Canadian Architect November 2015

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ADRIEN WILLIAMS

EMA PETER

CIVIC LANDMARKS

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CANADIAN ARCHITECT

NOVEMBER 2015

13 NEWS

Acton Ostry Architects reveals design for a highrise student residence made of wood; winners of Manitoba and British Columbia architectural awards announced.

54 INSITES

Elsa Lam reports from a London symposium examining the health, urban and architectural aspects of increasing daylight in buildings.

58 BOOKS

24 AMPHITHÉÂTRE TROIS-RIVIÈRES An riverside theatre by Paul Laurendeau Architect in joint venture with Beauchesne Architecture Design demonstrates the stunning achievements possible through open design competitions. TEXT Odile Hénault

32 MILL WOODS LIBRARY, SENIORS’ AND MULTICULTURAL CENTRE ynamic sections join two programs in this unexpected jewel in suburban Edmonton D

by HCMA Architecture + Design and Dub Architects in joint venture. TEXT Cynthia Dovell

42 MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE

Aliki Economides examines two books commemorating the 50th anniversary of Toronto City Hall; three additional publications examine progressive building strategies in Montreal and Vancouver.

63 CALENDAR

PGL and the Architecture of Modern Quebec 1958-1974 at the Centre de design de l’UQAM; The Buildings Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

66 LOOKING BACK

Clifford Wiens’ rural Silton Chapel is suffering from worrisome deterioration, a plight that Bernard Flaman says it shares with many of Canada’s Modernist landmarks.

ED WHITE

Michael Green’s mass timber innovations prove their mettle in two recently completed projects: the Wood Innovation and Design Centre along with Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon. TEXT Trevor Boddy

COVER Amphithéâtre Trois-Rivières

by Paul Laurendeau Architect in joint venture with Beauchesne Architecture Design. Photograph

by Marc Gibert.

V.60 N.11 THE NATIONAL REVIEW OF DESIGN AND PRACTICE/THE JOURNAL OF RECORD OF THE RAIC

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VIEWPOINT

­­EDITOR ELSA LAM, MRAIC

FRED VAN DER BURG, COURTESY OF ADRI DUIVESTEIJN/STROOM DEN HAAG

CANADIAN ARCHITECT 11/15­

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EDITORIAL ADVISOR IAN CHODIKOFF, OAA, FRAIC ART DIRECTOR ROY GAIOT CONTRIBUTING EDITORS ANNMARIE ADAMS, MRAIC DOUGLAS MACLEOD, NCARB, MRAIC

Álvaro Siza speaks to residents in a 1:1 mock-up of an apartment to be built in The Hague.

LEFT

REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS HALIFAX CHRISTINE MACY, OAA REGINA BERNARD FLAMAN, SAA MONTREAL DAVID THEODORE CALGARY GRAHAM LIVESEY, MRAIC WINNIPEG LISA LANDRUM, MAA, AIA, MRAIC VANCOUVER ADELE WEDER PUBLISHER TOM ARKELL 416-510-6806

SIZA’S SOCIAL VISION Among this autumn’s most anticipated lectures was a pair of talks given by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza in Montreal and Toronto this September. The lectures marked a rare Canadian appearance for the Pritzker Prize winner, whose work is mostly situated in Europe.

Siza’s talks coincided with the opening of a small exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) entitled Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague. The exhibition presents two social housing commissions from the 1980s—Siza’s first built projects outside of Portugal. It draws on models, photos and drawings from Siza’s archive, a large part of which was recently donated to the CCA. The projects in The Netherlands and Germany, along with Siza’s talk in Montreal, touch on a basic question: what does it mean to design for marginalized groups? “In Holland, the program was for an area where 50% of the population were immigrants,” recalls Siza. “There was a shock of cultures. My work was to avoid the first instruction, which was ‘Siza, you must make houses for the Islamic people and houses for the Dutch people.’ I said, ‘That makes for a second marginalization. We must study a house that is accepted by everybody.’”

The resulting pair of buildings, known as Punt en Komma (1986-1989), refer to the local context, maintaining a typical street cross-section and generous courtyards on the interiors of the blocks. “I used a traditional system in Holland with a big portico on the street and a stairway that gives direct access to the doors,” says Siza. Rather than directly replicating existing forms, the project uses a refined modern language, carefully detailed in every aspect.

Inside, floor plans are practical and straightforward, with a small twist. “I attended to the remark of one of the Islamic people that said, ‘If I invite my friends, I do not want them to see my wife and my daughters,’” says Siza.

As a result, he included sliding doors to partition off the apartments into a social area and

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ACCOUNT MANAGER FARIA AHMED 416-510-6808

a more intimate living area. This allowed a separation of spaces that respected the immigrants’ traditions, while resulting in a few extra square metres of floor space that was appreciated by Dutch households.

Asked about the influence of Portuguese style in his work abroad, Siza says: “When I go to make a small social housing project in Holland or Germany, I don’t want to put something related to the Portuguese experience—but something related to what is happening there.” He adds, “I don’t want to put exotic things in a town— it does not succeed when it is a personal caprice.”

The lecture and exhibition’s subject matter resonates with the current refugee crisis in Europe, which has re-sparked anxiety about immigration. But it also an object lesson for Canada, whose major cities struggle to provide adequate affordable housing, particularly for newcomers.

According to the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, some 138,000 Canadians are on social housing wait lists, and 12.5% of Canadian families spend half of their after tax income on housing—well over the recommended 30% threshold. Punt en Komma reminds us that social housing can—and should— be designed in a way that not only puts a roof over people’s heads, but that also accommodates difference and provides dignity to inhabitants.

Architects rarely have the influence to affect housing policy. However, given the opportunity, Member of their role in conscientiously consulting with marginalized clients and designing the right kinds of places is crucial. “Architects do not have the power themselves [to change the affordable housing situation],” says Siza. “But if they are allowed with freedom to develop their ideas, it is important to be involved.”

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Corner, Block, Neighbourhood, Cities: Álvaro Siza in Berlin and The Hague is on display at the CCA until February 7, 2016.

Elsa Lam

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PROJECTS Acton Ostry Architects unveils design for 18-storey student residence made of wood

Acton Ostry Architects has released renderings of Brock Commons Phase 1, a 404-bed student residence at the University of British Columbia.

When completed, the $51.5-million building will stand 53 metres tall, making it among the world’s tallest mass timber buildings. The use of a hybrid wood and concrete structure was investigated to demonstrate the applicability of mass timber in BC’s development and construction industries. Rigorous analysis concluded that the cost of a mass timber structure was similar to that of a typical concrete or steel structure. “Advances in wood technology and manufacturing make tall wood buildings not only possible but also safe and cost effective, while providing a way to lessen the carbon footprint of the built environment,” the architects explain in a press release. The structure consists of a one-storey concrete podium and two concrete cores that support 17 storeys of mass timber and concrete structure. Vertical loads are carried by the timber structure while the two concrete cores provide lateral stability. The floor structure is built from 5-ply cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels that are point-supported on glulam columns on a 2.85m x 4.0m grid. This results in the CLT panels acting as a two-way slab diaphragm. The structural concept is similar to that of a concrete flat-plate slab. To avoid a vertical load transfer through the CLT panels, a steel connector allows for direct load transfer between the columns and also provides a bearing surface for the CLT panels. The CLT panels and glulam beams are encapsulated with gypsum board to achieve the required fire resistance rating. The roof is made up of prefabricated sections of steel beams and metal deck, with the roofing membrane preapplied to achieve quick watertightness during construction. The project will connect to the university district energy system and has been designed to target LEED Gold. The mass timber structure reduces the volume of concrete that would be typically used by 2,650 cubic metres, which is equivalent to reducing up to 500 tons of CO2 emissions. Construction of the 18-storey-tall wood student residence will begin later this fall, and the building is set to open in September 2017.

York Region and DIALOG open Living Building Challenge-targeted facility

The Regional Municipality of York has officially opened its new Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre, a building designed by DIALOG that is an integral part of a successful forest generation project. The forestry centre

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CANADIAN ARCHITECT 11/15­

NEWS

ABOVE A structural diagram showing the hybrid mass timber and concrete core construction of Acton Ostry’s proposed 18-storey UBC student residence. The CLT panels and glulam beams are encapsulated with gypsum board to achieve the required fire resistence rating.

took on rigorous sustainability certifications by targeting both LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge certification. The result is expected to be the first Full Petal Living Building Challenge facility in Eastern Canada.

Renewable wood is the primary building material for the 4,000-square-foot centre, which contains space for education, corporate and community meetings and operations. To create the forestry centre design, DIALOG recruited an interdisciplinary team that not only included architects, engineers and interior designers but also forest education experts, arborists and ecologists. The team allowed DIALOG to focus on a holistic solution that works to restore natural habitats and ecosystems, generate a surplus of clean energy and water and connect the community to the Hollidge Tract of the York Regional Forest. “Almost every building harms our environment, whether it is through the use of toxic building materials, the use of energy and water to operate it, or the disposal of materials when it is torn down,” says Craig Applegath, FRAIC, Principal at DIALOG. “We wanted to create a building that could function like a forest ecosystem, be an integral part of nature and enhance it.” The Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre is expected to achieve net-zero water and net-positive energy performance. The Full Petal Living Building Challenge certification is an ongoing process. The Centre will need to be open for 12 months and pass a rigorous auditing process before it receives its official designation. vimeo.com/141227639

World’s largest residential project in CLT launches in Montreal

Developers LSR GesDev and Sotramont, along with architects Lemay+CHA , have officially launched the Arbora project, a residential and commercial development in Montreal’s Griffintown area. With a total surface area of 597,560 square feet, Arbora aims to become the world’s largest residential project featuring a CLT mass timber structure.

The project includes 3 eight-storey buildings with a total of 434 condo, townhouse and rental units. The main floors will be home to commercial spaces varying in size from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet. The Arbora buildings will be among the first in Quebec with a structure made from CLT panels. Aiming to keep its environmental footprint to a minimum, Arbora is sourcing the wood from Nordic, a Chibougamau-based company that manages the boreal forest sustainably with the Cree Nation. Arbora has set itself apart by including more than 40% green space and targeting LEED Platinum certification, becoming the first real estate project in Griffintown to aim for this designation.

Arbora’s sustainable features include superior airtightness, water-saving plumbing fixtures, building acoustics designed to ASTC 55 standards and a high-performance air exchanger. Rental units are slated to be ready by fall 2016 and the condos and townhouses will be completed in fall 2017. arboragriffintown.ca

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NEWS to Winnipeg Central Park Redevelopment

by Scatliff + Miller + Murray and Folly Forest

by Straub Thurmayr Landscape Architects and Urban Designers. A Small Projects category recognized two projects with Awards of Excellence: OMS Stage in Winnipeg by 5468796 Architecture and Popple in Grand-Métis, Quebec by Suzy Melo and landscape architectural intern Meaghan Hunter. A Small Projects Award of Merit was given to Little Red Library by David Penner Architect.

Cornelia Oberlander receives the Margolese National Design for Living Prize

ABOVE ArtLAB at the University of Manitoba, by LM Architectural Group with Patkau Architects Inc., received an award in the Manitoba Premier’s Awards for Design Excellence.

AWARDS AIBC announces Lieutenant-Governor’s architectural award winners

At its annual conference in October, the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) announced the winners of its 2015 architectural awards, recognizing excellence in completed architectural projects led or designed by AIBC members. This year, seven projects were the recipients of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Award in Architecture – Merit Level: Vomo Spa at Vomo Island Resort by ABC Architecture Building Culture; Steveston Fire Hall by HCMA Architecture + Design; Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon by MGA | Michael Green Architecture (project commenced by mcfarlane | green | biggar architecture + design); Wood Innovation and Design Centre by MGA | Michael Green Architecture; UBC Bookstore Expansion + Renovation by office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers (omb); Pitt River Middle School

by Perkins+Will Canada; and Newton Field House by Public Architecture + Communication. Recognizing achievements that are not strictly “architectural” but that have a direct bearing on the future of architecture, two projects received the AIBC Innovation Award: BC Passive House Factory by Hemsworth Architecture and Wood Innovation and Design Centre by MGA | Michael Green Architecture.

The AIBC Emerging Firm Award was given to Measured Architecture Inc. Two AIBC Special Jury Awards, recognizing exceptional achievement, were also given. A Special Jury Award for Adaptively Increasing Urban

Density went to 564 Beatty Street by Bruce Carscadden Architect (now Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects) and IBI Group. A Special Jury Award for Inverting Assumptions About Landscape went to Vermilion Sands

by Matthew Soules Architecture. www.aibc.ca

Manitoba Premier’s Design Awards winners announced

Also in October, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger celebrated the creative excellence and growing reputation of Manitoba architects, professional interior designers and landscape architects by presenting the Premier’s Awards for Design Excellence. Awards of Excellence in Architecture went to Bloc_10 by 5468796 Architecture; the Canadian Museum for Human Rights by Architecture49 with Antoine Predock Architect; and the University of Manitoba ARTlab by LM Architectural Group with Patkau Architects. Awards of Merit in Architecture went to H2Office by Cibinel Architecture; Qualico Family Centre by Number TEN Architectural Group; Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport by Stantec Architecture with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; and youCUBE by 5468796 Architecture. In the Interior Design category, an Award of Excellence went to Canada House – The Canadian High Commission, London,

by Stantec Architecture and an Award of Merit was given to Stantec’s new downtown office in Winnipeg. In Landscape Architecture, an Award of Excellence was given to Millennium Library Park by HTFC Planning & Design, and Awards of Merit were given

The School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia announces landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, Hon. MRAIC, as the winner of the 2015 Margolese National Design for Living Prize. This $50,000 annual prize recognizes a Canadian who has made and continues to make outstanding contributions to the development or improvement of living environments for Canadians of all economic classes. It was created by a generous estate gift to the University by Leonard Herbert Margolese. Oberlander is one of the world’s leading landscape architects; over the past 60 years, she has collaborated with internationally acclaimed architects on a wide range of projects around the world. Her works includes the iconic landscapes of the UBC Museum of Anthropology, Robson Square in Vancouver and Ottawa’s National Gallery. A national Margolese Prize jury praised her landscape designs as “breathtaking, poetic, unforgettable, charged with meaning, and above all, Modernist. Her interests draw on technical, ecological, symbolic, and artistic practices, in a range of scales from the entire planet to tiny neighbourhood parks. It is hard to imagine a living architect, planner, or landscape architect in Canada whose profile could compare to Oberlander’s. Cornelia Oberlander is as close as we get to a household name in landscape architecture. She is, quite frankly, a national treasure.” She plans to use the Margolese Prize to further her work greening the city. sala.ubc.ca/about/margolese-national-design-living-prize

Winners of 2015 Ottawa Urban Design Awards announced

The winners of the 2015 Ottawa Urban Design Awards have been announced. In the Urban Infill Mid-to-Highrise category, the James Michael Flaherty Building by David S. McRobie Architects, DIALOG and James B. Lennox Landscape Architects won an Award of Merit, as did The Vibe by Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects, esQape design, Adjeleian Allen Rubeli and Smith + Andersen.

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CANADIAN ARCHITECT 11/15­­

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NEWS In the Urban Infill Lowrise category, the Sir John A. Macdonald Building by NORR, MTBA Associates and John Cooke & Associates won an Award of Excellence, and Springfield Towns by Linebox Studio won an Award of Merit. In the Public Places and Civic Spaces category, the Art of Rock Balance Sculpture

by John Felice Ceprano won an Award of Excellence, and Winston Square by Douglas & Ruhland Landscape Architects, Cunliffe & Associates and R.J. McKee Engineering won an Award of Merit. The Visions and Master Plans category recognized the Lansdowne Urban Park & Public Realm by PFS Studio, Julian Smith Architects and Stantec with an Award of Excellence. Two projects won Awards of Merit in this category: the Rideau/ Arts Precinct Public Realm Plan by The Planning Partnership, Parsons Corporation and Greenberg Consultants and the University of Ottawa Campus Master Plan by Urban Strategies and Parsons Corporation. In the Urban Elements category, Blanding’s Turtles of the South Marsh Highlands by Christopher Griffin Art Studio, Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Constructive Behaviour won an Award of Excellence, and TD Place Stadium – The Veil by CannonDesign, WSP Group, Moses Structural Engineers and Smith + Andersen won an Award of Merit. A Student Award of Excellence was given to Desirae Cronsberry of Carleton University, while LeeMichael Pronko, Thaly Crespin, Luisa Lu Yao Ji and Ema Graci of Carleton University won an Award of Merit for their student project.

Julia Gersovitz of FGMDA to receive the 2015 Gabrielle Léger Medal

Julia Gersovitz, FRAIC, a founding member of architecture firm FGMDA, is the recipient of the 2015 Gabrielle Léger Medal for Lifetime Achievement in conservation in Canada by the National Trust for Canada. The Gabrielle Léger Medal is Canada’s premier honour for individual achievement in heritage conservation. The committee recognizes Gersovitz’s contribution and adds that “Mrs. Gersovitz is known among her peers for her thoughtfulness, tenacity and generous spirit as well as for the impeccable standard of her work. She is an inspiration to conservation professionals throughout Canada.” The award was presented at the 2015 National Trust Conference in Calgary.

Call for submissions to National Urban Design Awards

The RAIC, the Canadian Institute of Planners, and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects have announced the call for submissions for the 2016 National Urban Design Awards.

These awards recognize individuals, organiza-

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ABOVE The TD Place Stadium by CannonDesign Ltd., WSP Group, Moses Structural Engineers and Smith + Andersen was recognized with an Award of Merit in the Ottawa Urban Design Awards.

tions, firms and projects located in Canada that have contributed to the quality of life in Canadian cities and to their sustainability. The awards honour projects in the following categories: urban design plans, urban fragments, urban architecture, civic design projects, community initiatives and student projects. The awards are part of a two-tier program held in cooperation with municipalities across the country. Municipalities with a local urban awards program will automatically submit winners in 2015 to the National Urban Design Awards. In addition, any individual or organization in any Canadian urban municipality may submit an eligible project. The submission deadline is February 11, 2016. raic.org/raic/national-urban-design-awards-call-submissions

Nominations open for Prix du XXe siècle

The RAIC and the National Trust for Canada invite nominations for the 2016 Prix du XXe siècle, an award that recognizes significant buildings of the mid-20th century. The Prix du XXe siècle pays tribute to outstanding and lasting contributions to Canadian architecture, and to landmark buildings in the historical context of Canadian architecture. The prize celebrates design quality as well as enduring excellence. It recognizes buildings that continue to be used as designed or that have successfully accommodated new uses without being altered in ways that detract from the original design intent. Last year’s winner was the Fathers of Confederation Buildings Trust in Charlottetown PEI, which operates as Confederation Centre of the Arts. Built in 1964, it was designed

by the Montreal architecture firm Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold, Sise. The deadline for nominations is January 14, 2016. raic.org/raic/prix-du-xxe-siècle-call-submissions

WHAT’S NEW Royal Architectural Institute of Canada issues statement on 24 Sussex Drive

The RAIC lauds incoming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for postponing his occupancy of 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa to give priority to the state of the “people’s house” for the benefit of all Canadians. “We believe Mr. Trudeau deserves credit for recognizing that the house belongs to the people of Canada and, as such, its economic value and value as a symbol of Canada cannot be allowed to deteriorate further,” says RAIC President Sam Oboh, FRAIC. The National Capital Commission (NCC) has done a good job of systematically upgrading and maintaining the official residences. Unfortunately, it has not been granted access to 24 Sussex to do more than cosmetic repairs, resulting in the need now for a total overhaul. The RAIC supports the responsible approach of the NCC in seeking professional advice from its Advisory Committee on Official Residences of Canada, comprising architects and experts in heritage, interior design and real estate development. The RAIC recommends a thorough assessment of the property to ascertain its capacity to meet the operational, functional and programmatic needs of a prime ministerial residence in the 21st century. Recognizing that the NCC has architects (including a Chief Architect) and other profes-

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NEWS sionals on staff, the members of the RAIC stand ready and willing to contribute in any way they can. In terms of sustainability, the history of the house, and its status as a federal heritage building, the RAIC recognizes that the first choice would be to rehabilitate the building, if feasible. “Rehabilitation of a 19thcentury deteriorated building into a more comfortable, efficient, safe and welcoming building is well within the realm of possibility with thoughtful design led by architects,” says RAIC Vice-President Allan Teramura, FRAIC. However, if rehabilitation proves to be unfeasible, “a purpose-built residence for Canada’s Prime Minister creates an opportunity to hold an architectural competition and demonstrate the best of Canadian design, innovation, energy efficiency and craftsmanship,” says Oboh. “As demolition is likely not justifiable, a different site in the capital would be required for a new residence.” www.raic.org

Montreal to host 2017 World Design Summit

Carleton research on architectural heritage technology receives SSHRC support

Carleton University faculty member Stephen Fai has received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to support research on architectural heritage technology that places Carleton at the forefront of architectural preservation in Canada. Fai, associate professor in the Azrieli School of Architecture and Design and director of the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), received a Partnership Grant worth almost $2.5 million over seven years. The grant funds global research involving the theoretical, practical and ethical use of new digital technologies for the conservation of Canada’s architectural heritage. “The SSHRC Partnership Grant is transformative for our work at the CIMS for two reasons,” says Fai. “First, it assures seven years of funding for national and international training and research opportunities for Carleton students in architecture and the humanities. Secondly, in conjunction with my CIMS colleague Dr. Mario Santana and his NSERC-funded CREATE , it places Carleton at the centre of the academic discourse on architectural heritage in Canada.” CIMS is a Carleton University research centre dedicated to the

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NEWS advanced study of innovative, hybrid forms of representation that can both reveal the invisible measures of architecture and animate the visible world of construction. cims.carleton.ca

Vancouver architect Michael Green named to Canada’s Clean50

Vancouver architect Michael Green, FRAIC, has been named an honouree of Canada’s Clean50, a national award that recognizes Canadian leaders for their contribution to sustainability in business. Green is also an honouree of the Clean16, as the winner in the Building, Design & Development category. “The 2016 Clean16 are truly the leaders of the leaders in sustainability in Canada. The competition for the top spot this year in every instance left us with many great choices—and to be selected from amongst such a strong group of peers is truly a testament to the contribution Michael Green has made to helping make living well in Canada more sustainable for all Canadians,” says Gavin Pitchford, Chief Talent Officer of Delta Management Group. Green is recognized as a leader in sustainable architecture and is considered a global champion of sustainable tall wood building construction. clean50.com

The Other Architect opens at the CCA

The Canadian Centre for Architecture’s new exhibition, The Other Architect, opened on October 28 and remains on view until April 10, 2016. The exhibition emphasizes architecture’s potential to identify the urgent issues of our time. On display are 23 case studies dating from the 1960s to today that illustrate how international and often multidisciplinary groups invented and adopted new methods outside of traditional design practices. CCA Director Mirko Zardini says, “This new exhibition presents architecture as more than building—architecture as the production of ideas. These ideas can contribute to changing the world.” The Other Architect is organized by CCA Chief Curator Giovanna Borasi. www.cca.qc.ca

Twenty + Change Next Generation exhibition and publication announced

Twenty + Change Next Generation is the fourth edition of an ongoing exhibition and publication series dedicated to profiling emerging Canadian firms working in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design.

Selected by a curatorial committee of noted

educators, authors and practitioners, the exhibition features projects by 13 practices that engage the public realm in meaningful ways, posit new models for collective living and urban infill, advance the role of sustainability and vernacular craft, and explore opportunities for speculative and self-initiated commissions. The following practices were selected: Architects Luc Bouliane, Toronto; Architecture Microclimat, Montreal; Atelier Barda, Montreal; Batay-Csorba Architects, Toronto; Ja Architecture Studio, Toronto; Marianne Amodio Architecture Studio, Vancouver; Peter Sampson Architecture Studio, Winnipeg; Polymétis, Toronto; Quinlan Osborne Design, Montreal; Scott & Scott Architects, Vancouver; UUfie, Toronto; Woodford/Sheppard Architecture, St. John’s; and WORK/SHOP, Winnipeg. The work of these practices will be featured in a publication edited by Heather Dubbeldam, which will be launched at the opening reception on November 19. The book includes profiles of the emerging firms, project descriptions, a preface by Globe & Mail architecture writer Alex Bozikovic and an essay by Steve DiPasquale, founder of Operative Agency.

The exhibition, at Urbanspace Gallery in Toronto, runs until February 6, 2016. www.twentyandchange.org

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NEWS IN MEMORIAM Robert Gretton

Robert Norman (Bob) Gretton, former editor of The Canadian Architect, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 27, 2015, in Toronto. Born in England, Bob served in the Royal Air Force as a pilot and flight engineer during the Second World War. In 1957, Bob came to Canada where he met his beloved wife, Milly.

Bob worked for several decades as the managing editor of The Canadian Architect, later becoming its editor. He won many journalism awards over the span of his 30-year career.

In 1990, he became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in England, and an Honorary Member of the Ontario Association of Architects.

Brian Curtner

Brian Curtner, a founding principal of Quadrangle Architects, passed away from cancer on August 15, 2015, at the age of 64. Brian and cofounder Les Klein, FRAIC, formed Quadrangle in 1986, and over the past 29 years, built a firm that now has a staff

of 140 and a portfolio of projects throughout Toronto, across Canada and internationally.

Brian was a modern renaissance man, combining expertise in design and construction with an innate business acumen fuelled by his passion for people, golf, cars, travel and art.

He was a graduate of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, England, was licensed to practice in eight Canadian provinces, and was elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Simcoe Chapter of Lambda Alpha International.

He was also active in and served on the boards of numerous professional associations, including the Board of Directors of NAIOP ’s Toronto chapter. Prior to co-founding Quadrangle, he was a principal in the firm Curtner Brown Architects.

Guy Gérin-Lajoie

Architect Guy Gérin-Lajoie, a principal of the firm Papineau Gérin-Lajoie Le Blanc architectes (later PGL), passed away on May 21, 2015, at the age of 87. Guy established PGL with classmates Louis-Joseph Papineau and Michel Robert Le Blanc. He was a pioneer in the development of fibreglass composite con-

struction systems, which he used in building schools and airports in the extreme climates of the High Arctic and the Arabian desert.

In Quebec, his firm was responsible for many projects including the Quebec Pavilion at Expo 67 in collaboration with architect Luc Durand. They also designed the Peel and Radisson metro stations in Montreal, the Pavilion Thérèse-Casgrain residence at the Université de Montréal, and the Mirabel airport, all while developing a specialty in prefabricated industrial architecture adapted to extreme climates and difficult-to-access sites.

Guy was a Fellow of the RAIC, a member of the OAQ and AAPPQ , and a fellow of the Royal College of Art.

ERRATUM In the September 2015 print edition, the article “The Expansion Dilemma” featured an early pre-commission concept proposal by Erickson Massey for a three-block redevelopment captioned “A view of Arthur Erickson’s 1970s proposal for a tower extension to the Vancouver Art Gallery.” Although the area north of the tower was conceived as a potential expansion site, the tower itself was not intended to be part of the gallery.

The Other 28 October 2015 – Architect 10 April 2016

23 case studies that emphasize the potential for architecture to identify the urgent issues of our time: AD/AA/Polyark, AMO, Anyone Corporation, Architects Revolutionary Council, Architectural Detective Agency, Architecture Machine Group, Art Net, Atelier de recherche et d’action urbaines, Center for Urban Pedagogy, CIRCO, Corridart, Delos Symposion, Design-A-Thon, Forensic Architecture, Global Tools, Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, International Laboratory of Architecture and Urban Design, Lightweight Enclosures Unit, Multiplicity, Kommunen in der Neuen Welt, Pidgeon Audio Visual, Take Part and Urban Innovations Group.

Centre Canadien d’Architecture Canadian Centre for Architecture 1920, rue Baile, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3H 2S6

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The CCA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and Hydro-Québec.

cca.qc.ca/other

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OPEN STAGE ON THE ST. LAWRENCE Amphithéâtre Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Quebec Paul Laurendeau Architect (design and project architect) in joint venture with Beauchesne Architecture Design TEXT Odile Hénault PHOTOS Marc Gibert, unless otherwise noted PROJECT

ARCHITECTS

ADRIEN WILLIAMS

Prologue: The Context

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The city of Trois-Rivières, midway between Montreal and Quebec City, rarely makes the architectural headlines. But it did so this summer, with the opening of its new amphitheatre, an impressive construction on a unique St. Lawrence River site. Impressive because of its strong design concept but also because of the process that led to it: an open competition, rarely used anywhere in Canada of late, including in Quebec.

With this recent project, Trois-Rivières comes full circle, connecting with an affinity for modern architecture that was first felt more than 50 years ago. In 1964, in a climate of effervescence around the newly created profession of urban planning, a conference was held in the city and was attended, among others, by young local architect JeanClaude Leclerc and André Wogenscky, a lifetime collaborator of Le Corbusier. The two became friends and Leclerc soon visited Wogenscky in Paris. Not long after his return to Trois-Rivières, he and Roger Villemure would build the Mausolée des évêques (Bishops’

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Mausoleum), considered to be the first manifestation of modern architecture in the city. Leclerc’s firm went on to build two major civic buildings, the City Hall and nearby Cultural Centre.

Thirty years later, in 1994, another encounter took place in TroisRivières: the Ordre des architectes du Québec’s annual meeting, focusing on the burgeoning competition process. The Ministry of Culture had recently embarked on a modest program of architectural competitions for small cultural buildings across Quebec, and although barely emerging, the process was already controversial. Mayor Guy Leblanc, who was to be instrumental in the birth of the amphitheatre project six years later, was certainly aware of the event, and one can presume he gained some insight into the competition process during this encounter. The stage was set for what was about to unfold.

Act One: The Dream

By 2000, the paper mill industry in the region had just about collapsed.

This came as a shock to locals, who depended heavily on this major source of employment. The other side of the coin, however, was that one of the city’s most beautiful sites—the riverside tract occupied by the abandoned mills—would eventually become available. Cirque Éloize staged a series of performances that summer in the old port of TroisRivières, and municipal authorities started to toy with the idea of building an open-air amphitheatre that would help revitalize the city’s depressed economy and support its cultural offerings.

The summer of 2000 was also the time of the Sydney Olympic Games, with images of the Opera House constantly being fed to worldwide television audiences. In Trois-Rivières, these images struck a chord with Mayor Leblanc, who started dreaming of a grand gesture, a landmark, for his city. The possibility of siting this landmark on the shores of the St. Lawrence River made it even more seductive. A local architectural firm was asked to produce a preliminary feasibility study; its conclusions were encouraging.

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Act Two: The Competition

In 2010, under a subsequent municipal administration, a competition was finally launched for the design of the future amphitheatre. According to a former city official, an open and anonymous competition process was chosen in the hope of identifying a truly inventive solution, despite the unpredictability of such a formula.

The competition system has been a trademark of Quebec’s architectural scene for the last 25 years. It started in the early 1990s with two lowbudget local museums, and in the years that followed, theatres, concert halls, and libraries were all realized through competitions. However, in recent years, the process has been plagued with onerous pre-qualification requirements. As a consequence, creativity—the very reason why competitions are held in the first place—has been seriously hampered.

It was therefore surprising to see the city of Trois-Rivières launch a competition when they had no legal obligation to do so. Even more surprising was the format selected: most patrons shy away from open competitions for fear of ending up with an inexperienced team. To mitigate this risk, the City of Trois-Rivières also hired a project management team (including engineers Groupement Dessau-Pluritec and theatre consultants Trizart Alliance) that would oversee the process leading to the building’s eventual construction.

The competition’s first phase received 47 entries. Three teams—Architem Wolff Shapiro Kuskowski architectes, Sid Lee Architecture/Pelland Leblanc architectes/Régis Côté et associés, and Paul Laurendeau Architect—were shortlisted. In April 2011, Laurendeau was declared the winner.

This was to be his second theatre project; the first (the Salle de spectacle Dolbeau-Mistassini) was also the outcome of an open competition.

Act Three: The Building

The strength of the design lies in its direct and simple approach. Seen from a distance, the theatre appears as an elegant minimalist roof rising

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The new amphitheatre hosts a crowd of spectators during a ZZ Top concert last summer; a 1930s view of the Canadian International Paper Mill Company, which formerly occupied the riverside site. OPPOSITE Supported atop eight slender columns, the roof tapers to a mere 25 mm thickness at its edges. LEFT The fly tower’s aluminum cladding is carefully composed into a striated pattern with three shades of red. BELOW The amphitheatre includes 3,500 fixed seats, with room for spillover audiences on a grassy slope beyond.

PREVIOUS SPREAD, LEFT TO RIGHT

over the St. Lawrence River. Supported by eight slender, 25-metre-high columns, the roof forms an inverted pyramid, six metres deep at the centre tapering to 25 mm at the edges. Although the open-air performance space is intended to operate from late spring to early fall, parts of the building are protected against the elements and will be occupied throughout the year.

The program is straightforward: a covered stage faces 3,500 fixed seats and space for up to 5,500 people on a grassy slope beyond. Spectators enter the amphitheatre directly from the outside. The bar, concessions, washrooms, and various support services are located under the seating area, accessed from a wide corridor that follows the curve of the seats above. During the off-season, a massive custom-made insulated door, acting as a curtain, closes the stage opening and protects the space from harsh weather conditions.

A two-level metal-and-glass volume, butting against the f ly tower, is accessed from the street and houses the double-height glazed foyer, the box office, a reception lounge and various administrative areas. Storage is backstage, as are the performers’ dressing rooms. The loading dock area is parallel to the north façade.

Black and cherry red are the only two colours used throughout this project; exposed concrete and brushed aluminium complete the palette.

The one exception to this restrained choice of colour is the aluminium siding used to clad the fly tower. Three shades of red were selected for the narrow vertical siding, custom-made to a non-standard profile.

The fly tower provides lateral stability to the 80-by-90-metre metallic roof structure. The remarkable roof, the building’s most striking feature, was developed with the help of engineer Serge Vézina, whose work underscores the design concept. The elegant structure he elaborated provides ample room for state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment as well as access walkways. Perforated metal panels—also in red—cover the entire underside of the roof. The effect of lights shimmering on this immense ceiling, particularly during concerts, adds another dimension of sophistication to this pristine project.

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Still to be finalized is the landscaping of the adjacent grounds, the design of which is entrusted to Montreal architect and urban designer Peter Soland. His task includes the placing of 13 supersized CLT letters—spelling “Trois-Rivières” in seven-metre-high wood elements— affirming the city’s identity from the St. Lawrence River.

Finally, there was a deliberate decision to limit parking facilities on the site. Taxis, buses and shuttles access the building freely, but patrons are encouraged to walk the short distance that links the amphitheatre to the downtown area.

Epilogue: The Future Neighbourhood

The inauguration in 2015 of such a strong—and uncompromising—architectural statement is cause for celebration. Laurendeau deserves high praise for it, and along with him a long list of engineers, theatre consultants (including his own advisor, Guy Simard), professionals working for the municipality, as well as current and past political leaders. Ultimately, it was Laurendeau’s attention to the most minute details and his resilience through the process that made this improbable gem a reality.

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COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP A view of the main meeting room; a bright red stairway maintains the project’s minimalist colour palette; chandeliers add sparkle to a lobby; a staff room on the upper level looks out towards the St. Lawrence River. OPPOSITE From the water, the red roof of the amphitheatre hovers over the site.

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ADRIEN WILLIAMS

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Looming on the horizon, however, is a major residential development just north of the amphitheatre, on either side of the somewhat oversized Avenue des Draveurs. As Trois-Rivières promotes this ambitious project, it is important that the city retains the coherency of its vision, which slowly worked its way from a mere dream in 2000 to today’s remarkable visual landmark.

As it stands, the building is already a powerful reminder that it is time for Quebec to return to the true spirit of competitions—as a tool for finding inventive solutions and nurturing talent from among all ages and ranks of architects.

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Odile Hénault is an architecture critic and a professional advisor who was involved in the first competitions organized by Quebec’s Department of Culture and Communications.

CLIENT VILLE DE TROIS-RIVIÈRES | ARCHITECT TEAM PAUL LAURENDEAU, FRANÇOIS BEAUCHESNE, ROBERT MAILHOT, BORIS MORIN-DEFOY, RENÉE-CLAUDE LANGLOIS, ERWAN LE DIRAISON, CLAUDE DE PASSILLÉ, GABRIEL OSTIGUY, MAXIME GERVAIS, NATHALIE LORD, ÉTIENNE PARADIS, JOANNIE DESROCHERS | STRUCTURAL STANTEC (FORMERLY DESSAU) AND PLURITEC | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL STANTEC (FORMERLY DESSAU) | INTERIORS PAUL LAURENDEAU ARCHITECT IN JOINT VENTURE WITH BEAUCHESNE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN | OWNER-BUILDER VILLE DE TROIS-RIVIÈRES | THEATRE CONSULTANT FOR THE ARCHITECT GUY SIMARD | THEATRE CONSULTANT FOR THE CLIENT TRIZART ALLIANCE | ACOUSTICS OCTAVE ACOUSTIQUE | LIGHTING GILLES ARPIN | CODE TECHNORM | AREA 14,000 M2 | BUDGET $42 M | COMPLETION JULY 2015

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Mill Woods Branch Library, Seniors’ Centre and Multicultural Facility, Edmonton, Alberta HCMA Architecture + Design and Dub Architects Ltd. in joint venture TEXT Cynthia Dovell PHOTOS Ema Peter PROJECT

ARCHITECTS

North America is filled with suburban shopping plazas. These spaces, geared toward automobiles, have no sidewalks and nothing to make people feel comfortable outside of their cars. The Mill Woods Town Centre plaza in the southern suburbs of Edmonton is one of these nonplaces. It contains a half empty 1970s-era mall surrounded by desolate asphalt and big box stores—all at least one parking lot away.

Luckily, the new Mill Woods Library, Seniors’ and Multicultural Centre by HCMA and Dub Architects takes this landscape and stitches a human-scale, social fabric back into its heart. Architects Darryl Condon, FRAIC, and Michael Dub, MRAIC, recall how the site in the middle of the plaza’s parking lot was once a grassy island. During initial site visits, they saw desire lines leading across the grass between an adjacent transit hub— the site’s major redeeming factor—and the various commercial and office buildings at the perimeter.

These informal trails made their way into the permanent urban design and landscaping of the new site, marked by flanking rows of native aspen trees. It’s an attitude to placemaking—working from the clues and opportunities at hand, however fleeting they may be—that pervades the project and gives it a human-oriented sensitivity.

The placemaking approach begins with the building’s unlikely pairing of programs, a quirk of municipal funding opportunities: it contains both a local branch of the Edmonton Public Library and a seniors’ multicultural activity centre. Several years ago, funding and the site had been slated for the library, once located within the mall. When it turned out that the local community was also in dire need of an expanded seniors facility, City Council mandated the pairing. The program is ref lected in the massing of the building—a rectangular mass that stands out

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An animated building section connects the upper level seniors’ centre to the library below, bringing glowing clerestory light into both spaces; a children’s play area is lowered to create a sense of enclosure. ABOVE, TOP TO BOTTOM Instead of permanent circulation desks, librarians work from desks that can be moved around the space in different configurations; a study box incorporates an infinity-effect artwork by realities:united.

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ABOVE LEFT The seniors’ centre is accessed from a generous lobby adjacent the main entry. The space is equipped with elevators and a wide staircase that lead directly to an upstairs reception and lounge area. ABOVE RIGHT A richly textural sculpture, in bronzed cast iron, by artist Jordi Bonet was installed on the outside of one of the library’s study boxes.

as a distinct volume on the flat site. It’s intended as an inversion of heaviness and lightness, solid and void. Black metal clads the upper volume of the rectangle, which houses the seniors’ centre, while the bottom consists of curtain wall glazing that rises and falls along the façade, according to the program needs of the library.

From the outside, the glazing at the north and south corners rises high to give the building a welcoming appearance. Landscaped paths funnel visitors to the main entry, located at their apex. It is marked not with a canopy, as one might expect, but instead with a vibrant bluetinted glazed vestibule.

The interior of the library furthers the study of contrasts that the building parti sets up. Expansion and compression, loud and quiet, powerful and intimate, mass and lightness—all of these elements can be felt in a sequence that both calms and excites.

Overall, the library is one large open space punctuated by a number of small, distinct activity areas. Generous, light-filled reading rooms occupy opposing corners, adjacent to a line of structure that crosses the building diagonally between them.

Smaller black-clad study boxes, reminiscent of the building’s exterior, are strategically arrayed to frame a variety of spaces on all sides. Inside the boxes, one can feel a sense of privacy while still remaining connected to the larger area outside.

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The architects worked closely with the Edmonton Arts Council to integrate public art pieces into two of the study boxes. Phantásien, a double-mirror installation created by realities:united, was commissioned specifically for the Mill Woods Library. Loosely inspired by the Michael Ende novel The Neverending Story, the piece creates a vibrantly coloured infinity effect, providing a surreal space for work, study and imagination. In contrast, a bronzed cast iron sculpture weighing over 10,000 lbs

by Montreal artist Jordi Bonet, acquired from a different library in the system, was anchored directly onto a separate box. Both pieces lend a distinctly playful and introspective quality to the space.

The building’s rectangular shape, which is so present on the exterior, is virtually imperceptible inside. The ceiling consists of angled planes that start high at the two corners, then lower in a series of layers as they move to the centre, following structural lines across the building. According to the architects, the design intention is to “disrupt the box” and emphasize the interface between the upper and lower volumes. They further broke up the volume by playing with the ground floor plane. The east and west corners, housing community and reading rooms, are lowered several steps, sinking them into a surrounding landscape of tall prairie grasses.

Similarly, out-of-the-box thinking can be seen in the Edmonton Public Library’s innovative operations. Mill Woods Library has everything modern—elements that all libraries desire, but that not many have the

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ABOVE The multipurpose room in the seniors’ centre is clad in rich wood tones. LEFT Hallways in the centre are wide enough to accommodate seating for dining, socializing and other activities. OPPOSITE Variations in the orientation of exterior cladding modules bring a play of textures to the façades.

budget or courage to take on. The circulation desk is virtually nonexistent, consisting of a few small tables on wheels that can be moved where needed. Visitors can walk a full 360 degrees around the area such that there is no inside and outside; you are always “inside” with the librarians. If staff area needs are further reduced in the future, the enclosed areas that house administrative functions can easily be repurposed and converted into social spaces.

A second door from the main entry vestibule leads to elevators and widened stairs accessing the seniors’ centre. One can immediately tell that you are in a distinct place. In contrast to the black, white and grey hues of the library, the seniors’ centre design incorporates a warm wood palette. A stunning milled wood mosaic—an abstraction of the Canadian prairie landscape by artist Destiny Swiderski—greets users, forming the backdrop to a living room-like lounge. Adjacent, a corridor wide enough to accommodate seating extends to the east and west ends of the centre, flanked by program rooms for art, games and other activities. Light beams in from both ends of this corridor, and additional glazing peeks down into the library, offering unexpected views. Above, a line of clerestory windows travels alongside the diagonal structure to let light deep into the centre of the building.

The new facility is a huge contrast to the seniors’ centre’s previous location—a cramped one-room space in a nearby community centre.

Part of the design team’s mandate involved imagining a new program for an anticipated, but undefined, larger membership. Pearl Bennett, executive director of the seniors’ centre, likens operating it to the experience of wearing a new dress—she’s getting tons of positive

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feedback, but is still getting used to the fit and is building confidence on how to maximize its potential.

There is no question in anyone’s mind with regard to the success of the building. Even before the official opening, Mill Woods Library received 30,000 visitors, and it anticipates half a million visits each year. Membership at the seniors centre has historically been capped at 250 people; the new centre boasts 600 members within just a few months of opening.

Both the library and seniors centre are proving to be vibrant, active places. Says Bennett, “The building is iconically beautiful. Its openness is so welcoming that it inspires people to be open and welcoming themselves. In the evenings, people come to sit and enjoy the space. They may not necessarily participate in the activities, but their presence in this space automatically makes them part of the community.” This is the stuff of placemaking that we architects all aspire to create in our work.

Cynthia Dovell, MRAIC, is the principal architect at AVID Architecture. She sits on the

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WITH OVER A MILLION VIEWS OF HIS ONLINE TED TALK, MICHAEL GREEN IS A LEADING— AND INCREASINGLY VOCAL—ADVOCATE FOR MASS TIMBER CONSTRUCTION. BUT IT’S NOT JUST TALK. TREVOR BODDY TAKES A LOOK INSIDE TWO RECENT BUILDINGS THAT POINT TO A FUTURE OF LARGER, TALLER WOOD STRUCTURES. PHOTOS

Ema Peter, unless otherwise noted

It can be a sticky business when prominent architects get overly associated with a single construction material. While he had an early career as a design critic and polemicist, in his later role as building-oriented architect Le Corbusier was a vocal champion of reinforced concrete, notably through his design for the Dom-Ino system for housing construction. But Dom-Ino was never applied in its pure form in his lifetime, and technically, Le Corbusier was not much of an innovator. The look, feel, associations and texture of his beloved béton brut were important to his architecture, especially the late works, but he was not personally disposed to—or skilled in—inventing new modes of construction.

Corbu was a genius not of technique, but rather of aesthetics— architecture students always presume more of his white villas are built of cast concrete than is actually the case. Contrast this with the buildings of his former employer: behind the neo-classical façades of Auguste Perret’s rue Franklin Apartments or the Théâtre des ChampsElysées, one finds true technical innovation. The same is true of Frank Lloyd Wright, who innovated in concrete because his designs demanded it, from the early Wisconsin warehouses to Fallingwater and the

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Located in Prince George, BC, the Wood Innovation and Design Centre showcases innovative techniques for building with mass timber.

Connections between columns, beams, floors and ceilings and carefully detailed to create a wood-on-wood aesthetic. ABOVE Cavities within the CLT floor section accommodate services. Floor chases are covered with an acoustic insulated subfloor with cut-out panels to provide access.

PREVIOUS SPREAD OPPOSITE

Guggenheim. Here in Canada, the formal repertoires and socially minded ambitions of Bing Thom, FRAIC, and Douglas Cardinal, FRAIC, prompted new building techniques and assemblies in wood, concrete, glass and brick.

It is not untoward to invoke the struggle between Corbu’s polemical writing and his built accomplishments in approaching the work and ideas of Vancouver’s Michael Green, FRAIC. No Canadian architect since Moshe Safdie, FRAIC, has risen into global prominence as blindingly fast. Michael Green has emerged as the apostle of wood, a charismatic Moses bringing forth tablets of CLT, GLT, NLT, MTP, and LSL as the carbon-sequestering solutions to the crisis of climate change. His powerful 2013 TED talk “Why We Should Build Wooden Skyscrapers” has been downloaded an astonishing 1,044,911 times— more video views, without doubt, than those from all other Canadian architects combined. Since his status as an advocate of wood is secure,

it is now time to look at some of his firm’s key finished constructions— as this polemicist is also very much a builder. But to better understand both modes, a note first on his biography and early portfolio.

Michael Green was born in 1966 in Baker Lake, Nunavut, where his Scottish-born father worked as an administrator after serving at Hudson’s Bay Company posts. The family relocated to Ottawa when he was a toddler. Green’s American-born mother’s family was Ivy Leaguelinked: grandfather Richard Bennett was the Yale School of Architecture chair who first hired Louis Kahn to teach there. Bennett’s wife divorced him and re-married a Cornell historian; Green followed family links to begin his architecture studies there in 1984. An indifferent student, his undergraduate passions were mountaineering and ice-climbing; his Cornell design thesis was an indoor climbing centre. Upon graduation in 1989 he followed his girlfriend (and future wife and mother of his two children) to Yale for her doctoral studies.

WOOD INOVATION DESIGN CENTRE — CONSTRUCTION PROCESS DIAGRAM

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The stair core walls are built from CLT panels, contributing to the lateral load resistance of the structure. ABOVE Throughout the facility, thickened columns and beams allow for a degree of inherent fire resistance, because large timber elements char at a slow and predictable rate. The charred layer serves to insulate the relatively cool core, allowing each member to continue carrying the required structural load to achieve a one-hour fire resistance rating.

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Green spent eight years working with Cesar Pelli in his then New Haven-based firm, which included design work on the Washington National (now Ronald Reagan) Airport main terminal, Olympia and York’s office towers in London’s docklands, and a college building for Grinnell, Iowa. After his wife received her first academic appointment at Simon Fraser University, Green started work at Vancouver’s Architectura, where he gained more experience with airport design, notably as a key designer for Ottawa International Airport (produced in association with BBB), which required moving back to his old hometown for several years to see the first phase into construction.

Green declined to follow when that firm was sold to Stantec, and used the proceeds of his associate’s shares to found his own practice, joined by Architectura colleagues Steve McFarlane, FRAIC, and Michelle Biggar. During the 10 years of McFarlane Green Biggar (MGB), the firm grew in prominence, notably with a lauded addition to North Vancouver City Hall and a major expansion of the Prince

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George Airport (itself a set-piece in the innovative use of wood).

In 2012, Green split with his partners (who have since re-named themselves office of mcfarlane biggar, or omb) and formed a sole proprietorship as Michael Green Architecture, or MGA. With hip Gastown studios and a staff of 24, the MGA office reminds me of Bjarke Ingels Group’s West Chelsea Manhattan studios—where everyone is clever, good-looking and young. Frankly, both firms could use a few crusty old captains of construction to take pressure off their rock-star principals, who are currently obliged to be at the centre of everything designed, detailed, managed, written, promoted or spoken from their respective offices.

Michael Green’s wood construction skills began with summers on Vermont house-building sites, then deepened with the restoration of his own 1855 Greek Revival house in New Haven. He says, “there was virtually no wood used in Pelli’s designs” while he worked there.

While the first phase of the Ottawa airport under Architectura had

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WIDC ’s primary structure is an innovative combination of post and beam construction with built-up cross-laminated timber (CLT ) floor

panels. Glulam beams frame into glulam columns using proprietary aluminium dovetail Pitzl connectors. This allows columns to run continuously from the foundation to the roof, eliminating all cross-grain bearing and shrinkage. Steel connectors are embedded and concealed within the timber elements, which provide the required fire resistance rating. The entire building core, including elevator shaft and exit stairs, is constructed of CLT. The floor assembly is a staggered panel system consisting of overlapping 3-ply upper CLT panels on 5-ply or 7-ply lower CLT panels, joined with HSK epoxy and metal mesh connectors to form a fully composite corrugated structural section. Spanning six metres between the post and beam frames, this wood-only floor system was selected to minimize the use of concrete (and thus weight). The corrugated CLT floor system provides significant acoustic separation while allowing services to be run in the alternating floor and ceiling chases, while the beauty of the wood structure remains exposed.

quite limited use of wood, he convinced clients that the second phase (produced under the direction of his own firm, in association with J.L. Richards Architects) should include glulam structure in the main departure hall. He also pushed for wood to surround the departure gates for arctic destinations—a gesture to his treeless birthplace. It was not easy, according to Green. “We couldn’t find a mill who would take on re-planing the BC fir from an old hangar on site,” he recalls.

When Green arrived in Vancouver in 1997, there was already an advanced wood design scene emerging around architects Bing Thom FRAIC, Peter Busby FRAIC, Florian Maurer MRAIC, Larry McFarland FRAIC, John and Patricia Patkau FRAIC, engineers Paul Fast, Gerry Epp, Robert Malczyk, Eric Karsh and manufacturers StructureCraft of Delta and Structurlam of Penticton. While still at MGB, Green got intrigued with the possibilities of mass timber high-rise construction—buildings of 20 storeys and more—and formed a friendship with trail-blazing British timber architect Andrew Waugh. MGB and consultants lined up essential research and publication support funding from some of Canada’s wood industry organizations, and in 2012 co-authored

The primary building structural system for Vancouver’s Ronald McDonald House is a tilt-up cross-laminated timber (CLT ) wall panel system with infill wood I-joists supporting plywood decking. Laminated strand lumber (LSL) floor ledgers support the joists, decking and a two-inch concrete topping (which accommodates radiant heating). The structural system employs CLT wall panels in a balloon frame application, an innovation over more typical platform construction. Used as wall elements, CLT panels provide both vertical and lateral stability in one detail. CLT panels and connections were pre-fabricated off-site and assembled quickly by crane, reducing construction time compared with other methods. The dimensional stability of the CLT panels provides a solid stable backup for the brick façade, minimizing differential movement between the façade and building structure.

the publication “The Case for Tall Wood Buildings” with engineer of choice and frequent collaborator Eric Karsh of Equilibrium Consulting.

With this, the lecture invitations poured in and his career took off.

Wood Innovation Design Centre, Prince George In 2013, the British Columbia government announced a competition for a design-build project demonstrating high-rise wood construction in downtown Prince George. MGA, Equilibrium as engineers and PCL Construction as builders won the $25.1 million PPP contract. However, the commission came with onerous conditions: rigorous testing and documentation requirements for its emerging building technologies, and a timeframe of only 15 months for design and construction, with significant penalties for delays. (An incoming class for the University of Northern British Columbia’s wood engineering program needed the space.)

If there is another Canadian building so technically innovative, so powerful in its built arguments to the rest of our industry, achieved with such architectural finesse, and completed in a shorter time than the Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC), I do not know it. Upon

OPPOSITE TOP Vancouver’s Ronald McDonald House is built using tilt-up CLT wood panels. The exterior is clad with grey iron-spot brick, complementing the residential forms and materials of the surrounding neighbourhood. OPPOSITE BOTTOM The design includes generous outdoor and indoor common areas, composed in a mature contemporary aesthetic. Dormer assemblies for the apartments were pre-fabricated off-site and dropped in by crane.

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topping out a year ago at 30 metres (measured from concrete foundation to roof), WIDC was the tallest mass timber tower in the world. WIDC’s architects and engineers designed components for functionality in a tower at least twice that tall; the height limit was set by funding availability and program space needs, not structural capabilities.

Taller all-wood towers are soon to be completed, but this remains one of the most handsome office buildings Western Canada has seen in years. WIDC’s eight storeys (officially six, plus a mezzanine and a penthouse) required a site-specific revision of the BC Building Code for non-residential construction. The building’s program was an improvised and evolving one, mainly devoted to a new University of Northern British Columbia wood engineering program, wood-oriented design programs for Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and offices related to the provincial forestry industry. By virtue of both its program and construction, the Wood Innovation and Design Centre is very much a demonstration project.

Being a demonstration project means that many design details exist to show possibilities—there is a strong rhetorical dimension to this tower.

For example, Green decided against the skiff of concrete that is typical for the upper floors of mass timber buildings “for purity and buildability reasons—mainly to avoid a ‘wet trade.’” By limiting concrete forming trades to the foundation, the design would demonstrate the rapidity of erecting mass timber structures using drop-in dry elements, many of them milled off-site. As well, a concrete floor was not needed for structural reasons, and the flexibility of CLT floor plates of varying thicknesses made for easy in-floor provision of sprinkler, electrical and network connections.

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Duct space was minimized through the use of perimeter heating and management of air movement via Jaga units with micro-fins.

MGA’s all-wood construction created significant challenges for acoustics, especially since many of the spaces were classrooms requiring UNBC’s high sound isolation standards—to boot, there is a noisy wood shop off the main lobby. MGA had to work closely with engineers and builders, developing new details and establishing their worth in testing.

A similar set of issues informed the structural connections between columns, beams and CLT floor plates. While some high-rise wood towers use standard platform framing, MGA elected for wood-on-wood connections, capitalizing on wood’s vertical dimensional stability.

(Horizontally, trees and columns shrink back to their cores with extended drying—cross-laminated composites such as CLT balance wood’s strengths and weaknesses.)

Engineer Eric Karsh dubs the metal connectors, seats and braces often used in North American mass timber construction “pots and pans connections.” Codes require that metal wood-to-wood connectors be fire-separated, meaning that many of these visually interesting building elements have to be bulked up and hidden within enclosures.

WIDC’s approach to connections takes advantage of a key virtue of mass timber construction—the time-tested principle of “charring” as a code-acceptable equivalent to ensure structural integrity during fires. (The outside layer of wood burns away, but there is enough residual structural strength in the remainder to ensure stability.) The WIDC metal connections—blades, seats, braces—are thus set within the columns and beams, which remain proudly exposed.

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Fluid connections join the brick-clad exterior areas and wood-lined interiors throughout the facility. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT Each grouping of aggregated apartments includes its own kitchen and dining area; play features such as miniature wooden houses and a tube slide that can be used in lieu of the staircase are integrated in the design.

OPPOSITE

This means a clean wood-on-wood aesthetic, with most of the structural connections hidden out of sight. The glowing all-wood clarity of the column and beam connections is one of WIDC’s finest interior features. “Our design solutions are driven by technical reasons, but we are also interested in the aesthetic, the beauty that emerges out of that kind of thinking,” says Green. Similarly, the sets of exit scissor stairs made of exposed CLT are an unexpected delight. Here’s hoping that smart manufacturers soon follow Green’s lead to mass produce all-wood versions of banal necessities such as exit stairs, rendering the architectural surroundings more sensuous for those healthy extra flights.

On the exterior of the tower, MGA alternated panels of naturally aging cedar with charred surfaces of the same. The latter employs the traditional Japanese technique of shou sugi ban, which in theory creates a low-maintenance surface with some f lame resistance. A commonsense strategy regarding the placement of fenestration sets the highest ratio of glazing on the south and east elevations (for light and early-day heat), the least on the north (to reduce radiant heat loss) and west (where late-day heat gain is an issue). The variability of the curtain wall glass and alternation of charred with natural wood create a crisply dynamic presence in downtown Prince George.

WIDC should become a pilgrimage point for every Canadian architect interested in the new possibilities of wood. When it comes to a true appreciation of the substance of architecture, one site visit is worth 1,044,911 page views. However, a bit like the most brilliant but least known of Le Corbusier’s villas—the Maison Curutchet in La Plata, Argentina—WIDC ’s geographic isolation may keep many away.

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Ronald McDonald House, Vancouver If by the nature of its commissioning WIDC is polemical—a series of arguments and explorations in favour of mass timber construction— the 73 apartments of the Ronald McDonald House near Vancouver’s Children’s and Women’s Hospital complex is equally inventive, but understated. Here wood is a means, not an end.

Run as non-profit facilities independent of the fast food purveyor, Ronald McDonald Houses provide lodging for the families of young patients for periods ranging from a few days to a year and longer. Most of the families who stay here hail from the Canadian North and B.C. Interior, and kitchens and laundry facilities are provided so a semblance of family life can continue while ailing children receive treatment nearby.

There are Ronald McDonald Houses all over the continent, and many opt for a shiny happy look that does little to reduce the stress of resident parents and siblings—more likely increasing it by forcing them to live in comic book-coloured rooms. I have been a long-time skeptic of the happiness industry—those books and corporate stratagems intended to render us pleasant and positive. Nothing makes this architecture critic happier than innovative architecture of substance that serves its clients and communities. Vancouver’s Ronald McDonald House makes me happy.

With its Nordic-seeming grey iron-spot brick catching light in all conditions, its boxed dormers nodding to French residential vernacular, and its tightly honed layouts in plan and section, the first quality that comes to mind about the MGA design is not forced happiness but “dignity.” To appreciate the design accomplishment here, one must push past

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RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE — CONSTRUCTION PROCESS DIAGRAM

the Ronald McDonald rubric. This is serious architecture for a serious purpose: enriching and making more peaceful the lives of families so they can support their sick children.

One of the cleverest aspects of the design is how it balances the iconography of the wooden house as a place of refuge with the task of forging a sense of community for over 200 ever-changing residents. A key means to this balance is found in Ronald McDonald House’s section, with shared amenities and gardens on the ground floor, topped by four brick-clad “houses” of aggregated apartments for families. Each of the “houses” has a communal kitchen and dining room on the first floor; a complete ring of corridors linking them encourages intermingling.

This allows for efficiencies of operation, although it has the side effect of creating long, unfortunately hospital corridor–­like vistas. Crucial to the social and visual success of this public floor are the lush plantings, water elements, amphitheatre and play structures of the landscape design, with general garden layouts by MGA and detailed landscape design by Vancouver’s PWL Partnership.

With upper-middle-class houses across the street, Green’s residential iconography is displaced through its rare-in-Vancouver use of brick (minimal maintenance was paramount) and a strange-making use of rare grey brick. These choices combine for a masterstroke of neighbourhood accommodation without imitation. Patterned brickwork appears on some walls; MGA is evidently as interested in experimenting with masonry as it is with wood. Green and team have designed variety into the residential units, and there are television lounges, games rooms and more intimate outside decks to complete the rich range of social spaces in the building.

Other than the ceiling of the large, living room-like entrance hall and a bridge at one end, the CLT construction is not visible. This strategic decision was facilitated by Eric Karsh of Equilibrium Consulting (engineers for both MGA projects reviewed here, as well as for Perkins+Will’s UBC Earth Sciences complex and other large CLT constructions in Vancouver). Current codes and operational needs conspire against seeing wooden walls and f loors, explaining Green’s need at WIDC to show how it might be done. For example, interior wallboard could have been eliminated at Ronald McDonald House by adding two layers of wood to the CLT wall panels (for dimensional stability, CLT panels always need to be an odd number of layers)

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on the principle of char-equivalency, but there would have been a prohibitive cost in both materials and in a sacrifice of f loor area.

Ronald McDonald House uses tilt-up assembly for its CLT walls; each panel is assembled horizontally then levered up into place, exactly like tilt-up concrete. Nonetheless, the trades bidding for the contract had to be actively educated in how simple this unusual procedure for wood construction could be. The boxed dormers were pre-fabricated off-site, and then dropped into position by crane.

WIDC and Ronald McDonald House represent the leading edge of West Coast architecture. They are much more the true inheritors of the values of the Case Study Houses, Ron Thom, and Fred Hollingsworth than is Canada’s cubic fungus of Neo-Modern villas growing to fill our every wooded glen. There is something inevitable about Vancouver being the point of confluence for fusing the multi-unit housing and offices of a sustainable city with the most carbon-friendly construction system imaginable: wood.

As this article goes to press, the piled wooden boxes of the Herzog and de Meuron proposal for the Vancouver Art Gallery has just been announced. In an interview on CBC radio, Green congratulated the high-profile choice of wood, but questioned the specific design choices.

The proposed design uses wood as a veneer on a concrete tower—a veneer that may well need to be preserved under glass. It’s a far cry from MGA’s integral use of the material.

By virtue of having already designed a city hall, airport terminal and office building before turning 50, Michael Green is uniquely positioned to get around Canada’s ultra-conservative commissioning practices (you have to have already designed a building type to get to design one; architectural styles are not to be invented but meekly imitated or imported) that hamper the careers of some of our key emerging designers, and blocks a needed generational renewal.

Those seemingly all-concrete Corbusian villas were no less enthralling to my students after they came to understand their construction is actually hybrid. Similarly, the differing approaches to mass timber construction in WIDC and Ronald McDonald House are proof that Michael Green is more than a polemicist with a popular TED talk, but a widely talented architect working his way up the rock walls of a major career.

Trevor Boddy’s exhibition Rethink: Behind San Diego’s Skyline runs all fall, and his text for City-Builder: The Architecture of James K. M. Cheng will be published in early 2016.

PROJECT WOOD INNOVATION AND DESIGN CENTRE, PRINCE GEORGE, BC | CLIENT PROVINCE

OF BRITISH COLUMBIA—MINISTRY OF JOBS, TOURISM, AND SKILLS TRAINING | ARCHITECTS MGA— MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE | ARCHITECT TEAM MICHAEL GREEN, MINGYUK CHEN, CARLA SMITH, SENG TSOI, KRISTALEE BERGER, ALFONSO BONILLA, JORDAN VAN DIJK, GUADALUPE FONT, ADRIENNE GIBBS, JACQUELINE GREEN, ASHER DEGROOT, SOO HAN, KRISTEN JAMIESON, VUK KRCMAR-GRKAVAC, ALEXANDER KOBALD, SINDHU MAHADEVAN, MARIA MORA | STRUCTURAL EQUILIBRIUM CONSULTING INC.| MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL MMM GROUP LTD. | CONTRACTOR PCL CONSTRUCTORS WESTCOAST INC. | FIRE CHM FIRE CONSULTANTS LTD. | ACOUSTIC AERCOUSTICS ENGINEERING LTD. | CODE B.R. THORSON CONSULTING LTD. | AREA 4,820 M2 | BUDGET $25.1 M (TOTAL PROJECT COST, EXCLUDING COST OF LAND) / $16.7 M (CONSTRUCTION HARD COSTS) | COMPLETION OCTOBER 2014

PROJECT RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE BC & YUKON, VANCOUVER, BC | CLIENT RONALD MCDONALD

HOUSE BRITISH COLUMBIA & YUKON | ARCHITECTS PROJECT COMMENCED BY MCFARLANE GREEN BIGGAR ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN, COMPLETED BY MGA—MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE | ARCHITECT TEAM MICHAEL GREEN, JUSTIN BENNETT, NATALIE TELEWIAK, MINGYUK CHEN, KRISTEN JAMIESON, ASHER DEGROOT, JORDAN VANDIJK, NICK FOSTER, ADAM JENNINGS, SENG TSOI, JING XU, SUSAN SCOTT | STRUCTURAL EQUILIBRIUM CONSULTING INC.| MECHANICAL AME CONSULTING GROUP LTD. | ELECTRICAL APPLIED ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS LTD. | LANDSCAPE PWL PARTNERSHIP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS INC. | INTERIORS MGA—MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE | CONTRACTOR ITC CONSTRUCTION GROUP | CIVIL APLIN & MARTIN CONSULTANTS LTD. | GEOTECHNICAL EXP SERVICES INC. | COST CHERITON MANAGEMENT INC. | CODE GHL CONSULTANTS LTD. | BUILDING ENVELOPE RDH BUILDING ENGINEERING LTD. | ACOUSTIC BKL CONSULTANTS LTD. | SUSTAINABILITY KANE CONSULTING PARTNERSHIP | WAYFINDING MGA | OWNER REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW WADE | AREA 8,361 M2 | BUDGET $24 M | COMPLETION JULY 2014

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BRING IN THE LIGHT TEXT

Elsa Lam Courtesy of Velux, unless otherwise noted

PHOTOS

A TWO-DAY SYMPOSIUM IN LONDON, ENGLAND, HIGHLIGHTS CURRENT RESEARCH AND TOOLS RELATED TO DESIGNING WITH DAYLIGHT. It’s common sense to architects: better daylighting makes for better buildings. But then it quickly gets more complex. Does more daylight make people healthier? Can those effects be scientifically traced and quantified? Should minimum daylight levels in buildings be legislated?

How is daylight best measured?

Those topics swirled throughout the two-day Velux Daylight Symposium held this fall in London, England. Manufacturer Velux sponsored the gathering, although their roof windows were barely mentioned in the presentations by research scientists, architects and lighting designers. There was too much else to discuss.

“Daylighting spans from neuroscience to social science—it is no longer just about design,” said moderator Florence Lam, director of lighting design with Arup.

On the neuroscience end, the visual effects of light are well documented.

Healthcare designers, for instance, often cite the idea that views of nature can improve health outcomes. “Our emotions and instincts are firmly rooted in living outside and observing the natural world,” explained Nick Baker,

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ABOVE Conference attendees enjoy talks in the naturally lit and ventilated Tobacco Dock, a former warehouse in the Docklands area of East London, England.

researcher at Cambridge University. Reviewing dozens of papers about what is seen from windows, he concluded that “daylight is more highly valued when associated with views of nature,” because these views carry complex information that human brains are eager to observe and process.

Researchers have also been studying the non-visual effects of light— that is, the way light simultaneously transmits information directly to receptors in the brain, bypassing the visual cortex. “Before our eyes register ‘oh, the sky is changing colour,’ our genes are affected,” said interior designer Deborah Burnett. Light is tied to our bodies’ melatonin production, along with affecting an alphabet soup of compounds, such as serotonin and dopamine. The most well known result is the regulation of the circadian system, which dictates the timing and quality of sleep. But these compounds are also related to a host of other effects, including tumour suppression and mood.

Arne Lowden, a researcher from Stockholm University, noted that over half of Swedes suffer from seasonal affective disorder, tied to working indoors during the region’s short winter days. Increased exposure

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to natural daylight, even by just 30 minutes a day, helps alleviate their circadian strain. “Extending natural daylight exposure seems to be an effective countermeasure to ill health,” said Lowden.

If daylight exposure is generally beneficial for health, exposure to artificial light carries attendant dangers. The LEDs that illuminate our electronic devices, in particular, can throw our circadian rhythms off, as our bodies are particularly sensitive to blue wavelengths of light.

In cities and beyond, light pollution is also common. “We’ve lost touch with real night and real darkness,” observed writer Paul Bogard.

What does this mean for designers? Or as one architect at the symposium put it, “How do you know where to put a hole in the wall?” At the basic level, there are some obvious planning choices, according to Victoria Revell, senior project manager at Surrey Clinical Research Centre.

Blackout blinds on timers can help with regulating wake times. Daylight is particularly important in homes for the elderly, to help combat daytime somnolence. Red-tinted night lights—as well as screen settings for electronic devices—are preferable for evening use.

The type and quality of light is also important. Designers tend to work with light intuitively, but increasingly can wield sophisticated tools. Lighting designer Arne Hülsman described early years when his office included an artificial sky room, within which models could be placed and photographed to understand daylighting dynamics.

Now, advanced computer simulations do the same job. “Clients do not understand numbers, but they connect with models and simulations,” he said. He’s consulted on projects including the glassy Hamburg airport, which incorporates a glare-cutting dynamic shading system, as well as a Velux model home in Germany, equipped with generous glazing for gathering 6% more daylight than the norm.

Architect Yehao Song referred to Chinese vernacular architecture for cues on how to balance between daylight, heating and cooling in his

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YEHAO SONG

CODY MCCULLOUGH ROSE

CODY MCCULLOUGH ROSE

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ABOVE LEFT Two views of an interactive city modeling system, developed by the MIT Sustainable Design Lab, that gives realtime feedback about daylight penetration. ABOVE A barn-like commercial space by Chinese architect Yehao Song uses colourful skylights for a playful touch.

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Two views of an interior with sun tunnels, rendered with Velux’s Daylight Visualizer software.

ABOVE AND LEFT

contemporary designs. There are many climate zones in China, he pointed out, each with its own particularities. For a duck pavilion in Beijing, which has hot, humid summers, he paired skylights with a wind tower to encourage natural ventilation. For a barn-like building in the temperate Guizhou province, he employed local craftsmen to create woven rattan façade panels that could be layered in different ways. The panels serve as sunshading over windows and are strategically placed to modulate solar gain over the rest of the façade. Skylights were given a playful touch with coloured films, creating a rainbow of light across the interior.

Tech-savvy architects can take advantage of several advanced tools for daylight design. The Velux Daylight Visualizer, a free download, produces renderings as well as analytics from imported CAD and SketchUp models. Its lead developer, Henrik Jensen, explained that particular care was taken to ensure that light coming through sun tunnels—with their

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ref lective internal surfaces—was accurately simulated. The tool is a pared-down version of Luxion’s KeyShot, a rendering engine that is widely used in product design (most of the images in your Ikea catalogue were rendered using KeyShot, said Jensen). This software could prove valuable for architects and interior designers, particularly for its sophistication in rendering translucent materials.

Christopher Reinhart of the MIT Sustainable Design Lab brought the discussion to an urban scale. His research group developed tools to efficiently analyze daylight penetration at a neighbourhood level. Their prototypes dispel the notion that increased density necessarily results in reduced daylight. “Depending on the typology, you can get floor areas up to 25 FAR with good daylight conditions,” Reinhart said. To make their research more interactive, they’ve prototyped a city-building Lego board, with interactive projections that inform builders how their designs measure up in terms of walkability, daylighting potential and embodied energy use.

Ultimately, one of the most convincing arguments for the value of daylighting was the venue itself, a space flooded with natural light.

Tobacco Dock, in East London’s Docklands, was constructed in 1811 as a warehouse, and converted into a shopping centre in 1990. The centre never took off, and now, it serves as a film set and event venue.

Overhead, oak beams supported a vaulted roof with a continuous line of glass lanterns. The event team added white fabric baffles, cutting glare and allowing for projection screens to function in co-existence with the natural light. It was a refreshing contrast to the stuffy, windowless rooms that are the norm for conferences. The sunlight made it feel good to be there. In the end, isn’t that what it comes down to?

Research for this article was conducted during a trip sponsored by Velux. Velux did not review or approve the content of this article.

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AWARDS OF EXCELLLENCE

AND THE WINNERS ARE… Join us for the inaugural Canadian Architect Awards Presentation at The Buildings Show. Be among the first to view the winning projects from the 2015 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence and to toast the winners.

DECEMBER 2, 2015 KEILHAUER KEYNOTE THEATRE METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE, NORTH BUILDING AWARDS CEREMONY AT 4:30 PM RECEPTION AT 5:30 PM WWW.IIDEXCANADA.COM/2015/ PROGRAM/EVENTS

Saint-Jérome Performance Hall, by Atelier TAG + Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes in consortium, winner of a 2014 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence.

Rendering: Doug & Wolf

SPONSORED BY

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BOOKS

TORONTO’S NEW CITY HALL AND NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUARE: DESIGN PROCESS, PRODUCT AND LEGACY TEXT

Aliki Economides

PANDA PHOTOGRAPHY

*

TWO ARCHITECTURAL MONOGRAPHS COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF TORONTO CITY HALL AND REVISIT THE LANDMARK COMPETITION THAT LED TO ITS ICONIC DESIGN.

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ARTHUR JAMES

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OPPOSITE Viljo Revell’s competition-winning design for Toronto City Hall and Square marked a key moment for Canadian architecture, with impacts that resonated globally. ABOVE In Revell’s elegant design, a reinforced concrete dome houses the Council Chamber and is framed by two curved office towers.

Competing Modernisms: Toronto’s New City Hall and Square

By George T. Kapelos. Halifax: Dalhousie Architectural Press, 2015.

Civic Symbol: Creating Toronto’s New City Hall, 1952-1966

By Christopher Armstrong. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015.

Officially inaugurated on September 13, 1965, Toronto’s City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square are a stunning pair: an iconic landmark in the city and a highly successful public plaza. The story of how this civic complex was realized offers a revealing glimpse into the socio-cultural and urban character of Toronto during the postwar years of its metropolitanization. More broadly, the competition that drew over 500 entries from 42 different countries and the winning scheme by Finnish architect Viljo Revell signals a key moment in the development of Modern architecture in Canada—and illuminates the state of international architectural culture in the late 1950s. Marking the 50th anniversary of Toronto City Hall’s opening, two monographs focus on the complex and on the competition leading to it, from complementary perspectives.

In Civic Symbol: Creating Toronto’s New City Hall, 1952-1966, historian and emeritus professor Christopher Armstrong describes Toronto in the 1940s and 50s from firsthand experience as well as based on archival research. He provides a behind-the-scenes account of the politics that drove—and threatened—the civic centre’s coming into being. Tensions ran high between the ambitions of local politicians, planners and architects who promoted the idea of an international competition and others who resisted what was perceived as radical change. Armstrong adopts

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a critical stance towards what he terms the “underlying currents of backwardness and timidity” and the “local protectionism” exhibited by various groups, including the Ontario Association of Architects.

Ultimately, the initiative was approved, and Civic Symbol discusses the pivotal role played by University of Toronto architecture professor Eric Arthur in designing the two-stage competition and selecting the cosmopolitan jury. Peppered with amusing anecdotes, the chronological account goes on to delve into the deliberations leading to the selection of the winning scheme. A biographical portrait of Revell follows, including a reflection on the toll the project ultimately took on his physical and financial well-being.

Armstrong does not shy away from discussing the more than usual number of problems associated with the construction phase, and also devotes a chapter to the contentious issue of the furnishings for the city hall. Civic Symbol concludes with an overview of the impressive opening ceremony and the public’s response, as well as recounting some problems encountered after the building opened.

As the book’s title announces, Armstrong’s narrative ultimately trumpets the somewhat surprising triumph of mayor Nathan Phillips’ vision to build a city hall that would be “a symbol of Toronto [and a] source of pride and pleasure to its citizens.”

While Armstrong offers a detailed discussion of the project’s local impact, architect and architectural historian George T. Kapelos situates the open competition for Toronto’s New City Hall and Square within the broader contexts of national and international architecture culture.

Competing Modernisms: Toronto’s New City Hall and Square focuses on the unprecedented global interest that the competition generated.

More than half of the book is devoted to the competition results, and

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BOOKS

PANDA PHOTOGRAPHY, DESIGN BY F. F. P. MOORE

*

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The cover of The Canadian Architect from April 1959. The issue discussed the winning design along with many other entries in the competition.

LEFT Australian architect John Andrews’ shortlisted entry included an intricate roof and both summer and winter squares. OPPOSITE A view of City Hall and Civic Square shortly after opening day.

PANDA PHOTOGRAPHY

*

ABOVE

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ARTHUR JAMES

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includes useful tables providing statistics about the entries received. The book also offers descriptive analyses of the eight finalists, as well as concise commentaries on a selection of 23 Canadian entries and an overview of 27 submissions from international architects. Together, this material demonstrates the experimental approaches—or “competing Modernisms”—taken to the design of public space in the postwar period.

In his introductory essay, Kapelos discusses architectural competitions in Canada and Toronto’s daring in procuring the design of a civic centre through this means. He relates Eric Arthur’s competition brief to postwar, C.I.A.M.-influenced debates concerning the direction of Modern architecture. Many international competitions at the time stressed the importance of public spaces designed to serve and express the public life of the city.

Kapelos offers a synthetic analysis of the entries’ variations in form, approach to public space, and evident influences. The typology of municipal buildings, asserts Kapelos, is an indicator of a city’s functional needs and symbolic aspirations. He compares Toronto’s civic project to other Canadian city halls in order to better contextualize the radicalness of Toronto’s competition process and the winning scheme.

Competing Modernisms convincingly demonstrates that within Canada, Toronto’s 1958 competition had a “seismic and enduring impact” on future developments. Not only did it spark important debates on the meaning of public buildings and on the place of competitions in commissioning them, but it also cultivated the acceptance of Modernist architecture as an appropriate style for major civic projects. Moreover, it raised expectations for the quality of urban public space. Drawing an arc of influence

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that extends far beyond the city proper, this book makes a larger claim for Toronto City Hall’s participation in the cultivation of a national identity.

Demonstrating a meticulous study of archival materials, both monographs attend to the civic mindedness and democratic ideals that characterized the design process—and the designed product—of Toronto’s civic centre. They demonstrate that Toronto’s competition not only transformed the image of the city, marking its entry onto the world stage, but was also a significant event within the global architectural community.

These publications do much to synthesize and make available the existing archival record. Let’s hope they stimulate further research and ref lection on the civic phenomenon that is Toronto’s New City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square, on architectural competitions in the 20th and 21st centuries, and on architecture’s communicative role in the construction of collective identity.

Book authors George Kapelos and Christopher Armstrong co-curated the exhibition

Shaping Canadian Modernity: The 1958 Toronto City Hall and Square Competition and its Legacy, displayed at Ryerson University’s Paul H. Cocker Gallery from September 1 to October 9, 2015.

Aliki Economides received her Ph.D. from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 2015, and is currently teaching at the Université de Montréal’s École d’architecture. * Reprinted from The Canadian Architect, April 1959 ** Reprinted from The Canadian Architect, April 1965

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BOOKS

A View from the Porch: Rethinking Home and Community Design

Architecture’s New Edges

By Avi Friedman. Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2015.

By Peter Busby. Vancouver: Ecotone Publishing, 2015.

Over several decades, architect, professor and newspaper columnist Avi Friedman has been considering the evolution and future of Canadian residential developments. His latest book is a series of vignette-like essays that look at myriad aspects of the home—from the history of mass-produced housing to the introduction of decking made of recycled plastic.

Friedman’s reflections take us around the globe, with stops including his childhood town in Israel, a single family house in China, the appliance section of the Dallas Home Show, and a bustling bazaar in Istanbul. However, his stories unfailingly return to a singular focus: the North American house.

For many reasons—but principally for its lack of human scale—Friedman is critical of the ubiquitous car-oriented suburb. But instead of an outright condemnation, he explores the source of the problem, diving into the economic and social reasons for the suburb’s emergence in the postwar period and its continued proliferation today.

He also looks at alternatives: from the dense, flexibly configured row houses in his hometown of Montreal, to developments that are innovating on suburban norms. The small community of Senneville, Quebec, for instance, is implementing design guidelines to preserve its historic character. An entrepreneur in Cornwall, Ontario, is rehabilitating a series of abandoned industrial buildings into apartments. A pair of retired architects is transforming a 100-acre lot near Quebec City into a model sustainable development where trees matter as much as houses.

In each case, Friedman approaches his subject with a warm, personal tone that makes this book an accessible and thoroughly enjoyable read.

Peter Busby’s latest monograph, Architecture’s New Edges, describes an architectural legacy initiated in the 1970s when high-tech building savvy met ecological stewardship. From his early modular kiosk experiments to the cityscale urban plans he has developed since merging with Perkins+Will, Busby’s oeuvre reveals an evolving investment in technological innovation.

The text oscillates between two modes of writing: one philosophical and autobiographical, the other factual and institutional.

In chapter introductions, Busby provides a lessons-learned account of his practice and experience in the field. Other texts, accompanied by photographs and diagrams, describe an impressive array of projects. Both modes are organized around catch phrases that embody a generation of design ideals—corporate responsibility, whole systems thinking, regenerative design, and so on.

While rich in photographs, diagrams and texts, the book is slim on plans and sections, making it difficult to evaluate Busby’s projects on their own merits. This doesn’t prevent the book from being read as testament to an era of architectural innovation.

The anthology’s description of how subterranean heat pumps, gasifiers and bioswales The deployment of subterranean heat pumps, gasifiers and bio-swales were deployed in various projects provides evidence that what were once seemingly outlandish and utopian ideas are now commonplace tools that help define current architectural aspirations.

Elsa Lam is editor of Canadian Architect.

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Mark Woytiuk is a Vancouver-based writer and architectural researcher.

Community-Inspired Housing in Canada Edited by Daniel Pearl and Daniel Wentz. Zürich: Holcim Foundation, 2014.

The recent federal election drew some attention to the impact that Canadians are having on the health of our planet—though, many would argue, not enough. Conversations on the subject focused on oil, pipelines, transit infrastructure and jobs in the so-called “green economy.”

Largely ignored were the negative effects of our day-to-day lifestyles. Per capita, Canadians are among the world’s top 15 producers of greenhouse gas emissions, with the built environment an important contributor to this reality.

In this context, it is all the more valuable to study projects where sustainability has been successfully sought. Community-Inspired Housing in Canada is a worthwhile place to begin this process. Focused on the redevelopment of Montreal’s Benny Farm, a 1940s social housing complex, the book examines the evolution of a sustainability-minded project aimed directly at responding to community needs.

While handsome, the book is not a coffee table volume featuring shelter magazine shots of supposedly green cabins and private homes.

Instead, attention is paid to the intersectional nature of creating a sustainable community, with as much of an eye to re-use, consultation, process and economics as specific technological fixes.

Benny Farm itself is an embodiment of certain Canadian stereotypes: somewhat communitarian, a stylistic blend, miscellaneously contemporary, but friendly and mild-mannered. Like the project, this book is practicalminded. The result is an attractive, text-heavy case study that will hopefully serve as a guide to future architects and community planners.

This book can be downloaded at bit.ly/1Oakr8B. Jeffrey Thorsteinson is a writer and researcher with the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.

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CALENDAR Montréal jamais construit October 23-February 14, 2016

Curated by local architect Thomas Balaban, this exhibition at the Maison de l’architecture du Québec examines unbuilt projects that might have transformed Montreal. maisondelarchitecture.ca

Embodied Light: The Bahá’í Temple of South America October 29-November 13, 2015

This exhibition at Ryerson University documents the development of Hariri Pontarini’s landmark project from conceptual design through material explorations and digital fabrication. arch.ryerson.ca

Interuniversity Charrette November 12-15, 2015

Organized by the CCA, the 20th annual Interuniversity Charrette invites young designers to explore possible futures for Montreal’s archipelago. cca.qc.ca/charrette/2015

LAMP Awards November 12-15, 2015

The third annual Lighting Architecture Movement Project (LAMP) design competition results are displayed at Jan Kath in Vancouver. welovelamp.ca

PGL and the Architecture of Modern Quebec 1958-1974 November 12-January 17, 2015

This exhibition casts a spotlight on the work of the architectural firm Papineau Gérin-Lajoie LeBlanc (PGL). centrededesign.com

Twenty + Change November 20-Feburary 6, 2016

Held at Urbanspace Gallery in Toronto, the fourth edition of this exhibition explores the work of 13 emerging design practices from coast-to-coast.

Emergency Architects fundraiser December 2, 2015

A fundraising gala in support of this UN-recognized humanitarian association is being held at the CCA in Montreal. Organized in partnership with La Maison de la Syrie.

Fire Protection.

Design Perfection.

constructcanada.com/iart

International Architectural Roundtable December 2, 2015

This panel examines cutting-edge uses of concrete in the built environment, and how new technologies are transforming possibilities for the material. Panelists include Bing Thom, Ronald Rael, Filippo Gabbiani and Brandon Clifford. constructcanada.com/iart

Canadian Architect Awards Ceremony December 2, 2015

Join us as we unveil the winners of the 2015 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence. The ceremony is at 4:30 pm at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with reception to follow.

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Morten Schmidt lecture December 2, 2015

Morten Schmidt, principal of Copenhagen-based firm schmidt hammer lassen, speaks at 7:30 pm at LSPU Hall in St. John’s, Newfoundland. newfoundlandarchitects.com

The Buildings Show December 2-4, 2015

This event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre is North America’s largest exposition and networking event for design, construction and real estate.

It consists of six trade shows, including Construct Canada and IIDEX Canada. thebuildingsshow.com

twentyandchange.org

Adam Caruso lecture Matti Siemiatycki lecture November 26, 2015

Geography professor Matti Siemiatycki examines the impact of P3s on construction quality and the profession of architecture. umanitoba.ca

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January 11, 2016

Canadian-born Adam Caruso of London-based Caruso St John Architects delivers the Azrieli lecture at McGill University’s School of Architecture.

Aluflam USA | Phone 562-926-9520 | Fax 562-404-1394 Email info@aluflam-usa.com | www.aluflam-usa.com

mcgill.ca/architecture/lectures

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Building contemporary with stone

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Using an unparalleled cost database coupled with the latest technology and software, our experts provide estimates, analytics, benchmarking with solutions that support critical decision-making in both the Public and Private realms. www.altusgroup.com

Fresco Building Stone meets the growing demand for an authentic stone product that complements the clean lines and natural materials showcased in today’s contemporary home.

Discover Arriscraft’s diverse selection of naturally-made and highly durable Building Stone. Only our Natural Process technology creates stone with the aesthetics and durability of quarried stone, plus the installation benefits of a manufactured product. arriscraft.com 1-800-265-8123

Dekton introduces flooring.

Dekton by Cosentino

The same ultra-resilience of Dekton in large tile format with standard and special order sizes available up to 56” x 126”. A slip resistant feature can be added to select colors to enhance safety in applications where increased risk of slippage is likely.

The ultra-compact surface with advanced technical properties offers a broad colour library to meet a wide array of architectural and design aesthetics for both indoor and outdoor application.

This product is highly resistant to stains, scratching, hot and cold temperatures, water absorption and UV rays.

www.dekton.ca

These advantages, unmatched in the marketplace, make Dekton an exceedingly versatile option for interiors and exteriors; vertical or horizontal – countertops, flooring, stairs, facades, wall cladding and nearly anything you can imagine. www.dekton.com

Breathe easier.

With Tyvek® ThermaWrap™ R5.0 Now you can get industry-leading DuPont™ Tyvek® HomeWrap® combined with a blanket of insulation. The result is a weather barrier that helps protect the home from air and water and delivers an R-5 insulation value. Learn more at www.ThermaWrapR5.Tyvek.ca

Dryvit recently announced a new high impact resistant program HDCI™ (High Durability Continuous Insulation). This incorporates Dryvit’s proprietary Panzer® 20 reinforcing mesh across the entire façade which is 10 times more impact resistant than industry standard. A special 20-year warranty against punctures is included, so building owners know that if the system is punctured, Dryvit repair it. Simple concept, huge benefit.

1.800.263.3308 info@dryivt.ca

THE CHOICE IS CLEAR

Total Building Envelope

Ultra-precise, blazingly fast and easily scalable, the Epson SureColor T-Series plotters are redefining stateof-the-art plotting. These professional production printers and multifunction systems are perfect for Architecture and Drafting.

The Flynn Group of Companies is North America’s leading building envelope trade contractor. For over 30 years we have been providing quality contracting services in the institutional, commercial, and industrial construction sectors. We employ 4,000 people in 25 office locations and we are positioned in 5 distinct, but related, business sectors: Roofing Systems, Curtain Wall & Glazing, Architectural Metals, Roofing & Glazing Emergency Service/Preventative Maintenance, and Environmental Solutions.

Come see a demo at the Epson Booth (#939) at the Construct Show or explore them at: www.epson.ca/plotters

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THE CHOICE IS CLEAR For your next project, consider closedcell spray foam made with Solstice® Liquid Blowing Agent for its superior insulating and environmental performance. CcSPF is a certified air barrier† and a vapour retarder that significantly increases building strength and durability. Non-ozone depleting Solstice LBA has an ultra-low global warming potential of 1 (99.9% lower than the products it replaces).

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

www.honeywell-solsticelba.com or 800-631-8138

† According to ASTM E-2178 testing by the Air Barrier Association of America when a 1” minimum of ccSPF is applied.

THEAKSTON ENVIRONMENTAL

Elastocolor® Waterproof Coatings The MAPEI Elastocolor line includes professional, ready-to-use, waterbased, 100%-acrylic waterproof coatings and primer for use on abovegrade exterior/interior concrete, masonry, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS).

Elastocolor Flex, designed for vertical installations, has displayed 825% elongation in performance testing. High-build Elastocolor Coat offers excellent abrasion resistance for longevity in severe weather conditions.

Elastocolor Paint is formulated at a lower “paint-like” viscosity, with highhiding characteristics. Elastocolor Primer WB improves adhesion of the coatings on porous, dusting and new substrates.

Fiberboard panels manufactured in Canada by MSL meet the most stringent environmental criteria, made entirely from non-toxic natural materials. They are stable, lightweight and easy to install, and have been placed at the top of the ranks for soundproofing, insulation and roofing panels. Innovation continues to be an important focus at MSL, recently recognized by industry professionals at Contech for Sustainable Development and Innovative Products. www.MSLfibre.com

Consulting Engineers

Wind Snow Exhaust Odour Particulate MOECC Approvals (519) 787-2910

spollock@theakston.com

SOPRATACK: ultra-fast curing adhesive for roof membranes SOPRATACK is a very low odour, twocomponent polyurethane adhesive. It is used to adhere SBS polymer modified bitumen membranes on low-slope surfaces. Perfect product for projects that restrict solvent use and odours, such as in hospitals and schools.

Benefits • Fully cured in 24 hours • Very low odour • Excellent adhesion • Flameless soprema.ca

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Mitsubishi Electric – your Canadian HVAC partner

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Being the world’s only 2-pipe simultaneous heating & cooling VRF system, City Multi helps maximizing your building’s revenue-generating space, offers better comfort control and improves energy efficiency. Its flexible design makes it easier to design and install than traditional HVAC and other VRF systems. Developed specifically for Canada, City Multi air-source & watersource VRF systems are available in all voltages options, including 575 volts.

For information about placing an ad in our Showcase & Literature Reviews, contact: Tom Arkell 416-510-6806 Faria Ahmed 416-510-6808

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1-877-MAMMOUTH

Your product or service could be promoted here!

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www.theakston.com

Canadian Architect 80 Valleybrook Dr Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 www.canadianarchitect.com

www.ExploreVRF.ca

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LOOKING BACK KARL HINRICHS, COURTESY OF CLIFFORD WIENS. REPRINTED FROM CANADIAN ARCHITECT, APRIL 2006.

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SILTON CHAPEL TEXT

Bernard Flaman

THE DECLINE OF A RURAL CHAPEL BY CLIFFORD WIENS IS SYMPTOMATIC OF THE PLIGHT OF CANADIAN MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE.

I received a call from Clifford Wiens in early September of 2011; Labour Day weekend, as I recall. He had received news that the Silton Chapel—which was constructed in 1969—had been vandalized. I decided to make the 45-minute drive from Regina to rural Saskatchewan to see for myself. I encountered an incredible scene, though not the one I expected: instead, there was the calm and serenity of a Saturday evening service in progress with the sound of hymns seemingly emanating from the hills of the lakeside community.

Whatever the latest incident was, it was no longer apparent.

In the early fall twilight, I noticed that the north bank of the valley hillside had slumped, covering a glulam support beam. The beam was visibly sagging, with the wood layers delaminating from years of moisture. In the cold light of the following day, the situation proved even worse. The roof was tipping to the north, overloading two perpendicular beams and crushing the top layers of wood laminate. The perimeter gutter was overflowing to the southeast instead of flowing toward the drainage chains and the concrete baptismal font on the southwest side, causing rot at a corner connection. The chapel’s

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seemingly f loating corners are suspended by tension rods embedded in the wood-frame structure of the roof, and require periodic adjustment. The rods in turn are connected to a compression plate at the apex, transferring the load of the corners to the top, then down the wood-frame roof structure to four glulam support beams—the very ones that were failing.

It’s a story that is playing out again and again across Canada, where churches have lost their congregations and are struggling to deal with maintenance. Except this chapel is different: instead of Gothic or Romanesque revival architecture in stone and brick, it is a Modernist masterpiece that was recognized by a Massey Medal in 1970. The “most primeval piece of land architecture in Canada” is how Lisa Rochon described it in her 2008 book Up North: Where Canada’s Architecture Meets the Land.

Recently, I was asked a question that completely stumped me. It was to comment on the topic of modern heritage in Canada and the progress of its acceptance with the heritage community and the public. Despite a 2005 Trent University symposium entitled “Conserving the Modern in Canada” and the completion of a federal/provincial/territorial partnership

ABOVE Located in rural Saskatchewan, Clifford Wiens’ Silton Chapel features a dramatically cantilevered roof, supported by tension rods at each corner.

known as the Historic Places Initiative in 2010, buildings from the 1950s to 1970s continue to be lost. Little positive has happened. (Notable exceptions are the work of Docomomo Quebec and the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.)

These modern heritage buildings represent a truly lost art, from a time when relatively ordinary commissions could receive the design attention of an architect such as Wiens and be transformed into something extraordinary.

Four years have passed since that September night in 2011, and the Silton Chapel continues to quietly decline, saved from literal collapse by one single post that was hastily placed below the sagging north beam. Efforts by the community to raise funds and awareness have failed to generate the necessary amount to repair the building. For the lack of eight glulam beams, we may lose another critically important and poetic piece of Canadian architecture in a region of the country that has very few.

Bernard Flaman, FRAIC , is a heritage conservation architect. His 2013 book Architecture of Saskatchewan: A Vis-

ual Journey received the 2014 Distinguished Book Award from the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska.

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WE KNOW what Real Estate Development in Canada Costs!

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