CANADIAN ARCHITECT 02/21
20 GEORGIAN BAY
LAKE HURON
OSLER BLUFF SKI CLUB
LAKE ONTARIO TORONTO
APRÈS-SKI SANCTUARY A RENOVATED CLUBHOUSE RETAINS THE SPIRIT OF OSLER BLUFF’S ORIGINAL TIMBERBUILT LODGE. The Osler Bluff Ski Club Clubhouse, Town of the Blue Mountains, Ontario ARCHITECT Williamson Williamson TEXT Elsa Lam PHOTOS doublespace photography PROJECT
In 1949, two friends who had tired of the long lines at Quebec’s ski hills set out to found a new ski club north of Toronto. When looking for a site, the pair heard from local farmers that the Niagara Escarpment’s best snow conditions were found on the slopes above Poplar Sideroad, near Collingwood. The recent renovation of Osler’s clubhouse, completed by Torontobased firm Williamson Williamson, is similarly attuned to the local context, with materials and a design tailored to its cottage-country setting. Based on a masterplan completed by predecessor firm Williamson Chong in 2014, the design renovates the existing 1970s lodge and adds a new bay to the pleated-roof structure. The addition extends the mainlevel dining room, housing childcare and auxiliary spaces below. It foregrounds a dramatic pair of Y-shaped wood-and-steel columns— a contemporary version of the heavy timber columns of the original structure. The decision to renovate rather than rebuild was a matter of budget and wanting to keep the spirit of the existing clubhouse, but it was not a simple task. “Renovations are incredibly complicated,” says architect Betsy Williamson, who describes how the original building was covered in asbestos, and constructed on a base of core slab, atop foundations that had no capacity to support additional weight.
CA Feb 21.indd 20
2021-01-26 11:43 AM
