WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

This 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 façade 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 façade.
– Andrea Wolff, juror

LOCATION Montreal, Quebec

The 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. 

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-avatars—people exchanging books, elderly people in a dance class, a teacher with their pupils—and role-playing their opinions in the developing work.

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 park’s 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 neighbourhood’s carbon footprint two orders of magnitude more than a net-zero building could achieve here.”

CLIENT Ville de Montréal | ARCHITECT TEAM Lapointe Magne & Associés—Katarina Cernacek, Pascale-Lise Collin, Émilie Maumy, Océane Perham, Florian Vadjoux, Qiang Fu, Martin-F. Daigle, Soubhi Jabal. L’ŒUF Architectes— Sudhir Suri, Jennifer Benis, Edith Beauvais-Sauro, Foti Boulougaris, Aradhana Gupta, Bahia Burias, Camille Debuisne, Chloé 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 2027

ENERGY 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/year

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

The jury appreciated the architect’s structural, spatial, and compositional commitment to an organizing grid. This design approach can be relentless or unremarkable when handled without variation. This project’s strategy yields a range of nuanced spaces with different light conditions, offering an alternative to overglazed public spaces.
– D’Arcy Jones, juror

LOCATION Mont Laurier, Quebec

Nestled 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 region’s growth was historically driven by the province’s developing forestry industry—an industry celebrated in Mont Laurier Library’s innovative use of wood.

 The 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. 

The 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 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. 

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 Quebec’s 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.

CLIENT Ville de Mont-Laurier | ARCHITECT TEAM Stephan Chevalier (MIRAC), Sergio Morales (MIRAC), Ève Beaumont-Cousineau, Alexandre Massé, Julien Daly, Harvey Samuel, Olivier Brasseur-Trottier | STRUCTURAL Latéral | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Pageau Morel | AREA 1,325 m2 | BUDGET $10.9 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2025

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY (GHGI) 218 kg CO2e/m2

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

In 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, juror

LOCATION Toronto, Ontario

Some 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, ‘tradesman’s entrance’ condition on the occupants of the rear dwelling, who must enter their home from the backdoor. Narrow lots are the norm in Toronto’s central, well-established Annex neighbourhood, and recent changes to the city’s 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 lot—all with privacy and surprisingly generous access to natural light. One: all primary living spaces in the main house’s 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. 

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 lighter—more roof-like—than the masonry base below.

Annex House is now in construction and scheduled for summer 2025 completion. The submission notes that with minor modifications to the main house’s floor plan, the project’s current three-unit configuration could be converted into four or five units.

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 2025

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

This entry extracts a lot of impact from a simple palette of bold paint and steel mesh. The design exceeds the client’s 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.
– D’Arcy Jones, juror

LOCATION Calgary, Alberta

The 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. 

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 Calgary’s burgeoning East Village. Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in North America, and a free outdoor court brings an active use to the facility—countering 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.”

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 firm’s 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.”

CLIENT 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 area—280 m2; Building area—45 m2 | BUDGET $2.2 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION January 2025

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

There 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, juror

LOCATION Edmonton, Alberta

The new kid on the block—Edmonton’s Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre—aims 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. 

Three existing buildings surround it. The smallest and most charming is Canada’s 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 Cardinal’s 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.”

Behind this deferential exterior, however, there’s 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 centre–a 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 centre’s ground-level infield courts. Below and outboard the cycling track, but also above the recreation centre’s 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.

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 café, 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 park’s existing context, the refreshed landscape improves wayfinding on a site that became fragmented over time as successive developments eroded the clarity of the park’s 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 Architects—Michael 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 2026

ENERGY 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/year

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

Interventions that recognize the importance of place are key to designing appropriate structures. The Tofino fish pier is just this—an intervention that celebrates the importance of the existing vernacular through minimal contemporary interventions that visually integrate into the collection of constructions. The work is respecting the past, while considering contemporary ways of elevating the existing buildings. The focus on culture and surrounding community further enhances this work, and strengthens its purpose as a part of the heritage of this place.
– Matthew Hickey, juror

LOCATION Tofino, British Columbia

In 2009, the BC Supreme Court recognized the Aboriginal rights of the five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations—Ahousaht, Ehattesaht/Chinehkint, Hesquiaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, and Mowachaht/Muchalaht—to catch and sell all species traditionally harvested within their territories. Since then, Canada and the Five Nations have been exploring ways to develop economic fisheries that benefit First Nations and coastal communities. However, fifteen years later, most T’aaq-wiihak fishermen (that is, those who conduct fishing with the permission of the Ha’wiih, or hereditary chiefs) still lack a physical hub to fully realize the economic, social, and political potential recognized by these Indigenous rights.  

Located within the traditional land (Ha-Hoothlee) of the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation, the Tofino Fish Pier aims to create such a hub, providing a unique opportunity to support Tla-o-qui-aht stakeholders while engaging in the decolonization and adaptive reuse of a colonial landmark. The original fish pier was constructed in 1962 as a prawn and salmon processing facility for the Tofino Packing Company, and later expanded with a large ice plant for filling the storage holds of deep-sea fishing trawlers. Today, it stands as one of the last remaining purpose-built timber ice plant structures on the West Coast.

The project—guided by the Nuu-chah-nulth word k^wisłap, meaning ‘do things differently’— aims to preserve Tofino’s architectural landmark, while creating a safer, more inclusive space for Nuu-chah-nulth peoples. The ice plant is being repurposed as a gathering space and exhibition room for Nuu-chah-nulth artists and events, topped with a First Nations artist residency studio in the former mechanical loft. It will also include a marine research and education wet-lab and Coastal Nations Auxiliary Coast Guard deployment office. Cannery buildings will be repurposed as Nuu-chah-nulth fisheries offices and community spaces for Indigenous marine education, as well as hosting a pop-up seafood café during peak tourism season.

Future phases anticipate the restorative dredging and expansion of the historic basin to reintroduce a marina, the construction of a pavilion for fish landing and grading, and the construction of a new pier to host a seasonal Nuu-chah-nulth Market and to support Indigenous-led marine tourism activities.

The vision for the Tofino Fish Pier is founded on long-term partnerships with Tla-o-qui-aht start-ups and non-profit organizations that uphold Nuu-chah-nulth principles of stewardship and foster community empowerment through promoting traditional values. Overall, the project aims to reappropriate this colonial industrial fishing landmark as a means to support reconciliation with Nuu-chah-nulth peoples, serve underrepresented communities, and celebrate Canada’s diverse heritage.

CLIENT Wolfgang Rieder | ARCHITECT TEAM Michael Leckie, Alastair Bird, James Eidse, Cameron Koroluk, Denon Vipond | CODE McAuley Architectural Consulting Inc. | STRUCTURAL Chalten Engineering Ltd. | MARINE STRUCTURAL Hugh Tuttle Engineering Ltd. | MECHANICAL Avalon Mechanical Consultants Ltd. | ELECTRICAL Archos Engineering Consultants | CIVIL McElhanney Ltd. | AREA 800 m2 | BUDGET $4 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION May 2026 (Phase 1)

As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

A simple and refined approach to museum design. The overall massing is lighthearted and creates relationships with the landscape at varying scales and proportions. There is an alternating relationship with light and view between foreground and background which creates visual interest. The interior material palette is refined and not over-designed. The museum recalls the simplicity of an earlier age of modernism in a way that is both soothing and nostalgic. — Omar Gandhi, juror 

This unexpectedly low-key threshold onto the SFU Burnaby campus makes you appreciate the native landscape prior to experiencing the drama of the original Erickson campus. The interior is a simple set of spaces that you can imagine will let the art speak for itself, while also allowing visitors to appreciate the natural setting. — Michael Heeney, juror

The Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum—“the Gibson”—is a gateway project for Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain main campus. Its location at the arrival plaza speaks to the importance of the facility’s role as a bridge between the academic and local communities. The gallery will serve as an educational resource and venue for collecting and exhibiting art; as well, it will offer a welcoming and easily accessible amenity for the growing, mixed-use community that shares the plaza and neighbouring transportation hub. 

In terms of sustainability, this is a Class A gallery with enhanced air quality systems and controlled acoustics. LEED Gold registered, this low-emission building will be completely electric and connected to BC’s low carbon grid. The structure extends across the site as a series of interconnected spaces all on one level, aligning with the original 1963 architectural vision by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey. The building establishes a strong connection to nature in materiality and form. Wings of the gallery reach out to the surrounding trees like extended arms of an embrace, with expansive views to the woods and mountains beyond.

The mass-timber framework reinforces this bond to the building’s forest setting. The timber ceiling is both a structural system and expression of its environment. The use of brick reinforces the sense of craft that delineates the building form, which has been sculpted by the trees. Program space includes three formal galleries, a seminar room, a library, two areas for small and large gatherings, an art studio, an outdoor courtyard, offices, a preparation area, and art storage space. 

Floor-to-ceiling glazing creates an open and welcoming presence that reinforces the gallery’s role as a bridge between the university and the community. Upon entering, a large informal gathering space beckons with the warmth and rustic feel of natural materials and a fireplace. The central axis is organized to provide a circulation path that runs alongside the campus ceremonial walkway. In this way, a connection to nature and the outdoors permeates the interior space. Community rooms and a lounge open to the public serve as attractions off the main entrance and blur the line between education and community use. 

The museum’s footprint will occupy roughly one-quarter of the site, leaving the rest to be renaturalized. This amount of green space and the proposed tree canopy encourage a diverse habitat, rainwater management and an outdoor environment to be enjoyed by all. 

The open design, interconnected salons, and large gathering space overlooking the central plaza help assure accessibility and inclusivity. Informed by Indigenous input and knowledge, the design reinforces the university’s commitment to creative experimentation, collaboration, and meaningful engagement.

CLIENT Simon Fraser University | ARCHITECT TEAM Hariri Pontarini Architects (Design Architect)—Siamak Hariri FRAIC, Doron Meinhard, Jaimie Howard, Ladan Nicknam, Lindsay Hochman, Ramin Movasagh, Nasim Marefat, Steve Kang. Iredale Architecture (Architect of Record)—James Emery MRAIC, Denis Gautier, Susanna Houwen, John Viera MRAIC, Hayley Robbins, Tong Zheng, Ilya Dorakhau | STRUCTURAL Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. (RJC) | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Introba | CIVIL Stantec | LIGHTING Introba | LANDSCAPE Durante Kreuk | ENVELOPE Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. (RJC) | ENERGY MODELLING Scott Construction Group | CONTRACTOR Scott Construction Group | AREA 1,115 m2 | BUDGET $19.25 M | STATUS Under Construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION December 2024 

GREENHOUSE GAS INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 2.73 kgCO2e/m2/year

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

A wonderful, contemporized interpretation of the Vancouver Special using prefabricated components. This systematic approach makes it easy to imagine a wide range of ways to intensify single family lots in ways that can support multiple households. — Michael Heeney, juror

For Leckie Studio, the starting point for a new Vancouver prefabricated housing prototype was a precedent that had gone from being widely built to being widely disparaged. In 1965, plans for what became known as the Vancouver Special could be purchased at City Hall for $65. Initially targeted to immigrant families looking for an affordable modern house that was an off-the-rack fit for Vancouver’s standard, 33-foot-wide city lots, Vancouver Specials whooshed through permitting and could be constructed in less than a month. By the 1980s, these boxy jiffy-builds were so reviled that bylaws were passed to prevent their further construction, particularly in Vancouver’s more affluent west side neighbourhoods, where colonialist heritage was defended as the status quo.

Fast-forward to the present: Vancouver’s housing prices are insane… and it may once again be time to think within the box. But this time around, “gentle densification” is a desired outcome, which lends itself well to a box that can be easily subdivided. Leckie Studio’s Triptych prototype is an adaptable housing system with three possible interior configurations within one standardized 2400-square-foot structure, consisting of three 800-square-foot ‘modules’. The ‘3 Module’ configuration is a standard 2400-square-foot residence; the ‘2+1 Module’ configuration consists of one 1600-square-foot unit (2 modules) with a secondary 800-square-foot unit (1 module); and the ‘1+1+1 Module’ configuration consists of three 800-square-foot ground-oriented dwelling units. Standardized wall, window, door and service locations allow for minimal renovation between the three configurations. An additional 800-square-foot laneway module can be added to further increase density on any urban lot to four units—all ground-oriented. 

“The fundamental key to sustainability in architecture is to create high-performance buildings with adaptable permanence and avoid costly and wasteful demolition,” Leckie Studio states. “In order to future-proof housing and provide adaptability over time, future scenarios must be considered at the time of the initial design and construction—space planning, infrastructure, and construction methodology are all aligned to accommodate the potential future-use cases.” According to the design team’s calculations, Triptych’s prefabricated, component-based approach to construction starts at $400 per square foot. The prototype’s four-unit maximum per lot is compatible with Vancouver’s proposed Simplified Single Family (RS) Zoning Regulations.

To maximize both reconfigurability and usable floor space, Triptych consolidates plumbing, electrical, and mechanical services into vertical spines, minimizing visible services in the exposed ceilings and simplifying the prefabrication process. Prefabricated floor panels, placed between the modules’ demising walls, achieve efficient unit costs and allow for a systematic approach to locating services. In the densest layout, each 800-square-foot unit contains two bedrooms and one bathroom. To ensure a degree of privacy for all three dwellings in the triplex configuration, the centre unit is accessed through the side yard; the entry for one flanking unit is from the street edge, and the other has a rear yard entry. In the lowest density configuration—the three-bedroom-plus-2.5-bathroom ‘3 Module’ layout—the removal/omission of floor panels at the upper floor provides a double-height dining area, while the removal of the additional stairs frees up space for a home office and generous primary bedroom and ensuite.

As was the case with the Vancouver Special, Triptych provides pragmatic answers to the challenges of making low-rise urban housing more affordable and inclusive.

CLIENT Private | ARCHITECT TEAM Michael Leckie, Holden Korbin, Emily Dovbniak, Alastair Bird, James Eidse, Ian lee, Aldo Buitrago | CONTRACTOR/PREFABRICATION CONSULTANT BCollective | STRUCTURAL ASPECT Structural Engineers | BUILDING ENVELOPE Evoke | AREA 223 m2 | BUDGET $1 M | STATUS Construction Documentation | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION Fall 2024

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

An exploration in formal massing, natural light and materiality working within the context of an imagined urban vernacular. It is evident that the end result is the product of a highly intensive formal investigation based on spatial relationships, access to natural light, responses to climate, and relationships to the landscape. — Omar Gandhi, juror

This exploration of space and materials is just the kind of thing that is good to see in small-scale residential work. Lovely graphic representation. — Michael Heeney, juror

When is a dividing wall more than a dividing wall? The Parti Wall conceptualizes the spine shared by two adjoining residences and their respective laneway suites as an armature that works with the context of the block to draw natural light deep into the homes, incorporate a range of outdoor spaces within each property with “different degrees of public-ness,” and create interior, multi-storey ‘nested gardens’ for the two street-facing houses.

Circulation for these proposed multigenerational residences on narrow, downtown Toronto lots is organized into two promenades, one on each side of the central spine. The promenades align in places and bifurcate in plan or in section in others. The northern main house abuts a laneway along its north side. Promenade A provides above-grade entry to this residence and extends up through its levels at the core via a sculptural stair and an elevator. This promenade also extends below grade–under a rear courtyard–to connect the main house directly to the laneway suite. Promenade B diverts around a mature front-yard tree and descends to the below-grade entry to the southern main house. As with Promenade A, Promenade B’s vertical circulation is via a sculptural stair and elevator, both located at the core, and there is a subterranean connection between the main house and the laneway suite, beneath their shared courtyard.

In the project’s hybrid structure, the concrete core containing each residence’s elevator and central stair rises out of the foundation of the shared concrete spine. The lightweight, wood-frame structures that enclose the remaining volumes interlock with the concrete construction.

Unlike a conventional duplex, the residences on either side of this project’s shared spine do not mirror one another: they take different forms because the end-block position of the northern house presents opportunities that the mid-block position of the southern house does not. The laneway running along the north side of the northern house makes possible an interior ‘nested garden’ that rises the full height of the residence along this edge. For the mid-block house, a two-storey nested garden is incorporated at the front: a large oculus in the steeply sloped roof creates a semi-enclosed space on the top floor, and the alignment of the oculus with a circular skylight allows natural light to stream down into the kitchen below.

In both residences, the views that open up to the outside world and from one level to another are carefully choreographed to enhance the experience of living in these homes—and of moving through them. The sculptural skylight nestled into the steps descending into the southern house’s courtyard exemplifies the imaginative attention to detail that characterizes the entire composition: it draws natural light into a sunken dining area and the subterranean passageway that connects the main house to its laneway suite.

CLIENT Houyan Homes and Archic Custom Homes | ARCHITECT TEAM Nima Javidi, Behnaz Assadi, Kyle O’Brien, Larissa Ho, Reilly Walker | STRUCTURAL Moses Structural Engineering | PLANNING Galbraith & Associates | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/PLUMBING Enocan | LANDSCAPE Behnaz Assadi (Ja Studio) | AREA 858 m2 (480 m2+ 184 m2) | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Design Development | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2024 (main house), 2026 (laneway suite)

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

The angled massing of this building is so deft in working to handle the big pieces in a recreation program. The resulting volume seems to fit perfectly into its site, while making this building’s interior and exterior spaces both intimate and generous. Seeing real views out from the gymnasium, in juxtaposition with the wood truss structure, is only one example of the moments this building makes for every room and activity within a holistic civic gesture. — Claire Weisz, juror

I especially appreciated the low and canted heavy massing with the bright, rich and warm mass timber interior. The building massing has a civic quality which creates a major anchor in the park, welcoming visitors under its cantilevered entry. Highly considered approaches to sustainability are evident throughout, and have played a role in shaping the building form. — Omar Gandhi, juror

A masterful use of heavy timber in a well-tailored community building.  Particularly compelling section and resolution of stacked uses. Very well executed. — Michael Heeney, juror

In Toronto’s Moss Park neighbourhood, public resources are strained as the community grapples with complex social issues that include homelessness, addiction, and poverty. The John Innes Community Recreation Centre will serve the city with spaces that are flexible, inclusive, and accessible to all. The new four-storey facility will replace an aging and inaccessible building with an inviting pavilion that acts as a gateway to this historic greenspace.

The development of the new Community Recreation Centre goes hand-in-hand with the revitalization of Moss Park, a project guided by input from local Indigenous communities and rooted in the area’s pre-colonial history. Like several green spaces in Toronto, Moss Park conceals a creek that has been buried over time. The central idea of unearthing and embracing this creek’s nonlinear nature forms the core of the rejuvenated park’s concept. It features a food forest, community garden, and other site-specific amenities that emphasize the land’s importance. 

An internal street links Sherbourne Street to Moss Park and serves as a gathering space, reception area, and safety control point. The new building’s woodshop, a community-favourite program from the original building, is situated here to take advantage of the adjacent service yard and visibility from the lobby. This area also includes a SSHA (Shelter, Support & Housing Administration) service desk, lounges, viewing spaces, program rooms, a youth hub, athletics, and administration, all within a timber-lined atrium. Broad canopies at the park and street entrances enhance the internal connection’s role in unifying various site elements.

The building will host Indigenous gatherings, smudging ceremonies, medicinal garden stewardship, and sacred fire events in the adjacent park. Indigenous art will be incorporated onto the grounds and installed within the lofty lobby space.

The base of the façade is clad with robust ultra-high-performance concrete, with similar stone-like panels framing the glazing above. Inside, the porosity allows visibility across distinct spaces, reinforcing a feeling of safety and connection for its users. A second-floor outdoor terrace wraps along the southern edge of the building, providing a secure exterior environment with a rooftop garden. A breakout space at the third floor with direct views to the gym will serve as a gathering space for youth, while a fourth-floor running track will circumnavigate the perimeter.

Situated to take advantage of the diffuse north light, the natatorium and gym are stacked above each other to maintain a tight footprint on the site. The building is designed to meet the requirements of the Toronto Green Standard (v4), as well as the CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Design certification. A bubble deck slab and the mass timber structure will significantly reduce the project’s embodied carbon.

This new John Innes Community Recreation Centre will provide skill-building opportunities for community members, while fostering a connection to nature and a path towards improved well-being.

CLIENT City of Toronto: Parks, Forestry & Recreation | ARCHITECT TEAM Principal-in-Charge—Chris Burbidge (MRAIC); Design Partner—Viktors Jaunkalns (FRAIC); Project Architect—Krista Clark; Supporting Partners—Robert Allen (FRAIC), Tarisha Dolyniuk (FRAIC), Andrew Filarski (FRAIC), Ted Watson (FRAIC), Timothy Belanger; Design Team—Andrew Ashbury, Timothy Lai, Melissa Lui, Ricardo Duque, Jonathan Ackerley, Janice Lee, Tianyi Huang, Alexandra Kay Siu, Farhang Alipour, Chenyi Xu. Landscape—Hyaeinn Lee, May Chiang (John Innes Community Recreation Centre), David Leinster, Michael Ormston-Holloway, Donna Hinde, Jennifer Williamson, Malin Christensson, Katie Strang (Park Landscape Architect) | STRUCTURAL Blackwell | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Smith + Andersen | LANDSCAPE MJMA Architecture & Design (John Innes Community Recreation Centre), The Planning Partnership (Park Landscape Architect) | GEOTHERMAL Salas O’Brien | ENERGY MODELLING Footprint| CIVIL EMC | PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT Saffy| AREA 7,470 m2 | BUDGET $96 M (Construction) | STATUS Construction Documents | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2027

TOTAL ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 197 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY DEMAND INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 138 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 7.9 kgCO2e/m2/year

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

This well-resolved neighbourhood library building explicitly wears its commitment to reconciliation on its sleeve with its Indigenous-inspired façade and rooftop programming area for First Nations. We reviewed a large number of projects attempting to acknowledge First Nations, and this one seemed to do so in a particularly comfortable way. — Michael Heeney, juror

This public library takes on the reading of the larger context, and brings consciousness to Indigenous learning and history as a strong connector. There is a balance of readings: the parallelogram patterns are cut out to make windows, and the colour versus natural metal reads equally strongly. The result is a tradition-inspired patterned façade that simultaneously creates a distinct shimmering civic building in a neighbourhood of bungalows. In a clever set of moves, it opens up the corner and its glazing strategy brings people up to the roof. It’s nice to see a relatively energy-efficient and space-efficient building be a maker of memories as well. — Claire Weisz, juror

On Dawes Road in Toronto’s east end, a new 2,443-square-metre library will serve as a focal point to a growing community, offering library resources, gathering spaces, and a connection to nature. Hamilton-based Smoke Architecture, an Indigenous-led architecture practice, has partnered with Perkins&Will, a firm with extensive experience in sustainable design and public buildings. 

Dawes Road and its neighbourhood have a layered history. The area once contained a quarry for local brick manufacturing, a large agricultural operation, and part of a historic trail down to the waterfront and St. Lawrence Market. The project site is within the Treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and is the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat Nations. Today, Toronto is home to a sizeable Indigenous population. 

Responding to neighbourhood scale, the building sits lower on the site to address the single-family residences while a sloping parapet peaks at the third storey at Dawes Avenue to shelter a generous public plaza. The library occupies the ground and second floors while the community hub and a large roof terrace are on the third.  The journey through the building culminates at the roof garden, where events and cultural ceremonies can spill out onto the garden. 

In collaboration with the Toronto Public Library, City of Toronto, and a range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community stakeholders, the project team created a design that evokes an Indigenous star blanket, celebrating learning and discovery. The star blanket serves as an architectural metaphor. Blankets have a personality and spirit, communicating something about their maker and the techniques used in their making. Blankets also protect us from the environment, offering a strong analogy to the role of an architectural envelope. The blanket wraps and embraces the building, providing colour and texture and conveying a sense of motion. 

To translate the blanket metaphor into an achievable building system, the design team started with a 1:20 scale physical model and rolls of industrial felt to experiment with folds, wraps and layering. In the final iteration, the front of the blanket remains open and welcoming. Clad in four colours of individually formed zinc panels, the façade was developed through a parametric design process and a close collaboration with a specialized metal fabricator. 

The metaphor of the star blanket is further supported by the articulation of a high-performance envelope with a low percentage of glazed openings. The building will be fully electrified, with a rooftop photovoltaic array to offset a portion of the energy use. A borehole below the building will serve a geothermal mechanical system to lower the peak energy demand. 

A culture grows and evolves through participation. This flexible and open venue will encourage the sharing of stories, the passing of traditions, and the embrace of new voices and experiences.

CLIENT Toronto Public Library | ARCHITECT TEAM Andrew Frontini FRAIC, Eladia Smoke FRAIC, Michael Blois, Linda Neumayer MRAIC, Mikel Calleja, Martha del Junco, Chelsea Jacobs, Shabaan Khokhar, Jennifer Kinnunen, Flora Mouchel, Anna Beznogova, David D’Andrea, Lindsey Furik | STRUCTURAL Entuitive Engineering | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/PLUMBING The Hidi Group | LANDSCAPE FRP Inc. | AREA 2,443 m2 | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Tender | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2025

ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 110 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 26.41 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 5.5 kg/m2/year | WATER USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 17.10 m3/m2/year | ANTICIPATED CERTIFICATIONS CaGBC Zero Carbon Building, Toronto Green Standard V3

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

Reflective of our times, we looked at a large number of projects that were designed to serve Indigenous Peoples. Finding an appropriate and functional architectural expression was not always successful. In this case, it is: a new form of architecture consciously emerges from the landscape and looks to Indigenous precedents, and it works well. The resultant building is clearly recognizable, and I expect will become a point of pride for the Indigenous community members using it. — Claire Weisz, juror

Built in the heart of the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, Indigenous House moves the institution into a new chapter of rehabilitating its relationship with Canada’s Indigenous population. 

Indigenous House will provide a home for a mix of academic and social spaces. The program includes offices for the Elders and other  Indigenous staff, dedicated rooms for research and scholarship in areas such as language preservation, spaces for regular and continuing education opportunities, exhibition areas, and gathering spaces. 

The site offers long views over Highland Creek Ravine, one of the region’s many ravines undergoing rediscovery and renewal. In consultation with local Elders, the grounds and surrounding area will be planted with medicinal and other native tree and plant species including a thicket of birch trees, ensuring that the Indigenous House will mature and evolve over time to become a natural and enriching heart of the Indigenous community and the university’s Scarborough campus. 

Inspired by the form of a wigwam, the two-storey building expresses Indigeneity in its construction, aesthetics and engineering. Its distinctive ovoid structure will be composed of expressive curved glue-laminated timber, recalling traditional bentwood construction techniques. The offices and services are situated at the centre of the building, with round gathering spaces anchoring each end. An atrium will draw connections between the two levels while strengthening the round expression of the ceremonial spaces. At the western end of the building, an ascending ramp framed by medicinal plants leads to a second floor viewing deck, overlooking a large outdoor gathering area.

The design team has applied the principles of nature and Indigenous Ways of Knowing to create a highly contemporary building. Sited over what is currently a parking lot, Indigenous House will reach out into the landscape and engage with it in a meaningful way. Its presence will enhance the site with regenerative planting, passive heating and cooling, and spaces designed specifically to support and enhance Indigenous culture and traditions. 

Importantly, Indigenous House will offer culturally appropriate spaces for ceremonies, which are currently lacking on the campus. This building will give Indigenous People a place where they can feel like they belong. More broadly, it will signal the university’s commitment to address fully the findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

CLIENT University of Toronto Scarborough | ARCHITECT TEAM Alfred Waugh FRAIC, Janna Levitt FRAIC, Drew Adams MRAIC, Matthew Hunter, Henry Dyck, Nik Langroudi, Stuart Maddocks, Kevin Martin, Jonah Lewis, Kara Burman, Jake Pauls Wolf, Nevil Wood MRAIC, Marc Ryan, Ben Watt-Meyer, Asuka Kono, Luke van Tol | STRUCTURAL Equilibrium | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Introba | LANDSCAPE Public Work | CIVIL MTE | CODE LMDG | COST Vermeulens | ECOLOGY LGL | ACOUSTICS Thornton Tomasetti | FOOD SERVICE Kaizen | GEOTECHNICAL GHD | SPECIFICATIONS DGS | SIGNAGE Adams + Associates | AREA 922 m2 | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Under Construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2024

TOTAL ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 130 kWh/m2/year | THERMAL ENERGY DEMAND INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 71.3 kWh/m2/year | GREENHOUSE GAS INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 6.5 kgCO2e/m2/year 

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

The building utilizes the practical modular building techniques necessary for the North, but introduces colour and setbacks to the massing to make a building that will stand out and welcome the community. The building section, with its clerestory central atrium, pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved in Northern public buildings. — Michael Heeney, juror

An innovative, economical and appropriate approach to building in the North. It’s neither fussy nor wasteful in its response to context and resilience. This will be a cherished building in the community and a centre of social life and activity. It is evident that the positive and exciting achievement of this project is the result of intensive and meaningful community engagement processes. — Omar Gandhi, juror

This building does so much with a very constrained set of design moves. It uses straightforward means to prevent environmental damage and mitigate strong winds for the users, and improves local conditions for passersby. Its bright yellow ramps and entrance walls can be seen in lower light conditions, and set the stage for it to connect to other community assets in this high Arctic city. — Claire Weisz, juror

In Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, the Inuusirvik Community Wellness Hub (ICWH) addresses unique design, programming, and budget challenges with environmental responsibility. 

For its 8,000 residents, the building unites counselling services, daycare, a wellness research centre, a research library, and food preparation and gathering spaces, while helping create a denser and pedestrian-friendly downtown core. The project developed over the course of seven years of engagement with the client, researchers, and daycare staff. The design team engaged with the local client group, led by Gwen Healey Akearok, to discuss form, use, seasonality, and cultural expression. 

Building in the North can generate a huge cost in carbon emissions as well as exorbitant transportation costs. Wherever possible, the design team has specified lightweight materials and panelized products, which are easily assembled with basic equipment. The contractor is a local Inuit-owned operation that supports local construction crews and hires. Hiring local workers encourages skill development within the community and reduces travel costs (both in ecological and financial terms) otherwise incurred by non-local specialists. 

Sitting just below the Arctic Circle, Iqaluit endures an average temperature of -26 degrees Celsius in January to +9 degrees in July, with just over five hours of daylight in winter to 24 hours of daylight in high summer. Like all buildings in the region, the building is elevated on piles to prevent it from melting the ground’s permafrost. In addition, it features an enhanced air-ventilation system to help prevent the respiratory ailments so common in the region. The building is heated primarily by underfloor radiant heating, supplemented by fresh air supply in ceilings. 

Proximity to the land is central to Inuit culture and informs the architecture. The syncopated corrugated-metal cladding is evocative of the shimmering sea, notes Healey Akearok. The box-like massing is inflected with large “scoops” carved out from three of its corners to deflect wind and provide compact “green roofs” of lichen and moss. The tundra roof decks, clerestory glazing and windows bring landscape, light, and views into the building.  

Inside, a wood-sheathed rotunda “drum” space will serve as the heart and hub of the building. Around the double-height rotunda are rooms for counselling, education, and preparation of traditional “country food”—freshly hunted seals and other local wildlife. On the second floor is the research centre, with a conference room, staff offices, and library. 

In all elements of the design, accessibility and openness were key criteria, says Healey Akearok: “We know this will work, and we want to evaluate it so it can be replicated in other communities.”

CLIENT Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre  | ARCHITECT TEAM Lateral Office—Lola Sheppard, Mason White FRAIC, Kearon Roy Taylor; VRA—Verne Reimer FRAIC, Jeff Penner MRAIC, Daryl Holloway, Stephen Meijer, Youchen Wang | STRUCTURAL/ELECTRICAL/MECHANICAL/CIVIL WSP Canada Inc. | AREA 883 m2 | BUDGET $10.2 M | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION November 2023

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WINNER OF A 2023 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

Among the submissions reviewed by the jury, this project was much discussed as a model for architecture’s responsibility to fragile landscapes. Although its interior space might only serve a private purpose, the drum takes up the minimum space and reduces visual disruption, making its relationship to its landscape not hidden, but minimal. For an exposed area with strong winds, its shape and its solidity are a considered, synthetic response. I appreciate how the project shows respect for the landscape and avoids privatizing it through fences and driveways—instead, you have to walk to the residence, and take a bridge up to where it is resting. — Claire Weisz, juror

On Nova Scotia’s south shore stands El Aleph, a cylindrical home sitting atop an elevated promontory jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. The setting is famously dramatic, with cobblestone beaches exposed to high winds and loud crashing waves—“a terrifying landscape,” in the words of architect Brian MacKay-Lyons. 

The ridge of bedrock on which the house stands provides a strong visual connection between the main house and a guest house, sited half a kilometre apart. The guest house stands on steel stilts on an adjacent sloping site, elevated to align with the primary house. A small boathouse, sited on the banks of a nearby saltwater inlet, completes the trio of buildings on the coastal property. 

MacKay-Lyons was in the Scottish Hebrides visiting a broch—a traditional roundhouse building found throughout Atlantic Scotland—when the client contacted him to enquire about designing a round house. From that conversation, the concept and form of the house emerged.

The 50-foot-diameter house, grounded on a concrete plinth and clad with copper shingles, is defined by two primary openings: the main floor’s covered terrace and a roof deck topped with a perforated screen. These off-setting “bites” out of the cylindrical form create a dynamic composition that responds to the landscape, framing views and creating sheltered microclimates. 

Inside, the spaces are arranged around a wood-lined atrium defined by an exposed steel frame and top-lit by a pair of partially screened skylights. Interior openings into the atrium provide light and visual connections throughout the house. Floating stairs of perforated steel are contained within pie-shaped volumes outside of the atrium, providing discreet access to the upper floors. On the top floor, the library is contained by bookcases that wrap around the perimeter walls.

The client, a literature buff, named the drum-shaped house after a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges; the Aleph is a point in space that contains all other points in the universe, so that anyone who looks upon it can see everything simultaneously. “The drum is a kind of panopticon,” says MacKay-Lyons. “You can see 360-degree views from the drum. So it’s a place where you can see the ocean wrapping around your whole world.”

CLIENTS John Kim and Paola Panero | ARCHITECT TEAM Design Lead: Brian MacKay-Lyons FRAIC (design lead), Matthew Bishop (project manager), Shane Andrews, Izak Bridgman, Andrew Falls, Tyler Reynolds, Colby Rice, Kelly Cameron, Ben Fuglevand, Isaac Fresia, Lucas McDowell | STRUCTURAL Blackwell Structural Engineers | GEOTECHNICAL Stantec | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Delmar Construction | SURVEY Design Point Engineering & Surveying Ltd. | AREA 539 m2 (gross) | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION Fall 2025

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WINNER OF A 2022 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

“This project represents a simple adoration of a by-gone era with an appropriate level of adornment. The syncopation of the fenestration in the intervention pays recognition to the past, referencing the old brick façade, and yet the project still manages a degree of autonomy, important for a hopeful and different future. The simplicity of the project, including the understated furnishings and interior detail, are appropriate: they do not betray the history of the place, yet offer a level of finesse fitting for the intended users of the Ateliers. Delightful without kitsch.” – Peter Hargraves, juror

Located inside the brick-and-steel shell of the Locoshop Building’s southern portion, Les Ateliers Angus offers an imaginative transformation of a decommissioned industrial site in Montreal. 

The Angus Shops complex, once part of the railway network originally run by Canadian Pacific Railway, consists of several buildings used for manufacturing train components. This includes the Locoshop Building, an industrial shed that has since been converted into studios, offices, and stores. The linearity and rhythmic nature of the railway operations inspired the addition of a project running parallel to the historic façade’s massive brick wall. 

Les Ateliers Angus is a series of craft studios, made of twelve lightweight units assembled in a continuous strip. In keeping with the historic use of the site, the project accommodates light-industrial uses by professional artisans, from cabinetmakers to potters. The studios front a large, open-air hall, activating it as a public space. 

Each 56-square-metre unit includes a semi-public space on the ground floor for exhibitions, paired with a private mezzanine loft. A large, operable skylight brings in diffuse daylight and allows for natural ventilation. Units can be combined to maximize flexibility for occupants. Facing the public hall, floor-to-ceiling glazing transforms the studios into a series of tableaux vivants, showcasing the activities within and inviting a spontaneous theatricality. 

The proposal includes the conversion of the existing parking area, facing the new Ateliers, into public space. The new workshops will be built alongside the freestanding brick wall; from the south, views are framed by the façades of both the existing and new structures. The space in-between new and old will be animated by people coming and going.

As the interior programming establishes itself, the project will evolve into a new cultural destination. The commercial spaces, workshops, open-air events and exhibition areas will create a strong sense of place, informed by the distinct history of this Montreal neighbourhood. The texture, materiality and strong geometric lines of the addition yield a fresh but grounded take on Angus Shops’ rich industrial heritage.

CLIENT Société de développement Angus | ARCHITECT TEAM Gil Hardy, Charles Laurence Proulx, Maxime Déom, Pascal Labelle | AREA 680 m2 | BUDGET $2.6 M | STATUS Design Development | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION Spring 2024

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WINNER OF A 2022 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF MERIT

“The project proposes a well-designed urban solution to the housing problem. The vibrant mix of forms and uses would create a strong community feeling. Bringing back the traditional Montreal alley as a pedestrian space is a strong solution, tying together the different parts and providing a playful environment. The relatively low-volume massing should help with sun penetration and mitigate wind.” – Louis Lemay, juror

Montreal’s Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough is about to become a lot more populous. On multiple mega-blocks in the shadow of the former Olympic Stadium’s looming, leaning mast—a constant reminder of the dangers of thinking big without thinking things through—several major residential/mixed-use redevelopments are underway.

One of these, Canoë by developer Rachel Julien, designed by Aedifica and ADHOC architectes, comprises approximately 650 condominium units, 200 rental units and 158 social housing units, in tandem with at least 5,600 square metres of retail space. Its mix includes 20% community housing, 20% rental housing and a wide range of family-centric affordable housing units. The Canoë team’s two main strategies for thinking smart while thinking big are inclusive, pedestrian-priority urbanism and a holistic approach to a new neighbourhood’s resource management and energy consumption.

Residential buildings of three to twelve storeys are organized around Canoë’s Allée des Artistes, a pedestrian street that slices through the site on a diagonal. Amenities directly bordering this promenade include multiple art galleries and an artists’ workshop, six playgrounds, a grocery store, a gym, multi-purpose space, and co-working space. Other on-site features are a pharmacy, a day care and several coffee shops. 

Along one edge of Canoë’s site, 10% of the land will be developed as a linear park. Multiple courtyards and green roofs provide additional respite in a development that will concentrate a large supply of new housing units near two metro stations. A variety of circulation routes helps ensure that multiple speeds and modes of travel—on foot, on a bike, in a car—can be integrated safely and harmoniously. 

The varying heights and diverse footprints of Canoë’s buildings are a starting point for endowing an entirely new development with some of the variety of a cityscape that has evolved over time. Along l’Allée des Artistes, façades are bevelled at the street edges to reduce massing and shading; varying this faceting from one building to the next adds animation to this activity-oriented corridor. Meanwhile, the materiality acknowledges that facing a street is a very different condition from facing a courtyard. The “public” façades will have mineral and masonry cladding that complements the colour and materials palette of the surrounding blocks. On courtyard-oriented façades, a light metal cladding will help compensate for more limited exposure to natural light.

The developer has partnered with Énergir to integrate renewable energy sources and thermal energy redistribution initiatives into an infrastructural loop that targets a 60% reduction in energy consumption and at minimum an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with conventional developments. In addition to increasingly common technologies such as a geothermal system and the preheating and precooling of ventilated air, sustainability strategies include heat recovery from grey water, recovering remaining energy from electric vehicles via reversible terminals, and even collecting energy generated by humans exercising on gym equipment such as stationary bikes. As well, members of Canoë’s community will have opportunities to grow some of their own food and support a beekeeping program.

CLIENT Rachel Julien | ARCHITECT TEAM Aedifica— Alain Bergeron, Hugues Daly, Amélie Lessard, Benoit Laurion. ADHOC—Jean-François St-Onge, Anik Malderis, François Martineau, Pascale Jetté | STRUCTURAL Leroux + Cyr | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL Bouthillette Parizeau | CIVIL Marchand Houle | LANDSCAPE Bao Nguyen | AREA 90,000 m2 | BUDGET $400 M | STATUS Design Development | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2023-2029

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