that are circumscribed by a 10,000-square-foot wood canopy. The folded surface of the canopy forms an architectural device that operates on several levels. With its spectacular scale, the canopy is the dominant component of the project. Its planar surface, contemporary language, and the enveloping presence of the wood are intended as a counterpoint to the Neoclassical metal spire of the cathedral. From the bar above, visitors rediscover the vastness of the Laurentians while the ethereal aluminum surface of the performance hall multiplies the perspective of the cityscape.

The shear walls that cut this foggy surface express the depth of the mass of wood from which the performance hall is carved, reaffirming the notion of a permeable threshold. Carefully placed openings guide the experience of the visitors and contribute to the collective organization of the architectural space, in which different interior and exterior domains merge.

In the same spirit of dissolution of the boundaries between architecture and landscape, the theatre is wrapped in a perforated aluminum veil that, through an optical play of layers, blurs the imposing volume of the fly tower. Its luminous and atmospheric quality is a vivid reference to the majestic presence of the cathedral’s traditional tin roof.

Jury Comments

Michael Green: It’s a great building, and we encourage the community to raise the funds to make a project like this happen. On the flip side, we’re cautious about what would be lost in the project if it goes through significant value engineering. It would be nice to make sure some of the big ideas are realized, including the spatial as well as the structural resolutions.

Tyler Sharp: A very nice project, particularly in terms of creating a series of layered spaces which will result in an animated public realm. It is strong and ambitious, representative of the type of larger-scale work that we were hoping to see resolved with a high level of design rigour.

Client Diffusion en Scène Rivière-du-Nord Inc. (Gaétane Léveillé, Jean Beauséjour)
Architect Team Atelier TAG—Manon Asselin, Katsuhiro Yamazaki, Pawel Karwowski, Cédric Langevin, Jason Treherne, Simon Robichaud, Catherine Gagnon LeBlanc. Jodoin Lamarre Pratte Architectes—Nicholas Ranger, Ariane Latendresse.
Structural SDK et Associés (Hélène Brisebois, Stéphane Blais, Marc-André Nadin)
Civil Marchand Houle et Associés (Daniel Houle)
Mechanical SMI Enerpro (Pierre Lévesque, Fabien Choisez)
Electrical SMI Enerpro (Thierry Gagnon)
Lighting Design CS Design (Conor Sampson)
Landscape Atelier TAG | Jodoin Lamarre Pratte, Architectes in Consortium
Interiors Atelier TAG | Jodoin Lamarre Pratte, Architectes in Consortium
Project Management Avison Young (Claude Roy, Christian Dorr)
Acoustician Jean-Pierre Legault
Code Technorm (Gaétan Frenette)
Scenography GO Multimedia (Guy Desmarteaux, Julie Quenneville)
Rendering Doug & Wolf
Area 3,385 m²
Budget $14 M
Completion September 2016

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ARCHITECT Chevalier Morales Architectes
LOCATION Quebec City, Quebec

The Maison de la Littérature is part of the rich history of the Old City of Quebec, sitting on what has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Integrating new construction in this environment presented several challenges. An example of a Gothic Revival church in Quebec City, the Wesley Temple has changed in use many times since it was completed in 1845 by architect Edward Staveley. Beginning as a Protestant church, it endured two consecutive generations as an auditorium space, then a public library that operated on the lower floor only while the main floor remained closed for several years. Reconstructing the memory of the temple’s many lives was a complex architectural task. The siting of the new addition—a contemporary glass box—was carefully conceived in order to preserve the temple’s integrity and presence as a civic centre, and it enhances the site as a timeless piece of architecture, a sparkling glass jewel that revives this historic urban landscape.

The main gesture was to move the creative program into the new building, freeing up extra space in the temple. Given the rather small footprint of the new building and limited space in the existing temple, fitting all the program into the new structure was a daunting task. Exhibition spaces are located on the first floor, with a direct link to surrounding streets. The lower floor houses permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, a multipurpose room, a library and a bistro. The permanent exhibition space is expansive, encouraging the blending of this immersive exhibition promenade with a variety of other programmatic uses on the same floor. Generally, the whole building engenders a holistic exhibition experience on a large scale. Offices and workspaces occupy the top floor, which will also host a writer in residence. Stacking the more public functions inside the old temple and shifting the creative spaces to the new addition permitted a clear distinction between the artistic endeavours of visiting writers, and the exhibition and preservation of historic cultural work as a social catalyst for Quebec City.

The outer shell of the façade is made of glass panels applied over a layer of perforated brass sheets, forming a double skin and allowing the building envelope to shine like a gold box sheathed by a protective glass layer. The project also includes the masonry restoration of the original temple stones, adding an extra level of complexity. Additional skilled technical expertise is required to achieve the seamless junction between old and new, and to implement a system of bridges that link the two entities together.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: The designers were quite imaginative and rather courageous to deviate from the competition brief (which was limited to renovating the existing church), proposing instead a transformative addition. This pavilion bears the responsibility of being an exquisite object; it hinges on the physical expression and the built reality of the thing to make it magical and poetic.

Michael Green: The images suggest that this could be a really lovely project that balances the glass box beside the historic structure. Again, it’s contingent on the quality of the material and detail.

Tyler Sharp: This project represents a sophisticated and contemporary renovation and addition to an existing heritage property. The notion of a luminous reflective jewel box beside a historic church seems an appropriate response to the existing condition. A quiet, elegant and beautiful project.

Client Ville de Québec
Architect Team Stephan Chevalier, Sergio Morales, Alexandre Massé, Julie Rondeau, Simon Barrette, Christine Giguère
Structural EMS
Mechanical/Electrical Dessau
Interiors Chevalier Morales Architectes
Contractor L’Intendant
Scenography Luc Plamondon and Trizart
Acoustic Octave Area 1,919 m²
Budget $11.8 M
Completion Spring 2015

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

ARCHITECTS The Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative Inc. with the Portico Group
LOCATION Edmonton, Alberta

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is in the midst of a massive capital improvement effort aimed at establishing it as a leader in the realms of conservation, environmental stewardship and education. The renewal of the Zoo’s children’s precinct presented the opportunity to help realize these aspirations through the reconceptualization of the spatial and experiential elements that make up the precinct’s many habitat, exhibit, holding and visitor amenity spaces. Whereas zoo design has historically opted for a distinct division between human visitors and animal inhabitants, more recent approaches have foregrounded the importance of immersion as a means of enriching the educational value of exhibits, while simultaneously improving the living conditions of the resident animals.

Immersive landscapes are those in which animals and humans alike are enveloped by a common habitat. This approach serves to erase the boundaries and hierarchical divisions between animals and visitors found at conventional zoos. By engaging animals on their own terms and in their own habitats, visitors are better able to understand the high degree of interconnectivity between themselves, the animals they are viewing, and the world around them.

Children and adults perceive and engage the world in very different ways. At an elemental level, children operate at a very different scale than their adult counterparts. Unlike adults, children also tend to learn about the world and their place in it with a high degree of physicality: through play. Using immersive landscapes and a “child’s-eye view” as points of departure, the project pursues four primary gestures of spatial engagement as a means of defining a new conceptual framework for the Zoo: Under, Between, On and Above. These abstract experiential types speak to a wide range of possible means of bodily relation to a given landscape and simultaneously sponsor play as a primary mechanism for engaging that landscape.

These engagement archetypes are propagated architecturally through the creation of type-forms that begin to order the site physically and experientially. Animals within the Zoo’s collection are categorized through affinities with the aforementioned formal types, creating a scenario wherein a single species can be engaged through a series of experiential fields, rather than from a single vantage point. This approach helps to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of both the “part” (animal) and the “whole” (habitat).

Unlike conventional means of curating animal collections, this approach emphasizes the connections between humans and animals as bodies in space, rather than grouping species according to their geographic origins, thus fostering an interspecies connection that is rooted in empathy built through shared experience.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: An imaginatively choreographed project full of invention and surprise. We were concerned about the materiality and the actual physical resolution, but were ultimately seduced by the project’s promise.

Michael Green: The sectional diagram, the models and the clarity of the story of where animals live—below, on and above ground—is just a beautiful diagram of what the project can be, incredibly suggestive of its potential.

Tyler Sharp: An interesting and playful response to a zoo program. If the approach taken in the conceptual models is followed through at each different component level, this could be a very strong project.

Client City of Edmonton/Edmonton Valley Zoo
Architect Team MBAC—Marc Boutin, Richard Cotter, Tony Leong, Jerry Hacker, Mike Deboer, Kristin St.Arnault, Sean Knight, Jodi James, Nate Dekens, Kurtis Nishiyama, Katie Pearce, Lindsay Horan, Holly Simon, Rob Gairns, Andrew Dejneka. Portico Group—Dennis Meyer, Jim McDonough, Bronwen Carpenter, Paul Sorensen, Laura Bassett.
Structural Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. | Mechanical/Electrical Williams Engineering
Civil CIMA +
Landscape The Portico Group and PFS Studio
Cost Acumen Cost Consulting
Code Spitula and Associates
Area 30,000 ft² (buildings); 2.0 hectares (site)
Budget Withheld
Completion 2018

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

ARCHITECTS Chevalier Morales architectes + DMA architectes in consortium
LOCATION Montreal, Quebec

Where a library was once a silent reservoir of books, it has now morphed into a communal hub, a public space that engenders exchange. With rapid developments in technology, the institution of the library has evolved to a point where it has become a place where ideas mingle, collide and veer off in new directions; a place where content is created almost instantly by users through various interfaces. The building is a direct response to these concerns. Its shape has been designed to combine programmatic areas that extend beyond the typical spaces to include two interior gardens, rest and amusement areas. With its generous glazing, the building offers a unique perspective on the Boisé du Millénaire, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior, thus providing the citizens of the Montreal borough of Pierrefonds with access to the green spaces they love.

The project’s scheme is directly inspired by the shopping mall, with wings merging into a central meeting place, a criss-crossing network of stairways that encourages circulatory engagement with the space, multiple skylights, and openings in the floor to facilitate visual connection. The building’s perimeter, previously defined by parking lots and opaque walls, is now replaced by green spaces and transparency. The building manifests its urban presence on Boulevard Pierrefonds, and reveals and highlights the existing greenery on the site. Ultimately, the project can be seen as the combination of a shopping mall and an idyllic park, each inspired by the organization and spatial structures of the other.

This winning competition proposal is flexible in nature, and is based on certain principles and spatial development strategies that address the site’s urban challenges. An integrated design process was employed to incorporate sustainable development principles adapted to this particular project. Control of indoor environmental quality is crucial; consequently, quality of view and provision of natural light, thermal comfort, control of glare, and low-emitting materials are all important aspects that were considered.

Technical challenges with respect to glazing details permeate the project, as the building features a curved curtain-wall system. Each custom-made glass panel—some screen-printed and engraved—will accommodate the sinuous shape of the building plan. The project also features several small skylights, providing ample daylighting to the reading spaces below. Also, because most of the upper floor slab is cantilevered over the entire perimeter of the building, the team faces a structural challenge in conveying the impression of structural lightness through components that appear as thin and weightless as possible. And finally, junctions between the new building envelope and the existing façade pose additional technical challenges.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: A strong intervention is required in terms of the landscaped surroundings to allow this beautiful object to interact with the context. The drawings are full of this intention, which bodes promisingly for the activation of this discreet transparent object.

Michael Green: At a humanist level, it’s a nice project that suits its site, the landscape and the user.

Tyler Sharp: I appreciate the undulating perimeter condition of this structure. It has an organic sensibility that relates to its surroundings in a compelling way. The use of two undulating forms sitting one on top of the other, with subtle rotation, creates a dynamic three-dimensional interplay between interior and exterior environments.

Client City of Montreal
Architect Team Stephan Chevalier, Sergio Morales, François Lemoine, Simon Barrette, Alexandre Massé, Geneviève Riopel, Julie Rondeau, Colin J. Hanley, Christine Giguère, Catherine St-Marseille
Structural SDK et associés
Mechanical/Electrical Bouthillette Parizeau
Landscape Version Paysages
Interiors Chevalier Morales Architectes + DMA architectes in consortium
Area 4,550 m²
Budget $13.85 M
Completion Spring 2016

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

ARCHITECTS MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (Design Architect) and Fowler Bauld & Mitchell (Architect and Prime Consultant)
LOCATION Halifax, Nova Scotia

Dalhousie University is reimagining its campus wellness program. The University’s goals include a new master plan geared towards state-of-the art facilities, open to all students, and an inclusive, versatile and transparent fitness precinct. Through student financing, the Dalhousie University Fitness Centre is the first step towards this goal. The Fitness Centre is conceived as an inviting linear pavilion that creates a public link between the existing Dalplex Field House, the adjacent campus, and the broader community. The project will be accessible at all points and at all levels. Sustainability is a key priority for the University and for the design team; the project is targeting LEED Gold.

On the upper floor of the two-level 61,670-square-foot building, fitness programs and multipurpose studios dominate, while primary circulation, entrance, administrative support, showers, change rooms and service spaces can be found on the lower level. The public space connects to the existing Dalplex at its main entry point, clarifying and expanding public access to the entire fitness and wellness campus.

The site slopes dramatically from east to west, and from north to south. Dalplex, the University’s principal athletic facility, occupies the southeast corner of the site. The Fitness Centre mediates the grade change between South Street and the level of the existing fieldhouse. The sidewalk area on South Street is widened, incorporating low retaining walls, informal seating, and a generous landscaped topography to ameliorate the slope between the new building and the street. A landscape of native species serves as stormwater retention and provides a lush foreground for the facility.

A luminous open volume, the upper pavilion level is nonetheless respectful of the modest scale of the adjacent residential neighbourhood. The pavilion bridges across an entrance court, its span creating 7,500 square feet of sheltered exterior space. This active entrance plaza provides the campus with much-needed exterior covered assembly space for student gatherings, outdoor events and games. This space is formed by sculpted concrete retaining walls, providing informal spectator seating, bike parking and storage for active programming. The plaza opens onto a landscaped forecourt located between the new facility and the existing fieldhouse. The lower level, situated in a substantial excavation of native bedrock, negotiates between its position as subterranean space at the north and an open transparent connection to the existing Dalplex to the south. Its walls are board-formed concrete, rising from the excavation to meet the luminous upper level.

The principal street elevation of the facility presents a long, low façade that varies in height above the sidewalk elevation, in keeping with the residential scale of the street. Laminated Douglas fir columns, set against a finer-grained backdrop of a wood-slat ceiling system, form the profile and rhythm of the elevation. The interplay between structure and finish is visible through floor-to-parapet glazing. A hybrid of structure and envelope, the perimeter wood columns support the roof structure, the glazing system and a bladed solar-shading system on the north and south elevations. The overall effect is of a ribbed wood vessel that both reveals and screens interior activity.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: The relationship between the sloping street and the horizontal bar opens up an interesting possibility to expand the public realm beneath the building at its extremity and link it with the playing fields.

Michael Green: I really admire the façade and the highly repetitive, very clear diagram of the building; it will be really lovely to be inside. Given its simplicity and enormous scale, this building will need to be extremely refined in its technical resolution.

Tyler Sharp: There is a monumentality achieved by the simplicity of this form, set within a strong linear bar scheme. As the architect further develops a concept that is this simple, the project’s success will be reliant upon a fine resolution of each and every detail.

Client Dalhousie University
Architect Team MJMA—David Miller, Viktors Jaunkalns, Andrew Filarksi, Robert Allen, Ted Watson, Marc Downing, Cathy McMahon, Jay Martin, Farhan Durrani, Timothy Belanger, Darlene Montgomery, Tarisha Dolyniuk, Jason Wah. FBM—George Cotaras, Wayne Duncan.
Structural/Mechanical/Electrical/Civil CBCL Limited
Landscape MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects and CBCL Limited
Interiors MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects and Fowler Bauld & Mitchell
Sustainability/LEED Solterre Design
Acoustics Swallow Acoustic Consultants Ltd.
Code RJ Bartlett Engineering Ltd.
Needs Assessment and Functional Planning Educational Consulting Services (ECS)
Business and Operational Planning JF Group
Area 61,500 ft²
Budget withheld
Completion Fall 2016

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

STUDENT Evelyne St-Jacques, Université de Montréal

The Poudrette quarry in Mont Saint-Hilaire has been in operation for more than 40 years, extracting minerals used in the manufacture of concrete. The mountain has been carved away, giving way to a 100-metre-high cliff. Its straight cut exposes the rocky composition of the mountains, providing stark visual contrast between the industrial nature of the mining site and the wooded, vegetated state of the rest of the mountain. The rocky landscape conveys the crude roughness and solid mass of the mountain, while vegetation thrives in an everchanging seasonal dynamic.

This landscape, scarred by the Quebec mining industry, presents a distinct architectural challenge through its sheer monumentality and arid nature. But, at the same time, it is a very inspiring place. The constraints and appearance of the site demand a sensitive and poetic exploration that engages reflection on the paradoxical beauty of the industrial landscape. The aim is to instill a certain human presence to the site, acknowledging traces of its industrial past.

The quarry in Mont Saint-Hilaire is an ideal site for the construction of a centre for rehabilitation, respite and relaxation. A therapy centre comprised of fragmented human-scaled buildings forms part of an architectural journey, amplifying its relationship with the landscape. The therapeutic frame avoids isolation and exclusion by offering a place of rest and rejuvenation on a site that is open, mixed and multifunctional. The proposed central pavilion is a visitor information centre focused on the history of the quarry, while the surrounding pavilions are intended as places of respite for visitors. The materiality of the structures will emphasize tactility, stimulating the senses and encouraging an awareness and perception of the surrounding environment. Ultimately, the project’s goal is the rehabilitation of a site ravaged by industry to promote sustainable development through the poetic vehicle of architecture.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: A sensitive proposal that sits firmly on the ground of this desolate landscape in a timeless way.

Michael Green: One of the most seductive of all the projects we saw. It has a Canadian spirit about it that’s just lovely. It would be amazing to see something like this built.

Tyler Sharp: The representation of this student project is very strong. It articulates conceptual clarity and an understanding of how this idea could be resolved as a real piece of architecture.

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WINNER OF A 2014 CANADIAN ARCHITECT STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

STUDENT Matthew Griffin-Allwood, Dalhousie University

Sable Island’s remote position, unique ecosystem and intricate balance make it an engaging, dynamic landscape that has captivated human attention for centuries. It is located on the edge of the continental shelf, between the Gulf Stream and Labrador Current, 175 kilometres from the nearest point of land in Nova Scotia. Its delicate ecosystem, formed on the emergent tip of a sand bar, is characterized by hundreds of plant, bird and marine species and is most famous for its iconic wild horses.

The dilapidated existing infrastructure on Sable Island is comprised of building typologies conventional to mainland Nova Scotia. They are ill-adapted to the island’s shifting sand and they quickly become buried or undermined, requiring constant maintenance as frequent high winds tear cladding materials away. Generators continually burn fossil fuels.

Careful analyses of climate, geology, topography, hydrology, vegetation, wildlife and existing human infrastructure provided a base understanding of how Sable Island’s ecosystem functions, and informed the selection of four different sites for infrastructure development in the changing dunescape. All of the interventions employ robust connections and materials, like structural aluminum façades and simple technologies that reduce reliance on fossil fuels and maintenance requirements.

Inspired and informed by their place, the architectural interventions of east light and west light shelters, visitor/research centre, and main station are interpretations of their habitats. Their formal expression, spatial sequences and necessary adaptations are derived from the natural processes around them; they become part of their dynamic ecosystem.

Ultimately, the proposed National Park infrastructure remodels human interaction with Sable Island by replacing and remediating existing settlements, and the systems, spaces and experiences serve to deepen understanding of human interdependence with the environment.

Jury Comments

Éric Gauthier: This project illustrates a renewed interest in the relationship between architecture and landscape, and reinforces our capacity as architects to respond to any given landscape.

Michael Green: A fantastic, playful and intriguing project; the forms and images are just beautiful.

Tyler Sharp: A series of pure pavilion-like volumes sit elegantly within the landscape. Another very well-represented scheme that illustrates a clear and appropriate understanding of how architecture can be built and how it should respond to its environment.

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