Canadian Architect March 2008

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11 SCARBOROUGH BAPTIST CHURCH THE CONSIDERED DESIGN AND SITING OF A RELIGIOUS FACILITY BY TEEPLE ARCHITECTS INC. ENSURES A WELCOME AND GRACEFUL ADDITION TO THE BLEAKNESS OF AN AUTOMOBILEDOMINATED TORONTO SUBURB. TEXT DAVID STEINER

17 SWITCH BUILDING DESIGNED BY MANHATTAN-BASED nARCHITECTS, THIS RESIDENTIAL/GALLERY PROJECT REPRESENTS AN INNOVATIVE AND ENLIGHTENED APPROACH TO BUILDING ON SPEC. TEXT ELSA LAM

23 HAGEN HEAD OFFICE A NEW HEADQUARTERS FOR A MULTINATIONAL PET SUPPLY MANUFACTURER AGGRESSIVELY PURSUES A MULTIFACETED GREEN AGENDA IN THE CREATION OF A EMPLOYEE-FOCUSED WORKPLACE. TEXT RHYS PHILLIPS

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BLUE FISH STUDIO

FRANK OUDEMAN

SHAI GIL

CONTENTS

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NEWS Hariri Pontarini selected to design the new Faculty of Law Building at the University of Toronto; Drew Sinclair wins the Prix de Rome in Architecture for Emerging Practitioners.

31 REPORT The Aga Khan Development Network begins construction of a Muslim cultural precinct in suburban Toronto, by Ian Chodikoff.

33 INSITES As a juror for the 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Brigitte Shim develops a greater understanding about the transformative role of buildings in many parts of the Muslim world.

37 CALENDAR

PATRICK BINGHAM-HALL

Utopia’s Ghost at the Canadian Centre for Architecture; Public Space at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

38 BACKPAGE The depiction of Canadian cities in the paintings of John Hartman is discussed by John Bentley Mays.

MARCH 2008, V.53 N.03

THE NATIONAL REVIEW OF DESIGN AND PRACTICE/ THE JOURNAL OF RECORD OF THE RAIC

COVER THE SWITCH BUILDING BY nARCHITECTS IN NEW YORK’S EAST VILLAGE. PHOTOGRAPH

BY FRANK OUDEMAN.

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LYNDON DOUGLAS

VIEWPOINT

EDITOR IAN CHODIKOFF, OAA, MRAIC ASSOCIATE EDITOR LESLIE JEN, MRAIC EDITORIAL ADVISORS JOHN MCMINN, AADIPL. MARCO POLO, OAA, MRAIC CHARLES WALDHEIM, OALA(HON.), FAAR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS GAVIN AFFLECK, OAQ, MRAIC TREVOR BODDY HERBERT ENNS, MAA, MRAIC DOUGLAS MACLEOD, NCARB REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS HALIFAX CHRISTINE MACY, OAA MONTREAL DAVID THEODORE WINNIPEG HERBERT ENNS, MAA REGINA BERNARD FLAMAN, SAA CALGARY DAVID A. DOWN, AAA EDMONTON BRIAN ALLSOPP, AAA ABOVE DESIGNED BY DAVID ADJAYE, THE STEPHEN LAWRENCE CENTRE INTRODUCES DISADVANTAGED YOUTH TO CAREERS IN ARCHITECTURE, URBAN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

Last month, the extraordinary Stephen Lawrence Centre opened in southeast London to great acclaim. Designed by David Adjaye, the £10million facility is dedicated to the memory of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of racists at a bus stop in 1993. Lawrence dreamed of becoming an architect from the age of seven. Although his murder was the subject of three separate police investigations, the killers remain at large. What is particularly extraordinary about the Centre is that the facility offers disadvantaged youth an opportunity to enter into the fields of architecture, urban design and construction. The Centre’s mission is to promote diversity in architecture and the allied professions, improving the educational achievements of black and other ethnic-minority students while helping them out of poverty and into sustainable, rewarding careers that support the strengthening of community.

Unfortunately, the inauguration of the Centre also brought with it a reminder of the existence of those who loathe the idea of the marginalized and disadvantaged overcoming adversity. One week after its opening, eight windows, each worth £15,000 and designed by the Turner Prizewinning artist Chris Ofili were destroyed when vandals lobbed bricks from behind a 2.5-metrehigh metal fence surrounding the complex.

Undeterred by CCTV and 24-hour on-site security, this was the fourth time the Centre had been attacked. As if overcoming poverty and career limitations is not difficult enough for these kids living in distressed neighbourhoods, it is devastating to see a well-intentioned community building vandalized by racist and vindictive youth seething with blind hatred towards visible minorities and ethnic communities.

Intended as a laboratory for new ways of working with young people to improve their job skills, the Stephen Lawrence Centre offers courses, 6 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 03/08

training and mentoring in engineering, architecture and building facilities for people aged 14 to 25. It is also linked to several leading firms and universities, acting as a hub where industry, community organizations and educational institutions can exchange information on the latest skills and requirements for successful urban design and regeneration. Incorporating mentoring rooms, flexible education studios, computer learning resources and meeting spaces, the Centre also contains business development suites for young entrepreneurs and a creative arts laboratory with multimedia, design and digital studio facilities. The Centre hosts exhibitions, seminars and artists-in-residence programs exploring best practice in urban design. It has also become somewhat of a policy advocate, encouraging urban designers and planners to develop greater sensitivity to issues of prejudice and social exclusion.

The Stephen Lawrence Trust believes that “people can build their own self-confidence by helping to build their own communities, so that social responsibility becomes and remains a personal commitment.” Helping students find careers in the realm of design and building construction industries enables them to rediscover their own personal visions. Focusing on what students can achieve in the future, rather than what they did in the past is a subtle but important shift in tapping into their creative potential. This is an especially sensitive issue in lower-income neighbourhoods, whether they are located in the UK or in Canada, where access to fulfilling and creative endeavours—such as architecture and design—are near impossible. It is a tragic irony in this instance that the greatest obstacle for local youth to achieve personal success is not due to resistance within “the Establishment,” but that it remains within their own neighbourhood where racism and disaffected attitudes continue to predominate.

IAN CHODIKOFF

ICHODIKOFF@CANADIANARCHITECT.COM

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NEWS PROJECTS

Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini Architects has been selected from a shortlist of three firms for the renovation and expansion of the Faculty of Law, beating out Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects of Toronto and Saucier + Perrotte architectes of Montreal. The redevelopment of the Faculty of Law comes in response to external reviews carried out in 2001 and 2006 which called for significant upgrading of the buildings which house the U of T Faculty of Law. Over the past decade, the law school’s academic, extra-curricular, and co-curricular programs have grown dramatically and the number of faculty members has more than doubled, leaving the law school in desperate need of space. Firms submitting design ideas for the Faculty’s new building project were instructed to take advantage of the law school’s prominent location by introducing new physical and visual connections with both Queen’s Park and Philosopher’s Walk, keeping in mind that the precinct should not be considered in isolation, but rather as part of an integrated campus system. According to Siamak Hariri, the proposed design is about building community. The central gathering space, dubbed the Forum, will be a welcoming place for major events and one that encourages intellectual dialogue between classes.

Diamond + Schmitt Architects to design new Faculty of Law building at UBC.

Toronto-based design firm Diamond + Schmitt Architects has been selected by the University of British Columbia to design the new Faculty of Law building on the Vancouver campus. This new facility is designed to meet the needs of a new generation of law students and legal researchers, replacing the existing Law School, currently housed in two aging structures. The 13,500square-metre-building provides space for more than 50 faculty members, 600 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. The Law School is the fifth project the University of British Columbia has commissioned Diamond + Schmitt Architects to design. Previous projects include the Sing Tao School of Journalism, the Creative Arts Building, the Chemical and Biological Engineering Building, and the recently completed Life Sciences Centre—the largest LEED Gold Laboratory building in Canada. Diamond + Schmitt Architects, in joint venture with CEI Architecture and Planning, was chosen from among four competing design teams including Patkau Architects, Henriquez Partners Architects and Olsen Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects of Seattle with Larry McFarland Architects of Vancouver. Construction of the new UBC Law School is anticipated to begin in 2009.

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HARIRI PONTARINI ARCHITECTS

Hariri Pontarini selected to design Faculty of Law building at the University of Toronto.

ABOVE A VIEW OF HARIRI PONTARINI ARCHITECTS’ WINNING SCHEME FOR THE EXPANSION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LAW SCHOOL, SEEN FROM QUEEN’S PARK.

AWARDS Drew Sinclair wins the Prix de Rome in Architecture for Emerging Practitioners.

University of Toronto architecture graduate Drew Sinclair is the winner of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Prix de Rome in Architecture for Emerging Practitioners. He will have the opportunity to study regional spatial planning initiatives in six cities in northern Europe. The $34,000 Prix de Rome in Architecture for Emerging Practitioners is awarded to a recent graduate of one of Canada’s ten accredited schools of architecture, who demonstrates outstanding potential. Over the next year, Sinclair will investigate alternative planning models and examples of public agencies that have had a positive effect on evolving urban forms. He will travel to cities in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany to study their architecture and urban landscapes. He hopes to attain an understanding of the relationship between spatial planning regulations and the architectural projects that are created within their constraints. Drew Sinclair received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto in 2007, and also holds a degree in geography and international development studies from McGill University where he was the 2001 recipient of the Canadian Association for Geographers Award for exceptional achievement in the study of geography. Since early 2006, Sinclair has been a project architect with superkül inc. | architect in Toronto.

tect and Carleton graduate, David J. Azrieli, is donating $5.5 million to the Carleton University School of Architecture. Azrieli graduated from the Carleton University School of Architecture in 1997 when he was 75 years old. The gift will be used to establish a permanent endowment for the newly named Azrieli School of Architecture. The endowment will provide the School with annual funding to introduce leading-edge academic programs such as a new PhD (only the third such program in Canada) and a new undergraduate program in environmentally sustainable architecture. The endowment will also allow for an expansion of the School’s Directed Studies Abroad program, which supports overseas work experience and exchanges. Proceeds from the endowment will also fund new prestige scholarships to be awarded to promising Azrieli Scholars, as well as continuing education opportunities and technological upgrades within the School. When combined with previous gifts to the School of Architecture from Azrieli, plus a one-time matching contribution by Carleton University of $1 million, this gift will raise the Azrieli School of Architecture’s endowment fund to close to $8 million within three years. Moreover, Azrieli will serve as the honorary Campaign Chair of a fundraising program aimed at increasing the endowment to $10 million over the course of the next few years. The gift is being made by the Azrieli Foundation, a Canadian non-profit organization that was established to realize Azrieli’s philanthropic vision.

WHAT’S NEW David Azrieli donates $5.5 million to Carleton University’s School of Architecture.

Carleton University announced that internationally renowned philanthropist, developer, archi-

A new architectural exhibition space is launched at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

Toronto’s public space is set to be redefined by a new exhibition location for architecture launching March 2008. With the support of the Toronto

Society of Architects, Harbourfront Centre will establish the first public venue in Toronto devoted to presenting exhibitions which challenge, educate and question the prevailing thoughts, ideas and practices informing contemporary architecture. North Design Studio, gh3 and the Office for Urbanism investigate the complexities of urban design in Toronto through their ideas and practices in an exhibition entitled Public Space, running from March 8 through April 20, 2008. The exhibition is composed of three distinct installations all combining to create a visual dialogue on the differences and commonalities inherent in architecture’s turning of common grounds into artistic fields. www.harbourfrontcentre.com 41° to 66° exhibition selected to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale in Architecture.

The exhibition 41° to 66°: Architecture in Canada— Region, Culture, Tectonics, co-curated by architectural professors John McMinn and Marco Polo and organized by Cambridge Galleries, will represent Canada at the 2008 Venice Biennale in Architecture. The 2008 Biennale, entitled Out There: Architecture Beyond Building, takes place in Venice, Italy from September 14 to November 23.

41° to 66° presents a selection of contemporary buildings organized within six distinct cultural and geographic regions of Canada. The exhibition features a variety of leading contemporary Canadian architects whose work draws on iconic Canadian building types like the igloo, tepee and sod house as a means to address regional and cultural identity, landscape, climate and sustainability issues. The Canada Council for the Arts is a primary funder for Canada’s architectural representation in Venice. Cambridge Galleries also provides financial support and will engage in fundraising activities to realize this project. 41° to 66° was officially launched at the Design at Riverside Gallery in Cambridge, Ontario in November, 2005. After an extensive tour schedule in 2006 and 2007, the exhibition will travel to the Museum London and Surrey Art Gallery in 2008 and the Yukon Arts Centre in 2009. www.cambridgegalleries.ca GMA Radio: the first online radio dedicated to architects and architecture.

Launched on an initiative by the Italian National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects, and Conservationists (CNAPPC) as part of preparations for the World Congress of Architects in Turin from June 29 to July 3, 2008, GMA Radio is now operational on the web. Good Morning Architecture radio offers a range of daily programs including news, interviews, dialogue with schools of architecture, and debates with personalities from throughout the world of culture. While awaiting the congress in Turin, get ready with Good Morning Architecture by podcast or online. www.gma-radio.com

April designated as National Landscape Architecture Month in the US.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has proclaimed April 2008 as National Landscape Architecture Month. ASLA chapters across the country will celebrate with public outreach activities to help school-aged children and educators “Discover Careers in Landscape Architecture,” the theme for 2008. Landscape architecture is the fastest growing of the design professions, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the next six years, demand for the profession is projected to expand by 18 to 26 percent and landscape architecture programs need to increase by an average of six percent a year in order to match the growth. The starting salary for graduates with undergraduate degrees in the US is $40,080 and with graduate degrees it is $44,600. The annual salary and bonus for all landscape architects averages nearly $90,000, with experienced landscape architects earning much more. www.asla.org/lamonth/

Light in spirit.

Holds its ground.

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LETTERS I was amazed when I learned of Carleton University’s plans to recognize developer David Azrieli’s recent gift of $5 million by changing the name of its architectural faculty to the Azrieli School of Architecture. There is no doubt that the name Azrieli occupies a significant place in recent architectural history. It was after his destruction of the notable Van Horne Mansion on Montreal’s Sherbrooke Street in 1973 that opposition rallied against the rash of insensate demolitions threatening to erode the city’s urban landscape. Out of this destruction grew a new sensitivity to the value of Montreal’s built heritage, galvanizing the formation of the citizen coalition Save Montreal.

Azrieli should be accorded his due for the role he played. The dreary office tower he erected on the ruins of the historic mansion—whose foundation stone proudly displays concepteur next to his name—represents a period of indiscriminate destruction in Montreal. More recently, Azrieli has funded an annual lecture series at the McGill University School of Architecture.

Known as the Azrieli Lectures, the series features practitioners of international repute whose impressionable young audiences are too dazzled to applaud the name of the series’ benefactor.

But now, $5 million snares the ultimate prize of renaming a notable School of Architecture, a relatively young school founded by the distinguished educator Douglas Shadbolt and designed by architects Carmen Corneil and Jeff Stinson.

I can only hope that present members of faculty and students new to the Azrieli School of Architecture will blush, if ever so slightly, as they enter its portals.

Joseph Baker, OAQ, FRAIC Former Director of the School of Architecture, Laval University

877.837.3275

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THE LIGHT OF DAY

BUILT ON A MODEST BUDGET, THIS SUBURBAN CHURCH DERIVES INSPIRATION FROM LIGHT— CAPTURED BY ITS METAL-CLAD EXTERIOR AND IN ITS PLANE-SHIFTING INTERIOR SPACES. SCARBOROUGH BAPTIST CHURCH, SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO TEEPLE ARCHITECTS INC. TEXT DAVID STEINER PHOTOS SHAI GIL PROJECT

ARCHITECT

A Baptist community at the northeastern edge of Toronto required a new church: its membership, predominantly Chinese-Canadian, was growing, and it wanted more space to accommodate large services and education programs. It is largely an immigrant community living in an area of Toronto that has changed over the years from agricultural and industrial to suburban. It bustles despite the quiet neighbourhood façade—tract housing, light industrial warehouses, strip malls, a mega-mall catering to Chinese tastes, and the remnants of farming. Commercial parking lots are packed with cars, housing is expanding, and the main roads are often congested with traffic: all this while the sidewalks are empty of people.

With a piece of land purchased some years before, the church board set out to find an architect with no preconceived ideas for a new building.

Members wanted a structure that would provide a large spiritual space with excellent acoustics, accommodate an ambitious educational program, and

ABOVE THE SWOOPING CURVED WALL OF THE SANCTUARY’S EXTERIOR IS WRAPPED IN A METAL SKIN.

that would be delivered on a very tight budget. A committee of volunteers, many of whom are professionals in the construction industry, chose Teeple Architects from a crop of local firms.

Teeple Architects took these requirements and designed a building that sits in sharp contrast to its surroundings. A metal skin wraps the curved exterior walls and, unlike the majority of buildings in the area which are on full display behind strips of lawn, the church is set back from the busy main street, tucked behind an existing woodlot. Initial sketch models showed what the building would become—a large horizontal plane that swoops up into the vertical axis, addressing the client’s request to differentiate the space for worship from everything else.

The journey from street to sanctuary is conventional: a circular driveway allows for dropoff at the front with a 532-car parking lot at the rear. This lot, hidden from a street pockmarked with parked cars, is one of the building’s finest features. A crash berm, required by the railway that runs along the east edge of the site, is made of excavated soil and provides a visual boundary at the end of the lot. A row of mature cedar trees from the original farm has been preserved and long, wide swales will be planted with reeds and grasses to filter runoff from the asphalt. The parking lot is a comfortable, thoughtfully designed ancillary space that reverses the banality usually associated with this purpose.

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The layout of the building is simple and straightforward. A large curved sanctuary, devoid of windows, rises at the front, displaying the single cross on the exterior. Two wide, double-height corridors cross each other, dividing the program pieces. Bridges, providing access to the upper sanctuary and offices, shoot over one corridor. At the front and back are large canopies that hang down at a precarious angle, signalling the main entries.

Off to the west side is the education wing, which looks out at the woodlot through long, strip windows. Deep eaves emphasize the wing’s low, horizontal lines and act as a horse blinder to focus the view on the trees beyond.

Most unexpected is the gym. Seen from a window in a corridor above, it is sunken crater-like in the middle of the floor plate to mask its height from the exterior.

For a building this size, the budget was meagre. With a construction cost of $168 per square foot, it was critical to prioritize certain building elements. For example, the architects felt it was more important to use steel to provide a column-free, almond-shaped sanctuary with excellent acoustics, and a compound curved exterior rather than fine finishes. As such, gypsum wallboard has been used almost exclusively—giving many of the spaces a hollow, brittle feeling—while the floors are an unrelenting bare concrete finished with a grey epoxy finish. Still, Teeple Architects managed to insert 03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

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a sense of dynamism in the circulation spaces and in the views from one level to another. From one spot on the second floor, a half-dozen interior windows line up to give the dramatic effect of visually piercing the entire building. Back-painted drywall valances, used periodically, infuse the light bouncing off them and provide a colourful glow. In spite of the cost constraints, the architects managed to significantly bring the project in under budget by almost a million dollars (although the contractor had serious problems finishing the job, causing an equivalent-sized headache with an almost year-long delay in completion).

Squat warehouses once comprised much of the local building stock.

Nicholas Choy, a Toronto architect and member of the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building committee who provided guidance during the building process, maintains that the industrial vernacular is being redeemed through the use of a common local material for a spiritual purpose. The building is a big and shiny object, largely hidden from view. Unlike many local churches of this size that squeeze the streetscape, the architects have used the existing site, in this case a woodlot, to meld the church into the neighbourhood. It sets a precedent in this area for public buildings of its kind: they can be both pragmatic and exuberant while not being so brash as to flaunt their appearance to passersby. In this pocket of the city, where density is quickly increasing, there is ample pressure to build in a hurry. Interestingly, this Baptist church provides an example for Toronto suburbs of how to make a dramatic building that is specific and sensitive to its site. By being so careful about siting, its relationship to the street and its visual appearance, the project gives credibility to the arbitrary quality of its neighbours and context. The church, as architecture, announces its intention of finding meaning on the site, while exploiting itself to create a building that is as exuberant as it is humane. CA David Steiner is a freelance writer living in Ontario.

CLIENT SCARBOROUGH BAPTIST CHURCH ARCHITECT TEAM STEPHEN TEEPLE, BERNARD JIN, CHERYL ATKINSON, DAVID JENSEN, GRAHAM BAXTER, WILLIAM ELSWORTHY, ROBERT CHEUNG STRUCTURAL CPE MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL LKM CIVIL MASONGSONG ASSOCIATES ENGINEERING LANDSCAPE DUTOIT ALLSOPP HILLIER INTERIORS TEEPLE ARCHITECTS INC. CONTRACTOR DERBTILE CONSTRUCTION INC. AREA 80,000 FT2 BUDGET $12 M COMPLETION 2007

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A FRAMED VIEW OF THE OUTDOORS AND A GLIMPSE OF THE LIBRARY ARE PROVIDED TO THOSE DESCENDING THE WESTERN SET OF STAIRS, INVITING PAUSE AND CONTEMPLATION. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP A VIEW OF THE CHURCH’S EAST ELEVATION, ADJACENT TO THE VAST PARKING LOT ACCOMMODATING OVER 500 CARS; DESPITE THE USE OF INEXPENSIVE MATERIALS TO KEEP THE PROJECT WELL UNDER BUDGET, THE CHURCH DERIVES ITS EXPRESSION THROUGH BOLD DYNAMIC FORMS; A SENSE OF OPENNESS IS MAINTAINED IN THE INTERIOR THROUGH A STARKLY PALE COLOUR PALETTE AND A TWOSTOREY CENTRAL ATRIUM.

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SWITCH PLATES

A DREAM COMMISSION FROM A FIRST-TIME DEVELOPER ALLOWS AN EMERGING ARCHITECTURE FIRM IN MANHATTAN TO DESIGN A REFRESHINGLY INNOVATIVE SPEC BUILDING ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE. SWITCH BUILDING, NEW YORK, NEW YORK nARCHITECTS TEXT ELSA LAM PHOTOS FRANK OUDEMAN, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED PROJECT

ARCHITECT

ABOVE THE ANGULAR OUTCROPPINGS ON THE BUILDING’S FRONT FAÇADE THAT APPEAR TO “SWITCH” BACK AND FORTH REPRESENT A MODERN TAKE ON BAY WINDOWS.

While real estate is on the decline throughout the United States, housing values are booming in New York. However, it’s a tough market to break into, given the density of existing buildings and prohibitive development costs.

Luxury condos are being designed by the likes of Bernard Tschumi and Jean Nouvel, while the majority of constructions built “on spec”—that is, to be sold post-completion—take a generic approach to ensure quick turnaround time and to secure access to financing. In most projects, the role of the architect is limited to providing an inexpensive surface gloss over a structure predefined within narrow parameters.

The recent opening of the aesthetically innovative, spec-built Switch building is thus a refreshing reminder that architecturally enlightened 03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

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nARCHITECTS

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development is still possible within the confines of Manhattan. The seven-storey apartment and art gallery is also a showpiece in the career of nARCHITECTS—the firm founded in 1999 by Montreal-born Eric Bunge and Saigon-born Mimi Hoang—as their first complete building. nARCHITECTS came to the project through an almost chance encounter, the stuff of local legend. A first-time developer had just closed on the purchase of the Lower East Side site and walked off the street into the firm’s office, located around the corner at the time. He was impressed by their work, as the duo was by his vision. “He wanted to do a metal façade building, and create an art gallery,” recounts Bunge. “It was a dream commission.” Bunge and Hoang rose to the challenge of the fast-paced demands of the project, preparing a schematic design in just three weeks, with excavation scheduled to begin immediately after.

As the project progressed, a combination of “firsts”—a first building for nARCHITECTS, a first project for the developer, and a first-time job for the contractor—facilitated an open dialogue about the limits of what could be produced within the rigid zoning laws and financing requirements of a spec building.

Take, for instance, Switch’s primary gesture: a modulation of floors to open views up and down Norfolk Street, resulting in a façade that the contractor likened to a light switch. The angular outcroppings were creative reinterpretations of bay windows, which in zoning legislation allows for modest projections of the façade. On the inside, these projections provide deep window seats with bamboo surrounds.

On the back façade, the limits of the building code were similarly pushed. Balconies are built to the maximum size allowable, and shift from side to side to provide extra height, increase access to light, and encourage conversations between neighbours.

Also going beyond spec-building norms is the total aesthetic integration of air conditioning units—a move prompted by a client suggestion.

“We were talking about the air conditioning grilles, and Dorit [one of the clients] said, ‘Why can’t you incorporate them into the design?’” recalls Bunge. “It was an idea similar to many that [Mimi and I have] had, so we jumped on it right away.” As a result, the building’s standard through-wall mechanical units are disguised with custom grilles, designed to be continuous with the cladding that spans between floors. The finely tuned grilles narrow and pivot outward as they pass over the ventilation units, allowing for proper air flow to be maintained and giving subtle modulation to the façade. This feature required approvals from the air conditioning manufacturer as well as custom metal work—efforts normally outside the scope of this project type.

Relating the building to its burgeoning artistic neighbourhood, the non-profit Switch Gallery on the ground and cellar floors is spurred by devel-

THE PROJECTING BALCONIES ON THE REAR ELEVATION OF THE BUILDING SHIFT FROM SIDE TO SIDE TO INCREASE LIGHT AND TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS; LARGE PIVOT DOORS SWING OUT FROM THE NEW GROUND-FLOOR GALLERY SPACE; THE AUSTERITY OF THE STAIR IS IN KEEPING WITH THE ECONOMICAL PALETTE OF MATERIALS, INCLUDING GALVALUME STEEL, CONCRETE AND STAINLESS STEEL. ABOVE THE SWITCH BUILDING NESTLES ELEGANTLY INTO ITS EAST VILLAGE CONTEXT.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP

opment criteria and articulated by site constraints. The inclusion of a community-oriented space allowed the team to occupy the entire lot on the ground floor. Inside, the plan works around the substantial obstacles of the residential core and lobby, using oblique angles to maximize spatial continuity and wall space for display. At the rear of the gallery, a generous double-height volume is lit from above. The large skylight had to be situated at a minimum of three feet from the building line—a requirement that prompted Bunge and Hoang to design a curved wall to catch the light in a smooth gradient.

Attention to the articulation of light, an ongo-

ing concern in the firm’s previous interiors and installations, manifests throughout the building.

Apartment windows are pushed to the edges of rooms in order to welcome a wash of light along adjacent walls. The back-and-forth switch action of the façade generates subtly different light conditions and views from floor to floor, giving individuality to each apartment. This results in a range of spaces with different qualities, even while the basic floor plan remains identical for ease of construction.

Taking advantage of their Chinese-Malaysian crew’s strong craft abilities, nARCHITECTS called for careful detailing using an economical 03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

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A/C GRILLES

BAY WINDOW

palette of materials. Galvalume steel, a relatively inexpensive metal, is used for the custom-fabricated façade panels, a composition accented with modest amounts of stainless steel at the front canopy and on the rear balconies. Cold-rolled steel stairs and railings draw silvery metals into the ground floor interior. The gallery’s industrial aesthetic is continued with a polished concrete floor, and a ceiling made of Versaroc—a cementbonded particleboard usually hidden behind drywall. These ordinary materials are elevated by subtle detailing, like the underplayed cantilever of the stair, or the lapping of the ceiling panels over top beams, which opens the space in height and creates a visually inviting perspectival effect.

In the residential component of the building, the palette warms up. Ply strip flooring wraps through the common lobby, while bamboo is used to clad floors and window surrounds in

SOUTH VIEW

NORTH VIEW

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individual apartments. Tequila lime green accents (“the only colour we could agree on,” comments Hoang) appear in back-painted glass mounted above the kitchen counters, and laminated as almost transparent vertical striping within balcony guard panels.

Through its careful design, Switch provides the services required to finance and market a condo building—balconies, air conditioners, bay windows—but provides much more than a checklist of features. “There isn’t enough architecture that does more than add amenities together onto a

normative core and shell,” comments Bunge. In a market as tight as Manhattan, perhaps few chances exist to take on the standards of development. nARCHITECTS has succeeded in taking advantage of a rare opportunity—and in doing so, they challenge other architects and developers to switch their preconceptions, and dare to follow suit. CA Elsa Lam is a freelance journalist and PhD candidate in architectural history at Columbia University in New York.

CLIENT 109 NORFOLK, LLC ARCHITECT TEAM ERIC BUNGE, MIMI HOANG (PARTNERS); DANIELA ZIMMER (PROJECT ARCHITECT), JORGE PEREIRA, TAKUYA SHINODA STRUCTURAL SHARON ENGINEERING MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL SHARON ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR BUILDERS + HVAC METALWORK GEORGE DIMIZAS AREA 14,500 FT2 (ART GALLERY 2,700 FT2; APARTMENTS 8,225 FT2) COMPLETION 2007

03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

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Photos-top to bottom: River Rock Casino, Richmond, BC, Randy Knill Architect, Sardo Foods, Bolton, Ontario, Noor Architects, Techtown University of Waterloo, Research & Tech Park, Waterloo, Ontario, SRM Architects, Waterloo, Heffner Toyota, Cambridge, Ontario, Jamesway Design Build, Elmira Stove Works, Elmira, Ontario, Architecture Incorporated

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PET PROJECT

THE HEADQUARTERS FOR A MULTINATIONAL PET SUPPLY MANUFACTURER IN QUEBEC ACHIEVES LOFTY SUSTAINABLE OBJECTIVES WHILE PROVIDING A HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR ITS EMPLOYEES. HAGEN HEAD OFFICE, BAIE D’URFÉ, QUEBEC RUBIN & ROTMAN ASSOCIATES TEXT RHYS PHILLIPS PHOTOS STÉPHANE BRÜGGER PROJECT

ARCHITECT

The drive along Autoroute 40 as it leads from the west end of Montreal Island to the Decarie cutoff into the city’s core is not representative of what most people associate with Canada’s second-largest metropolis. Instead of the compact scale of Old Montreal or the fashionable shops and restaurants of the Plateau, this 15-kilometre stretch of highway is populated by light industrial buildings, office complexes, traditional malls, and increasingly, big-box retail stores.

This area of the city’s suburban landscape is not one that is normally associated with architectural excellence, but driving along this route does provide us with an interesting window on how architectural style—filtered through the generic office park aesthetic—has continued to evolve. Autoroute 40 was initially lined with industrial sheds and warehouses fronted by office pavilions rendered in the cool anonymity of the International Style, devolving into lively plastic experiments in precast concrete panels and punched aluminum screens. By the 1980s, late-modernist reflective glass office boxes appeared that were sculpted, composed of rotated blocks, and clad in bizarre colours with postmodernist columns, curved forms and bright colours soon following.

Over the last decade, the ubiquitous steel frame and stucco revolution has produced a myriad of low-rise grey or beige office buildings and big-box malls. Of particular note is the intrusion of corporate office park develop-

ABOVE THE NEW HAGEN HEADQUARTERS BUILDING IS PERCEIVED AS TWO VOLUMES, DUE TO ITS SLIGHT V-SHAPED PLAN AND CONTRASTING MATERIALITIES OF THE TWO BLOCKS.

ments on a significant parcel of forest that once stretched from Baie d’Urfé to Kirkland. Only a few stands of mature deciduous trees remain, due to the large building footprints and acres of surface parking encroaching into this area.

A remarkable addition to this landscape is the new international headquarters for Ralph C. Hagen Inc., a family-owned Canadian multinational pet supply manufacturer and distributor. A finalist in both the commercial and sustainable development categories of the 2007 Quebec Order of Architects’ Architecture Awards of Excellence, the 102-person headquarters has raised the design bar for a building of its type while aggressively pursuing a multi-faceted green agenda. The project was also a finalist for two other environmental design awards as well as the recipient of a 2007 Real Estate Award of Excellence from the Urban Development Institute of Quebec.

Designed by the Montreal firm of Rubin & Rotman Associates for Broccolini Construction, the project was completed within the constraints of a designbuild relationship.

According to partner in charge Rick Rubin, the project began as a high “quality-of-life” facility for the client’s employees. As a graduate zoologist and vice-president of Hagen responsible for the company’s relationship with animal rights groups, Mark Hagen bluntly notes that “how you treat animals has a profound effect on their well-being and performance, and the same thing goes for humans.” Once convinced that an environmentally responsible building made sense economically and in terms of workplace quality, Hagen emerged as a key ally in the drive for a green building.

As for the architects, Rubin & Rotman’s 26-person firm came to the table within the parameters of a typical turnkey project. But the emergence of a green agenda precipitated a more comprehensive sustainable development strategy with such considerations as the densely wooded site, the presence 03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

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CLIENT ROLF C. HAGEN ARCHITECT TEAM RICK RUBIN, BRUNO MORIN, MALLORY MAE CONWAY, PASCALE TÉTRAULT STRUCTURAL BCA (ROGER BARTOSH) MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL PMA (FRÉDÉRIC GENEST) LANDSCAPE BEAUPRÉ ASSOCIÉS EXPERTS CONSEILS INTERIORS RUBIN & ROTMAN ASSOCIATES CONTRACTOR BROCCOLINI CONSTRUCTION (CHRISTIE STEWART) COMMISSIONING MARTIN ROY AREA 5686 M2 BUDGET $8.6 M COMPLETION JUNE 2006 SECTION

of a stream and the proximity to public transit. The architects wanted to mitigate tree loss while maintaining water table integrity. A forestry expert was hired to undertake a diagnostic inventory and set a hierarchy of zones for the protection of the trees, such as the preservation of large deciduous species along the building’s south-facing façade to reduce solar gain during the summer.

The compact three-storey building is sited in an area with few trees but close proximity to the main road. The slightly V-shaped plan with two wings bisected by a full-height, wedge-shaped atrium bends east-west to provide a generally southern exposure while facilitating lower solar gain during the shoulder seasons. Parking was mitigated, with some spots located under the building.

A detailed land protection strategy for the eight-month construction period and for the site’s post-construction ecological assessment was established. This assessment included short- and long-term rainwater management as well as eco-friendly landscaping. At the start of construction, the perimeter of the construction zone was protected by shallow ditches designed to collect contaminated water runoff which would then be partially filtered by rock beds before entering a sedimentation pit. The clean surface water was finally returned to the water table via the stream. Rainwater from 24 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 03/08

the paved parking area of the completed project continued to be drained by perimeter ditches integrated with woodland landscaping. “Overall,” reports Rubin, “this practice ensures the water table continues to be fed almost to the pre-development level, limits needless overload of the storm sewer infrastructure, and protects against soil erosion.”

Management of construction waste formed the final green component of the site and construction strategy. Diverting 50 percent of construction waste from disposal sites was achieved with the help of a firm specializing in the recycling of construction waste. For example, water used to clean the concrete mixers was poured into plywood moulds, treated and hardened into blocks before being shipped off for recycling.

Prior to completing the specifications, a material list was compiled, based on ensuring low toxicity levels, local availability, and levels of recycled or recyclable material. Wherever possible, the most ecological alternatives were selected. In addition to the partial replacement of cement with fly ash, highly recyclable content was achieved in materials such as ceiling tiles and carpets. River rock, Quebec limestone, gypsum panels as well as poured and prefabricated concrete were all sourced locally. Perhaps most innovative was the milling of maple, oak, linden, and ash recovered from the site to reappear as rich interior soffits, wall panels and furniture, including the

firm’s splendid, multi-wood boardroom table. As is increasingly the case, all paints, varnishes, sealants and glues emit little or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

For the building’s energy system, a goal of 50 percent efficiency over the national code was established. The team assessed the additional capital costs against return on investment, system complexity, life span maintenance and the potential for passive energy sources. One result of this process was a convincing argument for utilizing a geothermal system with liquid-to-liquid heat pumps. “Combined with a high-R building envelope, this works out to an approximate annual saving of 1,000,000 KWh, or $90,000 at current prices, equivalent to 300 tonnes of greenhouse gas,” reports Rubin.

The Hagen building’s energy system centres on 14 parallel heat pumps operating with a geothermal loop. This is combined with radiant-slab heat distribution along a 12-foot perimeter of the building’s concrete-on-steelframe floor. Open-grid ceilings along the perimeter allows the slabs to radiate both up and down. According to Frédéric Genest, project manager for Hagen’s mechanical and electrical engineers, Pageau Morel et associés, the slab system requires the water to be 31.7°C to generate a room temperature of 21°C which compares to conventional heating systems that require 82°C. This is what permits the efficient use of the geothermal system.

Perhaps the system’s most unconventional components are the basement “heat banks,” two concrete bunkers packed with wet sand into which three rows of conduits have been inserted. During off-peak energy demand, the hot water produced by the heat pumps is circulated in the banks to warm them up, while in the daytime, water returning from the building’s heating equipment is circulated through these warm banks. The result is peak demand savings of two heat pumps.

A fresh-air-handling unit was also added to the roof serving the atrium.

In addition to transfer return fans providing a steady injection of fresh outside air, the building’s ventilation unit forces it through a heat recovery wheel. In the winter, heat and humidity are recovered from the evacuated air and transferred to the fresh air entering the building. Conversely, in the summer, the wheel transfers heat and humidity from fresh air entering the building to the evacuated air, notes Rubin.

On the more public north façade, the building’s two slightly splayed wings set between a transparent atrium have been given lively but different treatments. In particular, the west block is clad in a dark, rich purple brick. A large circular window on the third level is punched into the brick, signalling the firm’s corporate boardroom. To the west, a two-storey glass screen that appears to hover above the building’s first level has been extruded and wrapped around the building’s corner and is intended to allow natural daylight to penetrate deep into the building. Inside, reflecting light shelves along the southern exposure bounce light off the partially canted ceilings while automatic sensors control light levels of the complex’s remarkably few light fixtures.

Dominated by the central atrium, the building’s plan includes open and glass-enclosed bridges spanning between the two wings. The materiality of the space is both slick and rich with steel, glass and polished concrete floors playing off the oxide brick walls, Quebec limestone baseboards and a ceiling of site-salvaged wood. Directly off the atrium, a generous bistro-style restaurant takes advantage of floor-to-ceiling north-facing glazing while offering clear views out to the woods beyond. Attention to communal spaces continues on the second level where the northwest corner has been designed as a luminous glass box for informal meetings. On the third floor, the elegant corporate boardroom opens fully to a generous anteroom space thanks to three large pivoting wood doors.

In the office areas, ceilings are textured landscapes achieved by the mixing of open-to-slab and semi-open grill sections with traditional hung panels. Through the generous use of crafted local hardwoods, the animation of the light shelves and the teasing in of natural light, this is an example—like the atrium and its role as the building’s lungs—of where the architectural quality of space neatly dovetails with the objective of environmental responsibility. The Hagen headquarters is not intended as iconic architecture

LIGHT PENETRATES DEEP INTO THE BUILDING THROUGH A TWO-STOREY GLASS SCREEN THAT WRAPS AROUND THE BUILDING’S CORNER; A SOUTHEAST VIEW OF THE BUILDING AT DUSK; A CANOPIED BICYCLE SHELTER OFFERS PROTECTION FROM THE ELEMENTS

BY THE EMPLOYEE ENTRANCE AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.

ABOVE, TOP TO BOTTOM

but it does add a welcome moment of quality, nestled within its forest site, among the largely banal landscape of modern commercial activity. CA Rhys Phillips lives in Ottawa and has been writing on architecture and urban design for 23 years.

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CONCRETE SOLUTIONS

A CONSTRUCTION COMPANY ENJOYS THE BENEFITS OF COMMISSIONING ITS OWN TRAINING FACILITY WITH A FOCUS ON HONEST DETAILING, SUSTAINABILITY AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS.

PROJECT PCL CENTENNIAL LEARNING CENTRE, EDMONTON, ALBERTA ARCHITECT COHOS EVAMY INTEGRATEDESIGN™ TEXT SHAFRAAZ KABA PHOTOS TOM ARBAN

PCL Construction has grown from a small contracting company in Stoughton, Saskatchewan to the eighth-largest contractor in North America.

Their LEED Gold-certified Edmonton headquarters—named the PCL Centennial Learning Centre—is a renovated and expanded facility marking their 100 years in business.

E.E. Poole General Contractor was founded in 1906 by Ernest Poole, who later moved the com-

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pany from Stoughton to Regina, and then to Edmonton in 1932 where he would eventually sell the firm to his sons George and John in 1948.

Known as Poole’s Rules, a list of guidelines created by Poole from which to run his company included pronouncements such as, “Avoid jobs where design is not good or financing doubtful.

Let your competitors have these.” In 1977, Poole Construction Limited became an employeeowned company called PCL Construction Holdings. Every year since 1977, PCL has shown remarkable growth and is now owned by its 1,700 salaried workers, who are in 27 locations across North America.

The building of the PCL Centennial Learning Centre (CLC) was led by Vice President Alan Bodie, who stressed that, “it was about the people rather than the select few at the top.” The CLC is a building that links several existing structures in the PCL Business Park. One of the early buildings on the campus is a bermed, low-profile design by Peter Hemingway, one of Edmonton’s most celebrated architects. PCL engaged Cohos Evamy to create a new master plan for the site and to design the first phase, which resulted in the CLC. Architect Stephen Boyd was the project designer and partner in charge.

Utilizing concrete and a curtain-wall system, the CLC provided PCL with a new front door and reception area befitting the largest contractor in Canada. It expressed the materials that PCL has mastered—namely concrete, steel and glass. As a “college of construction,” it provides training rooms as well as distance education facilities for remote sites and offices. But the most striking aspect of the facility is the Grand Hall, a threestorey-high space that provides the company with a gathering place for staff events and training, opening up to a new courtyard designed by landscape architect Doug Carlyle of Carlyle + Associates. The scale of the Grand Hall is not overwhelming but welcoming, and is flooded with natural light, which continues along the curtain-wall spine that acts as a solar chimney, one of the many integrated strategies that allowed

OPPOSITE TOP AN ENTHUSIASTIC EMPLOYEE RISES TO THE OCCASION. OPPOSITE BOTTOM A SPARE MATERIAL PALETTE ALLOWS SIMPLE VOLUMETRIC FORMS TO PRESENT A CONFIDENT STATEMENT FOR ONE OF CANADA’S LARGEST CONTRACTORS. ABOVE FRAMED BY STEEL COLUMNS, THE MAIN ASSEMBLY HALL PROVIDES A JUNCTURE POINT BETWEEN THE FACILITY’S OFFICES AND TRAINING AREAS. BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT WELL EXECUTED CONCRETE DETAILING IS A MUST FOR A CLIENT WHOSE REPUTATION RESTS ON QUALITY CONSTRUCTION; THE INTERIOR COURTYARD DESIGNED BY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT DOUG CARLYLE.

the building to achieve a high level in Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) certification.

“I had never heard of LEED, but our buildings group began to hear about it about the time we started design. We considered it for a while when Cohos Evamy brought the program to us, but we decided not to do it. But it wasn’t six months down the road when all the noise about sustain-

able building began to build, and we reversed our decision,” states Bodie, remarking on the move towards applying for certification. The architects’ inherent integrated design process is what helped the CLC building navigate through a oneyear design and documents phase with minimal fuss over the change to a LEED project. Bodie believes the construction requirements to achieve particular LEED credits were not out of

line with PCL’s regular construction procedure, and added, “The construction standards are really no different than what we would have normally done with a very particular owner.” The CLC was the first LEED project for PCL, but like all new skills, after rising above the learning curve, subsequent projects became straightforward. “The administration load was high because it was the first, but once you’ve gone

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enough light. “I like what LEED encourages you to do with lighting, rather than blinding you with overlit spaces.” Throughout the project, the LEED rating system was not driving the details. Rather, good design simply balanced the building aspects of sustainability, usability and aesthetics.

The fact that Canada’s largest contractor created a LEED Gold legacy project for the training and development of their staff is an inspiration to the building and construction industry. Many requests have been made to PCL Construction from outside the company for the use of the Grand Hall since the building opened. This building does exactly what the LEED program hoped to achieve—that is, to create a market

through the process, it gets easier. For us, it was part of the cost of doing business,” explains Bodie.

Along with the solar chimney, the CLC incorporated many sustainable and healthy building practices. The curtain wall was a triple glazed, low-E thermally broken product with operable windows. An astounding 96 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill during the two-year building process. “The segregation of materials doesn’t really cost you anything and the subcontractors were right on board, too,” says Bodie. Daylighting is actively employed throughout the building, but where necessary, electric fixtures are carefully chosen to provide just

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OPPOSITE, LEFT TO RIGHT PRAIRIE SUN FILLS THE ATRIUM LEADING PAST THE MAIN RECEPTION AREA; THE CAMPUS COURTYARD ADJACENT TO THE GRAND HALL PROVIDES A WONDERFUL OUTDOOR SPACE FOR STAFF AND VISITORS ALIKE.

transformation tool that shows how sustainable buildings are possible, how they are healthier and more efficient, and above all, how they can function as places of delight for their occupants and the public. The Centennial Learning Centre is a courageous and confident building that would make PCL founder Ernest Poole proud. CA Shafraaz Kaba is a partner with Manasc Isaac Architects in Edmonton and a founding member of the Media, Art and Design Exposed (M.A.D.E.) in Edmonton Society.

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CLIENT PCL CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES INC. ARCHITECT TEAM TOM SUTHERLAND, STEPHEN BOYD, DAN HUNKA, KEITH ROBINSON, NORA HARTFELDER, JAROMIR KOZAK, CAROLE HOVELAND STRUCTURAL COHOS EVAMY INTEGRATEDESIGN™ (JIM MONTGOMERY, JEFF DIBATTISTA, CAMERON FRANCHUK, KRIS LIMA) MECHANICAL COHOS EVAMY INTEGRATEDESIGN™ (DALE KNUTSON, DON FOX, JOHN SCHULTZ) ELECTRICAL COHOS EVAMY INTEGRATEDESIGN™ (ED PON, HARSHAD PATEL) INTERIORS COHOS EVAMY INTEGRATEDESIGN™ (MICHELLE SIGURDSON, CINDY LEE) LANDSCAPE CARLYLE + ASSOCIATES BUILDER PCL CONSTRUCTORS INC. AREA 2,430 M2

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I was struck by her beauty.

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UMMAH CUM LAUDE

THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE AGA KHAN, AN AMBITIOUS 17-ACRE REDEVELOPMENT IN SUBURBAN TORONTO WILL BRING TWO GLOBAL CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TO CANADA SUPPORTING ART AND CULTURE IN THE UMMAH, OR MUSLIM DIASPORA.

TEXT

IAN CHODIKOFF

Atop a hill overlooking the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) in Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Don Mills suburb, construction is about to begin on an important cultural precinct. Funded by His Highness the Aga Khan, two significant cultural institutions will stand on the former site of a late-Modernist office building. One will help support Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 40,000 Ismaili Muslims, while the other will comprise a museum whose mission it is to improve cultural understanding of the Muslim world.

The Aga Khan had already owned the eastern portion of the site and was planning on building the Ismaili Centre and Jamatkhana (community prayer hall) when the late-Modern Parkindesigned Bata International Headquarters building came up for sale in 2002. This offered the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) an opportunity to expand their site for the purposes of building a museum housing an extensive collection of Islamic art, as well as a pluralistic educational centre to study Muslim culture. While it is unfortunate that the Bata building was unable to be saved from demolition, its replacement will undoubtedly be of far greater significance to both the cultural and architectural history of Toronto.

Fifty years ago, very few Muslims lived in nearby communities like Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park. Today, these communities represent one of most significant Muslim populations in Canada.

Forsaking the chance to build exemplary contemporary architecture celebrating the ethnic and cultural diversity of Toronto for the sake of preserving the Bata building would have truly been a wasted opportunity in the architectural history of the city, and indeed the country.

The 17-acre site bounded by Wynford Drive, Eglinton Avenue, the DVP and Don Mills Road will be transformed by the addition of two significant projects: the Ismaili Centre and Jamatkhana designed by Mumbai-based Charles Correa Architects, and the Aga Khan Museum, designed by architect Fumihiko Maki of Maki & Associates in Tokyo. Inserted between each of these 10,000square-metre projects will be a series of landscaped gardens designed by the Beirut-based landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic, who received a 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for his Samir Kassir Square project in Beirut.

And overseeing construction of the site are Moriyama & Teshima Architects of Toronto, the

ABOVE AN AXONOMETRIC RENDERING OF WYNFORD PARK ILLUSTRATING THE PROPOSED ISMAILI CENTRE AND JAMATKHANA.

architects of record. Collectively, the construction costs for the two buildings will exceed $200 million. The Ismaili Centre will be completed by late 2010, with the Aga Khan Museum completed approximately one year later.

Including Eastern-influenced formal gardens and over two kilometres of walking trails open to the public, Wynford Park will contain five reflecting pools, enclosed gardens and waterfalls.

Visitors will be shielded from the noisy DVP and Eglinton Avenue traffic with numerous places for contemplation. Along the southern edge of the site, the development group is in the process of discussing with the City of Toronto as to how best manage the City-owned property abutting the site. In return for relocating some of the existing fencing along the property line, the AKDN will maintain the adjacent City property, as well as upgrade its plantings and grading. Both the selection of plant material and safety concerns regarding public access to the 03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

31

A VIEW OF THE TERRACED VLADIMIR DJUROVIC-DESIGNED LANDSCAPE. MIDDLE A VIEW TOWARD THE NEW ISMAILI CENTRE, DESIGNED BY CHARLES CORREA. ABOVE HOLDING EXTENSIVE COLLECTIONS OF MUSLIM ART AND CULTURE, THE FUMIHIKO MAKI-DESIGNED AGA KHAN MUSEUM WILL BE THE FIRST FACILITY OF ITS KIND IN NORTH AMERICA. TOP

site during non-daylight hours and the winter season are currently being discussed with the City to ensure that issues of maintenance and safety are properly addressed. Even a nearly inaccessible traffic island will be upgraded and maintained so that the impact of Wynford Park’s landscape can extend as far into the community as possible.

32 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 03/08

Wynford Park crystallized the development process in 2004 through the creation of the Imara Development Group, a project management arm engaged to oversee the construction of both institutions in addition to the landscape architecture. Although the construction costs will be underwritten by the AKDN, Wynford Park will require distinct, ongoing financial commitments.

Since the Ismaili Centre is a community facility, the Toronto Ismaili community will be responsible for fundraising its many ongoing activities.

As the museum is a cultural enterprise, it will be seeking ongoing patronage to support its functions through the establishment of endowment funds, exhibition donations and membership revenue from the community at large—similar strategies to what most other public museums pursue in order to remain viable.

While the AKDN had developed their functional and programmatic requirements for the site, they hired Shamez Mohammed as their representative to coordinate the project, essentially a turnkey operation to be delivered over to the AKDN after its completion. Before working for the AKDN, Mohammed, a civil engineer with an MBA, had worked for Mercer Management Consulting in Toronto for several years. After the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, he took a paid sabbatical from his firm and moved to India for 14 months to establish the Mumbai operations of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an international disaster management agency. After returning to Canada, Mohammed became a volunteer for the Aga Khan, eventually resigning from Mercer in 2004 to become the Project Coordinator for the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, in addition to coordinating two ongoing Ottawa projects supported by the AKDN—the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the Global Centre for Pluralism.

The significance of building a pluralist precinct devoted to education, culture, religion and community devoted to Ismailis and the Muslim world with the intent of engaging a dialogue with the general population cannot be overstated. His Highness the Aga Khan is not only a religious leader for the 15 million Ismailis around the world, but a leader concerned with strengthening the contemporary identity of Muslim culture in the Ummah, or the Muslim diaspora. Building such an ambitious project as Wynford Park, the Aga Khan has taken a clear position regarding the study and dissemination of contemporary Muslim culture in the global sphere, and not just for the benefit of the Toronto Ismaili community.

In a speech delivered at a roundtable held at the Louvre in Paris last October, the Aga Khan noted the challenges associated with manoeuvring the identity of his Toronto Aga Khan Museum within a cultural framework that is difficult to generalize in a diverse, complex and pluralistic world. When it comes to generalizing the Islamic world, these sensitive challenges become overlaid with misunderstandings associated with issues such as religious wars, terrorism and regional strife—elements that are not representative of the vast majority of Muslims. Therefore, the Aga Khan’s creation of a contemporary cultural and religious precinct in the suburbs of Toronto is incredibly challenging but also extremely vital, if both the Muslim and general Canadian populations are to learn about themselves and each other. CA

INSITES

REMAPPING THE WORLD

PATRICK BINGHAM-HALL

ANNE DE HENNING

AS A JURY MEMBER FOR THE 2007 AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE, ARCHITECT AND PROFESSOR BRIGITTE SHIM DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS UNIQUE AWARDS PROGRAM.

TEXT

BRIGITTE SHIM

Before beginning the deliberation process for the 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA), our jury was asked to provide words reflecting any aspirations for this award program. In no particular order, I thought that it would be helpful to list these words: collaboration, education, excellence, sustainability, sensitivity to context, negotiations, changing the status quo, interventions, coherences, transformations, broader context, process, architectural ethnography, affective contribution, new models of urbanism, accretive urbanization, humane urban density, dialogic ummah, contemporaneity, translation and transition.

Prior to serving on the 2007 AKAA jury, I associated this award program with its admirable recognition of significant restoration projects throughout the Muslim world. I certainly did not link this award with contemporary buildings. I quickly learned that this, the tenth award cycle for the program, represents a 30-year commitment by His Highness the Aga Khan to architectural excellence and a desire to stimulate debate and reflection about the built environment. Once every three years, this award program provides a lens to view, understand and celebrate built work emerging from communities throughout the Islamic world. The projects reviewed for the 2007 award cycle leaves us with valuable lessons that can guide us toward new models of

CHRISTIAN RICHTERS

AMIR-MASSOUD ANOUSHFAR

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT ONE OF THE AWARD-WINNING PROJECTS FOR THE 2007 AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE IS FOSTER+PARTNERS AND GDP ARCHITECTS’ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY PETRONAS IN MALAYSIA; PRESERVATION EFFORTS FOR THE ANCIENT CITY OF SHIBAM, YEMEN WERE RECOGNIZED. BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT DICK VAN GAMEREN AND BJARNE MASTENBROEK’S NEW DUTCH EMBASSY IN ETHIOPIA LIES ON THE SOUTHERN OUTSKIRTS OF ADDIS ABABA IN A EUCALYPTUS GROVE SET AMIDST URBAN SPRAWL; THE CENTRAL MARKET IN KOUDOUGOU, BURKINA FASO WITH ITS STRUCTURAL SYSTEM OF DOME-SHAPED ROOFS WAS DICTATED BY THE NEED FOR LONGER SPANS TO ACCOMMODATE TABLES AND STOOLS IN THE STALLS; VLADIMIR DJUROVIC’S SAMIR KASSIR SQUARE IN BEIRUT IS A SMALL PUBLIC SPACE DEFINED BY TWO LARGE FICUS TREES LARGE ENOUGH TO SHADE MOST OF THE SPACE.

exemplary and meaningful contemporary works of architecture.

In the Western world, there is a great deal of attention paid to the look and image of buildings. Our architecture magazines reflect our speedobsessed societies mirrored through mega-projects and agitated skyscrapers. In our busy world, it is rare to take the time to reflect and better understand the powerful role building plays in shaping people’s lives and fostering community.

Rather than considering the winning entries of the 2007 AKAA as a homogeneous group, readers need to dig deeper and understand the pivotal role each project plays—in the words of the Aga Khan—“in changing the physical environment of the Islamic world enabling people of all backgrounds and faiths to live a better life.” Hopefully, the rest of the world will

GERALDINE BRUNEEL 03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

33

BRIGITTE SHIM

world sends independent reviewers to all parts of the globe to visit the jury’s shortlisted projects.

No other architectural award program in the world brings these same reviewers to the jury to share with them their first-hand observations and insights about the physical and social context of the built work. The reviewers’ personal field experiences enable the jury to build a knowledge base for each and every project. The jury was made aware of the physical data, design and construction process, cultural contribution, construction schedule, cost, technical developments and social relevance for every shortlisted project considered. We discussed the design intent, the design process as well as the design results. We understood the varying role of the contractor, builders and craftsmen in each project, recognizing the many types of strong individuals and multi-headed client groups involved in commissioning work. We also understood the changing role of the architect and the complex nature of design teams required to realize any built project.

This is fundamental to what I’ll call the vertical gathering of knowledge afforded by the AKAA program.

ABOVE BENEATH THE PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS (A WINNER OF THE 2004 AGA KHAN ARCHITECTURE AWARD) IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA IS SURIA KLCC, A POPULAR SIX-STOREY SHOPPING MALL. GUESTS INVITED TO THE 2007 AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE PASSED THROUGH THE MALL EN ROUTE TO THE CEREMONY. BEING PHOTOGRAPHED BY HIS MOTHER, A YOUNG BOY STANDS NEXT TO AN AWARD CEREMONY HOST WEARING MALAYSIAN NATIONAL DRESS. AS PREVIOUS AGA KHAN AWARD CEREMONIES HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC LANDMARKS IN THE MUSLIM WORLD, THE SITE FOR THE 2007 AWARD CEREMONY RAISES MANY ISSUES ABOUT THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN MODERNITY AND TRADITION, A SUBJECT DEBATED AND DISCUSSED BY THE JURY.

take notice of and learn to develop a greater understanding about the remarkable transformative work taking place many parts of the Muslim world. The following are some of the themes that I derived from my experiences as a member of the jury.

Ababa, Rada’, Bandar Seri Iskader, Singapore, Shibam, Nicosia and Radrapur. The Muslim world covers many continents, numerous climatic zones and specific regions of the globe. My experience on this jury has recalibrated my sense, inspiring me to remap my world.

Remapping

Lateral Conversations

Architecture fuses together poetic ideas, inert materials, physical site and social conditions.

Architecture trades on its ability to touch and shape people’s lives in profound and meaningful ways. Around the world, no matter where it is being practiced, architecture is a complex discipline. Projects in the Islamic world have a rich architectural history and are burdened with an additional mandate to link and intertwine the past, present and future in meaningful and innovative ways. In January and June of 2007, I was honoured to be one of nine jury members invited to spend several days in Geneva, Switzerland deliberating over the ways in which built architecture impacts the Muslim world. Each jury member was required to do plenty of homework prior to arriving in Geneva, as several thick binders full of background information were sent to us beforehand. With 343 projects submitted, I became intimately aware of the enormous challenges and the hopeful opportunities of building in cities and towns like Koudougou, Beirut, Addis

Most architecture award juries bring together architects to review photographic images of built work. Winning projects are selected based on the jury’s collective vision of architectural excellence.

The 2007 AKAA program brought together five architects from around the world with an historian, an artist, a curator and a literary theorist to discuss, interpret and better understand the changing landscape throughout the Muslim world. During our numerous jury sessions, I was aware that architects were also painters and that curators were also poets and that everyone in the room was a teacher. We all listened and learned from the distinct voices around the table. The jury’s definition of architectural excellence was constantly being challenged, defined and redefined. The winning projects were not easily decided. They emerged from the breadth of our lateral conversations.

34 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 03/08

Deep Vertical Knowledge

No other architectural award program in the

Building Community

How can architecture continue to play a vital role in building community throughout the Muslim world? The jury noted that many projects suffered by adopting a foreign or “borrowed” language of architecture that has matured over the last 50 years in the Muslim world, and also did not consider the communities that they served.

As a counterpoint to this kind of placelessness, we need to support and celebrate ways of building community that emerge from a deep understanding of the local culture and building traditions while simultaneously addressing the layered complexities of our modern world. The discipline of architecture needs to nurture alternative models of practice that link and support committed designers to work directly with local communities to engage in projects that have the capacity to build and transform community.

Transforming the World

At no time in human history has the potential for architecture to shape our world been greater than today. The exemplary winning projects of the 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture demonstrate to us that the human spirit is capable of transforming the world around us. While there is much to be learned from the built form of every winning project, the most valuable lesson lies in the understanding that architects can truly engage the Muslim world even before they start to design. CA Brigitte Shim was a member of the 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture jury. She is a principal of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture, Landscape & Design at the University of Toronto.

Call for Candidature worldwide architectural design competition for the construction of Permanent Premises

for the

for the

International Criminal Court The Hague, The Netherlands The International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded in 2002 when the Rome Statute, which was adopted in 1998, came into force. Currently 105 countries have become parties to this International Treaty. The ICC is an independent and permanent court that prosecutes those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The establishment of this Court is a milestone in the development of international justice.

The aim of this project is to construct permanent accommodation for the ICC on a prime site bordering the North Sea dunes and the city of The Hague and covering over 72,000 m^. The ICC and the host State of The Netherlands share the conviction that the new ICC premises should provide suitable working conditions, functionality, security and ecological fit.

Within the premises, up to 1,200 workstations, courtrooms, and various ancillary facilities will have to be provided with a total gross floor space of up to 46,000 m^. Furthermore, parking facilities as well as plans for two expansions of 150 workstations each are foreseen. The spatial and functional design should take into account the need for flexibility and scalability on the long term.

A worldwide architectural design competition will take place in order to select the best architect for this unique project for which this is a call for candidature. The competition is organised by the Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands. It is a restricted anonymous project competition that begins with an open application for candidature, followed by a pre-selection of up to 20 participants and a design competition.

The time schedule is:

Deadline for submission of candidature Pre-selection of participants Design competition Election of prize-winners

1 April 2008 16 May 2008 May until August 2008 30 / 31 October 2008

The Competition brief with the detailed requirements for the premises of the ICC will be sent to the selected participants in May 2008. Each participant having submitted a design concept in line with the requirements laid down in the Competition brief shall receive a fee of Ä 35.000. In addition the Jury will award prizes for the best three designs: 1st prize Ä 60.000, 2nd prize Ä 50.000, 3rd prize Ä 40.000.

To ensure anonymity and for technical purposes, the working language for the architectural design competition will exclusively be English.

For further information please enter the competition website: www.icc-architectural-competition.com

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Ad Sizes 1/4 Page, 100 Words 1/8 Page, 50 Words For information about placing an ad in our Showcase & Literature Reviews, contact:

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Tom Arkell 416-510-6806 Greg Paliouras 416-510-6808 Canadian Architect 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 www.canadianarchitect.com

CALENDAR Utopia’s Ghost at the CCA

Munira Mirza lecture

February 28-May 25, 2008 Presented in collaboration with Columbia University, this exhibition at the CCA’s Octagonal Gallery presents new interpretations of and connections among architectural projects of the postmodern period. www.cca.qc.ca

March 27, 2008 As part of the Urban Field Speakers Series held at the Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art in Toronto, Munira Mirza, Londonbased writer, broadcaster and founding member of the Manifesto Club speaks on the use of arts for urban regeneration at 7:30pm. The event is moderated by visual artist, curator and educator Shelly Bahl. www.prefix.ca

Public Space

March 8-April 20, 2008 This exhibition at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre features Canada’s North Design Studio, gh3 and the Office for Urbanism, firms that investigate the complexities of urban design in Toronto through their ideas and practices. www.harbourfrontcentre.com Gramazio & Kohler lecture

March 25, 2008 Gramazio & Kohler of Gramazio & Kohler Architektur und Städtbau in Zurich deliver a lecture at 6:00pm in Room G10 of the Macdonald-Harrington Building at the McGill University School of Architecture in Montreal. www.gramaziokohler.com

Researching the Recent Past: Modern Architecture and the Archival Record

April 5, 2008 Andrew Waldron is an architectural historian at Parks Canada specializing in the history of Canadian modernism and its architectural manifestations, and is the current president of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada.

Waldron’s lecture will be take place from 1:30pm-3:30pm at the City of Toronto Archives located at 255 Spadina Road. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required for each lecture. psharke@toronto.ca

Julia Czerniak lecture

March 25, 2008 Part of the Bulthaup lecture series, Julia Czerniak of the School of Architecture, Syracuse University, lectures on “Legibility + Resilience” at 6:30pm in Room 103 of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. www.ald.utoronto.ca Construction Law Primer: Contracts & Liens

Building Envelope Solutions Conference

March 26, 2008 This very focused one-day conference at the Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto will examine major issues and solutions related to building envelope materials, design, construction and installation. www.buildingenvelopeforum.com

April 8, 2008 Part of the Bulthaup lecture series, Michael Van Valkenburgh presents “Don River Park, the Portlands Estuary, and Other Recent MVVA Projects” at 6:30pm in Room 103 of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. Van Valkenburgh teaches at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and runs his practice Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc. in New York and Cambridge. www.ald.utoronto.ca Gregg Pasquarelli lecture

April 8, 2008 Gregg Pasquarelli of SHOP in New York delivers this lecture entitled “Out of Practice” at 5:00pm in Amphitheatre 3110, Université de Montréal School of Architecture.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE, AND ADDITIONAL LISTINGS OF CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT www.canadianarchitect.com

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Michael Van Valkenburgh lecture

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03/08 CANADIAN ARCHITECT

37

BACKPAGE

CITIES, FROM ABOVE

A TRAVELLING EXHIBITION OF RECENT WORK BY JOHN HARTMAN REVEALS POIGNANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY, APPARENT IN THE ABSTRACTED QUALITIES OF HIS OIL PAINTINGS.

TEXT

JOHN BENTLEY MAYS JOHN HARTMAN

IMAGE

In his recent paintings of cities, now on view at the University of Toronto Art Centre, Ontario painter John Hartman assumes a viewpoint a few hundred feet above the urban grid, just below the thin layer of smog and damp that hangs over the metropolis. It is a privileged position, one from which it is possible to scrutinize the city as both luxuriating sprawl and the awkward sum of intimate details that never fit together just so. We know Hartman’s position and moment: it happens when you are dropping down from the sky toward a large urban airport, and suddenly, you can see everything, all at once. The flat edge of earth slipping beyond the horizon, the unrelenting stasis of suburbia, cars moving, fans revolving in mechanical penthouses, a bed glimpsed through a hotel window—things near and things far, arrayed across an immense tableau that contains infinity and yet also the most minute detail—all things that we never see as long as we are earthbound.

Hartman’s oils in this series, like that moment of aerial descent, open up views of everything and more than everything. Our eyes, gazing down from a 38 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 03/08

VANCOUVER FROM ABOVE BURRARD INLET (2006) REPRESENTS ONE OF HARTMAN’S EVOCATIVE DEPICTIONS OF THE CONTEMPORARY METROPOLIS.

ABOVE

great height, can only register the dusty greys and browns of the urban fabric, but Hartman’s urgent, supple brushwork brings near the city in its radiant diversity and complexity, rendering it electric, incandescent and—to borrow curator Stuart Reid’s word—ecstatic.

Organized and sent on a national and international tour by Scotiabank Group to celebrate its 175th anniversary, this group of 21 highly expressive works in oil on linen is about the ecstasy of urbanism as the artist discovered it in large and small cities across Canada, in Manhattan and in London.

In the panoramic Halifax (2006), for example, expressways and streets surge across the cityscape like pulsing veins, bringing blood into the urban tissue. The city itself, painted in vivid blues and reds, is densely packed on its peninsula, like a huge magnet radiating ripples of force beyond itself, toward the far horizon.

Here, then, is the city as it would appear to us, if we could see it as it is. CA John Bentley Mays is an architecture critic and writes regularly for The Globe and Mail.

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