Canadian Architect November 2018

CANADIAN ARCHITECT nov/18

Civic Landmarks

The Official Magazine of the RAIC

2018-10-25 12:02 PM

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$6.95

Nov/18 v.63 n.11

AGE IS SKIN DEEP

It’s a happy coincidence that Flynn Group of Companies helped give WSP Place in Edmonton a new lease on life just as both celebrate their 40th years.

A lot has changed since 1978. When it comes to modernizing a decades-old building envelope to LEED® Gold, we’re aiming for a higher standard than “good as new”.

Flynn’s design-assist team was involved at an early stage to advise on materials selection and design. Because however sleek the aesthetic, performance is the underlying beauty of any modern façade system.

Flynn supplied and installed curtain wall glazing, punched windows, and wall panel, all while the building was fully occupied. The insulated wall panel assembly uses thermal isoclips to help bring the building’s thermal performance into the 21st century.

Here’s to the next 40 years!

WSP PLACE EDMONTON, AB

See more photos at FlynnCompanies.com.

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Civic Landmarks 4 Viewpoint

Doublespace Photography

James Brittain

canadian architect

november 2018 03

Editor Elsa Lam reflects on architectural lessons from early motherhood.

7 News

DIALOG’s Royal Alberta Museum opens; National Urban Design Award winners announced.

17 raic Journal

Launch of new professional liability insurance program; the story behind the redesigned Governor General’s Medals in Architecture.

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36 Gilles-Vigneault Performance Hall A theatre by Atelier TAG in consortium with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes is a new cultural hub for Saint-Jérôme, Quebec. TEXT Olivier Vallerand

45 Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool

rchitecture and landscape firm gh3* designs Canada’s first natural swimming pool A in Edmonton. TEXT Cynthia Dovell

53 Bank of Canada Head Office

rthur Erickson’s design for the nation’s central bank is sensitively updated A

by Perkins+Will. TEXT Odile Hénault

26 longview

Stefan Novakovic considers the dualities of Anthropocene, an exhibition featuring large-scale photographs by Edward Burtynsky.

29 insites

Winnipeg firm 5468796 challenges Canadian architects to bring higherlevel design thinking to the multifamily housing typology.

63 Books

Graham Livesey reviews Dalhousie Architectural Press’s Canadian Modern series, and Lawrence Bird tries out a card deck of exercises with A Few Minutes of Design.

70 Calendar

david boyer

Fred Hollingsworth at the West Vancouver Art Museum; Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernist Myths at the CCA ; The Buildings Show in Toronto.

74 backpage

A mosaic-clad bandshell designed

by Paul Raff invites community performances.

62M in Winnipeg by 5468796 Architecture. Photo by James Brittain.

COVER

v.63 n.11

36

The National Review of Design and Practice / The Official Magazine of the RAIC

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Viewpoint

Courtesy of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation

canadian architect 11/18

04

Designed by Stantec, the Crossroads playground in Calgary’s East Village is an exemplar of infant- and childfriendly design, with padded terrain and a variety of settings that invite exploration. left

Design Like a Mother What they say is true: having a kid changes everything. I didn’t expect that to include my view of architecture. But over the past year of maternity leave, my interaction with the built environment has been shifting as I learn to navigate the world with a tiny human.

The shift started when my baby was still in utero. Midway through gestation, something in my hip joint jostled loose. Sitting up became painful, let alone easing myself out of bed. “This is what it must feel like to be old,” I thought.

The injury only lasted for a week, but in that time, I noted the importance of well-placed stair handrails for leaning on, cushioned-yetfirm chairs that were easy to sit into and stand up from, and functioning elevators.

I was lucky to deliver at the Toronto Birth Centre, a midwife-operated space in Regent Park. Birthing is intense, and I was glad to be away from the beeping machines and bustle of a hospital, in a calm setting with the necessary medical equipment. While a bed is central to most hospital birthing rooms, at the birth centre, a deep tub and ceilinghung sling take centre stage, allowing for active birthing. (Full disclosure: my husband worked at LGA Architectural Partners and was one of the project’s architects.) The Toronto Birth Centre is one of two prototypes in Ontario. Why aren’t these more widespread, like they are in Quebec?

Navigating with a baby over the next months brought more new perspectives. The mental map of my neighbourhood altered, centering on cafés and libraries with change table-equipped washrooms. The best was when these were located in gender-neutral washrooms, allowing me to pass off to my husband. An elegant alternative to fold-out plastic tables is an extended section of counter—bonus points for an adjacent mirror to entertain baby.

As my little one’s mobility increased, so did my parental eye for appropriate environments for him to explore the world. The City of Toronto

CA Nov 18.indd 4

Editor elsa lam, fRAIC Art Director Roy Gaiot associate Editor Stefan novakovic Contributing Editors Annmarie Adams, FRAIC Odile Hénault Douglas MacLeod, ncarb, MRAIC

has a no-spray policy in its parks—perfect for a crawler intent on taste-testing grass, sticks and dirt. I scouted the city for playgrounds with rubber padding where he could practice taking his first steps without too many scrapes.

He was particularly charmed by pavement-level water jets, and we made family excursions to City Hall and Corktown Common.

Infant strollers also come with spatial challenges. Ramp access to buildings is key— a stroller containing a child isn’t easy to lug up a flight of stairs. The StopGap Foundation’s simple coloured wedges, while originally intended for wheelchair users, have helped me access dozens of local establishments. Increasingly stringent universal access requirements are helpful for parents, too. A well-placed door opener button makes getting inside seamless, while one located too close to the door swing entails a complicated cha-cha with the stroller.

In places with infant-centred activities, a designated indoor stroller parking area is enormously useful. Parents hesitate to leave a thousand-dollar-stroller unattended outside.

All of these minutiae demonstrate why diversity is so important in design. When a hand dryer roars to life next to the change table and your baby screeches in response, you’ll remember it for every future washroom layout. It’s helpful to have mother-architects and father-architects to get that detail right.

In the same way, we need architects who know first-hand about mobility challenges, social segregation, and a host of other issues.

This doesn’t absolve architects of the responsibility to learn as much as they can about the spatial aspects of these topics. But having designers of diverse backgrounds in a team can allow for first-hand knowledge to permeate projects in a comprehensive way, with noticeable results in a plethora of thoughtful decisions. Experience is the ultimate teacher in life, as well as in design.

Elsa Lam

Regional Correspondents Montreal David Theodore Calgary Graham Livesey, MRAIC Winnipeg Lisa Landrum, MAA, AIA, MRAIC vancouver adele weder, Hon. MRAIC Vice president & Senior Publisher Steve Wilson 416-441-2085 x105 sales MANAGER Faria Ahmed 416-441-2085 x106 Customer Service / production laura moffatt 416-441-2085 x104 Circulation circulation@canadianarchitect.com President of iq business media inc.

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2018-10-24 3:34 PM

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The client was able to take advantage of AHNC to lower the carbon footprint of the building and received funds to offset the capital expenditure and lower operational costs. The selected energy conservation strategies, coupled with Enbridge's AHNC incentives, helped to reduce incremental costs associated with the energy conservation strategy investments in this building and maintain the housing affordability over the long-term. By participating in AHNC, Thorold Non-Profit saves over $6,840 per year on annual energy costs. With the Enbridge incentive, this allows for a payback of 5.4 years.

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Participating in the program was enlightening and helpful for all members of the design team, providing benefits that go beyond financial incentives.

Mike Memme, Mountainview Homes: “The design charrette brought experts in the room that we would have never contacted otherwise. We were made aware of industry best practices and challenges and how builders were dealing with them. We were given a glimpse of future code changes and how to prepare for them. Having so many great construction minds in the room at the same time was exciting. The topics we discussed will change how we design every midrise building we’re involved with going forward.”

Art Rebec, ARC Engineering: “The charrette design process is an excellent way to quantify both the energy and operating cost differences between various HVAC options, system alternates, and architectural building envelope variations.”

To learn more, visit SavingsByDesign.ca.

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canadian architect 11/18

news PROJECTS

The new Royal Alberta Museum, designed

by DIALOG, celebrated its grand opening in October, welcoming Albertans back to their provincial museum. At almost 40,000 square metres in size and with 7,600 square metres of exhibition space, the building is the largest museum in Western Canada. It replaces a 1967 facility in Glenora, west of downtown, doubling the previous exhibition space.

DIALOG was selected following a 2011 competition for a design-builder, and worked with Ledcor and Lundholm Associates to complete the project. The project is situated in Edmonton’s arts district, on a site previously occupied by a Canada Post office and distribution centre. The post office’s mosaic murals by Ernestine Tahedl are preserved on the façade of the museum, and the project’s outdoor courtyard uses reclaimed terrazzo flooring and Tyndall limestone panels from the historic structure.

“The new Royal Alberta Museum is an architectural showpiece where Albertans will see their history, their province and themselves reflected,” said Ricardo Miranda, Federal Minister of Culture and Tourism. “Building a museum is a mammoth task and we look forward to welcoming Albertans back to their provincial museum to show what we have accomplished in bringing this world-class museum to life.”

The $375.5-million project’s scope includes natural history and human history exhibition galleries, a children’s gallery and bug room with hatchery, curatorial and research spaces, a feature gallery, and room for changing exhibitions that make use of the museum’s collections. As the new museum is within the territory of Treaty 6, it also includes extensive First Nations collections, as well as a permanent exhibit on residential schools.

The building was financed with $253 million from the Alberta government and $122.5 million from the federal government’s Building Canada Fund. The museum is steward to more than 2.4 million objects.

courtesy of dialog

DIALOG’s Royal Alberta Museum opens in Edmonton

ABOVE The recently relocated Royal Alberta Museum in downtown Edmonton is Western Canada’s largest museum. The limestone-clad building was designed by DIALOG.

changing needs of York’s large and diverse community. It includes an array of study, meeting and lounge spaces, and also houses club offices and assembly spaces.

The project is the result of a 2013 referendum in which the student body voted in favour of a second building devoted solely to student space. It was designed in complete collaboration with York’s student body, with team members from CannonDesign working closely with student representatives to ensure that inclusivity and wellness were at the forefront of the facility design.

Key elements include a multi-faith prayer

space that takes up an entire floor, gender-neutral washrooms, studio space, 36 club-meeting spaces and a convention centre that can host up to 600 people. An array of sustainable initiatives includes bicycle parking, showers, green roofs, high-performance glazing and curtain wall, and extensive use of natural lighting to lower energy use and promote community safety.

The building is located at the north end of a significant campus green, in a central location that makes it easily accessible to the 50,000 students who attend classes on campus. www.cannondesign.com

www.dialogdesign.ca

CannonDesign’s four-storey Student Centre has officially opened, adding a vital social hub to the growing York University campus.

The building is the second student centre on campus, and is designed to respond to the

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Michael Muraz

York University opens CannonDesign’s Student Centre

York University’s second student centre, by CannonDesign, is now open. The building resulted from a student referendum, and student input was integral to the design process.

ABOVE

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Provencher_Roy creates new office space in Montreal’s Olympic Tower

Designed by architect Roger Taillibert for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, the inclined tower of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium is greeting its first commercial tenants: the employees of the AccèsD online payment platform of the Desjardins Group, a leading Canadian financial cooperative.

To create the office space for 1,000 employees, Provencher_Roy carried out a complete rehabilitation of the tower’s façades and a restructuring of its interior spaces. Almost all of the tower’s mechanical systems were renovated to bring them up to modern standards. www.provencherroy.ca

Gow Hastings and Two Row Architects unveil Seneca’s Odeyto Indigenous Centre

Seneca’s new Indigenous centre at Newnham Campus officially opened in late September. Designed by Gow Hastings Architects in collaboration with Two Row Architects, the new facility is named “Odeyto”— an Annishnaabe word meaning “the good journey.” The multipurpose facility is the new home of FirstPeoples@Seneca. It is also accessible to members within the broader Indigenous community.

Equipped with an office space, a computer lab, a kitchen and dedicated space for Indigenous elders, Odeyto is the only Indigenous hub of its kind between Highway 401 and Barrie, Ontario. www.gowhastings.com / www.tworow.com

Atelier Big City, Cimaise win competition for children’s theatre in Sherbrooke

Montreal architecture firms Atelier Big City and Cimaise have won a competition to design the new Lieu de diffusion spécialisé danse, théâtre pour l’enfance et la jeunesse de Sherbrooke in Quebec.

The children’s theatre, an addition to an existing building by Montreal’s Saucier + Perrotte, will be located in the historic centre of Sherbrooke. The 1,700-square-metre addition is a key part of the revitalization of Wellington Street, Sherbrooke’s main shopping and commercial artery.

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ABOVE A new children’s theatre, which adds to an existing building

by Saucier + Perrotte, will be designed by Atelier Big City and Cimaise.

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Boston University announces plans to build KPMB-designed Data Sciences Center

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KPMB Architects and Boston University have announced plans to build the BU Data Sciences Center, a 17-floor tower on Commonwealth Avenue in the heart of BU’s Charles River Campus. It is the first major teaching centre on the Charles River Campus in a half-century and will be BU’s tallest building.

With data sciences booming from an educational and employment perspective, the construction of the new Center will provide a new space to educate the next generation of creators, inventors, critical thinkers and problem solvers. The new Data Science Center will bring together the mathematics and statistics department with the computer science department, as well as house the interdisciplinary Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computer and Computational Science & Engineering.

The structure of the building consists of a four-storey podium topped by 13 storeys on offset f loorplates. The departments are planned as academic neighbourhoods, connected by a central atrium and feature stair. Terraced platforms running the length of the building, along with a collaboration ramp, are intended for small group interactions. The Center will incorporate sheltered pedestrian pathways, enhanced green space and seamless connections to historic brownstones on Bay State Road and to Commonwealth Avenue.

Following an approval process with the City of Boston that could take up to a year, the project is expected to begin site preparation in spring 2019 with an estimated completion of spring 2022. www.kpmb.com

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+VG Architects to design new theatre for Sheridan College

Toronto’s +VG Architects has been selected to design a new, 500-seat, 80,000-square-foot theatre for Sheridan College’s Trafalgar Road campus in Oakville, Ontario. The new theatre will include a multipurpose hall with an orchestra pit and fly tower, allowing it to host a variety of theatrical and orchestral performances as well as conference, film and lecture presentations. Construction is expected to commence by 2020. www.ventingroup.com

Architects selected for UBC residence on Student Union Boulevard

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12 University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus. The $108-million building will house 1,000 upper year students. It will contribute to the development of an intersection that includes existing student service areas and a large mixed-used academic-student housing hub. www.hotson.ca / www.ryderarchitecture.com

Aga Khan inaugurates University of Alberta Garden

On October 16, Alberta Lieutenant-Governor Lois Mitchell, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and His Highness the Aga Khan officially inaugurated the Aga Khan Garden, Alberta. Located at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden southwest of Edmonton, the garden is designed for education, reflection and the promotion of intercultural understanding.

Designed by landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz, the 4.8-hectare Aga Khan Garden is a contemporary interpretation of Islamic landscape architecture. A gift from the Aga Khan to the University of Alberta and all Canadians, it joins a network of 11 gardens around the world built or restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture— and is the northernmost in the world.

“Our responsibility to be good stewards of the earth extends to cultural heritage, whether in the form of parks or monuments. I believe this stewardship is even more critical today than ever before,” said His Highness the Aga Khan. During the inauguration ceremony, the future site of a pavilion, named the Diwan, was also dedicated. botanicgarden.ualberta.ca

Winning designs chosen for Toronto’s Rees and York Street parks

Waterfront Toronto, in partnership with the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, has announced the winning design submissions for the York Street Park and Rees Street Park design competitions. Both areas are located along the city’s central waterfront.

Love Park by Claude Cormier et Associés centres on a heart-shaped pool, surrounded by winding pathways and willow trees. Tiered platforms border the pool, inviting lounging as well as performance. Rees Ridge by wHY Architecture and Brook Mcllroy is an elevated landform that acts as an ecological filter. Rising to the level of the Gardiner expressway, the park visually conceals the highway for an entire city block. www.claudecormier.com / www.brookmcilroy.com / www.why-site.com

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AWARDS National Urban Design Awards recipients announced

Twelve projects have received 2018 National Urban Design Awards, in the biennial program established by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects in 2006.

The Medal winners are: TOcore—Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan by Public Work and City of Toronto; Discovery Halts (Escales découvertes) by civiliti and julie margot design; Rehabilitation of the waterfront and boardwalk at the Anse-du-Sud sector of Percé, Quebec,

by AECOM; The Kuujjuaq Hackathon 2017—Reassembling the North,

by McGill University, Minimum Cost Housing/Hackathon Group; Urban Beehive Project in Charlottetown, PEI, by Nine Yards Studio; Place des Canotiers in Quebec City, by Daoust Lestage and ABCP; and Place Vauquelin in Montreal, by Lemay.

Certificates of Merit are awarded to: More Awesome Now Laneway Activations in Vancouver, by HCMA Architecture + Design; Six Points Interchange in Etobicoke, Ontario, by SvN; and The 4th Ave Flyover in Calgary, by Tawab Hlimi.

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14 A student medal is awarded to [tactical] Infrastructure by Bryce Clayton (University of Waterloo), and a student certificate of merit goes to Domestic Insurgency: Towards Affordable Housing in Vancouver by James Banks (University of Waterloo).

The awards will be presented on January 7, 2019, at the Ottawa Art Gallery in Ottawa, in conjunction with the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism Forum Lecture Series.

Energy Step Code or the Passive House standard. Applicants must submit expressions of interest by November 30, 2018. www.efficiencybc.ca

MEMORANDA Calgary’s d.talks extends call for ideas deadline to November 18

www.raic.org

NEWS Canadian Red Cross seeks architect volunteers for humanitarian aid work

The Canadian Red Cross is recruiting for casual construction delegates, shelter and settlement delegates, and water, sanitation and hygiene delegates for its international roster. The skills of an architect can be put to various uses in humanitarian responses, from supporting reconstruction efforts after a natural disaster or for those displaced by conflict, to working with local communities to improve access to clean water.

Calgary’s Design Talks Institute has launched a call for ideas to improve the human aspect of mobility as part of the d.talks 2018 Movement program. www.dtalks.org

Last chance to view Bjarke Ingels Serpentine Pavilion in Toronto

Canadian development firm Westbank has reconstructed the 2016 Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, in downtown Toronto.

The temporary structure will be open to the public until November 30. www.westbankcorp.com

www.redcross.ca/delegates

RAIC Gold Medal nominations due January 17, 2019

B.C. introduces Better Buildings net zero incentive program

Nominations are open for the RAIC Gold Medal, the highest honour that the institution can bestow in recognition of a significant and lasting contribution to Canadian architecture.

The Province of BC and Integral Group have launched a new incentive program and juried competition called Better Buildings BC: The Net Zero Energy Ready Challenge. The program is designed to support the design and construction of multi-family residential, commercial, and institutional buildings that target either the top step of the BC

www.raic.org

RAIC awards submissions due January 17 and 24, 2019

The deadline is January 17 for submissions for the RAIC ’s Architectural Firm Award, Emerging Architectural Practice Award, Young Architect Award and Prix du XXe siècle. Architects are also invited to submit nominations for the RAIC ’s Advocate for Architecture, Allied Arts, Green Building, Innovation in Architecture, and Media in Architecture awards by January 24. www.raic.org

SHIFT Architecture Challenge entries due January 18, 2019

The inaugural edition of this biannual OAA program invites Ontario architects and their collaborative teams to identify and address an infrastructure issue, either physical or social, where using architectural thinking can advance insight and innovation. www.shiftchallenge.ca

Entries open for Archishorts film competition

Winnipeg’s Architecture and Design Film Festival is seeking twominute movies about architecture or the built environment. Winners will be featured in Canada’s only film festival dedicated to architecture and design. The registration deadline is April 2, 2019. www.adff.ca

March 1 submission deadline for Canada Council’s 2019 Architecture Prizes

Applications are open for the Canada Council for the Arts’s awards in architecture. The awards include the $50,000 Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture, as well as the Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement and the J.B.C. Watkins Award. www.canadacouncil.ca

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RAIC Journal Journal de l’IRAC

Membership renewal for 2019 has started! RAIC members, watch your inboxes for renewal reminders, and log in to your account at www.raic.org to pay your annual dues. Maintain membership for access to new benefits such as the professional liability insurance program for architects, discounts on continuing education opportunities, and a special group rate at GoodLife Fitness.

Janice Filmon, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (right), hosted the award ceremony for the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture and the Governor General’s Medal in Landscape Architecture on September 13 at Government House in Winnipeg.

January 17, 2019, is the deadline for submitting for the RAIC’s Architectural Firm Award, Emerging Architectural Practice Award, Young Architect Award, Prix du XXe Siècle, and the RAIC Gold Medal.

La date limite est le 17 janvier 2019 pour soumettre les candidatures aux prix suivants : Prix du cabinet d’architectes de l’année, Prix du cabinet d’architectes de la relève, Prix du jeune architecte, Prix du XXe siècle et Médaille d’or de l’IRAC. January 24, 2019, is the deadline for submitting to the RAIC Awards of Excellence—Advocate for Architecture, Green Building, Innovation in Architecture, Allied Arts Medal, and the President’s Award for Media in Architecture.

La date limite est le 24 janvier 2019 pour soumettre les candidatures aux Prix d’excellence de l’IRAC—Défenseur ou bienfaiteur de l’architecture, Bâtiment écologique, Innovation en architecture, Médaille des arts connexes et Prix de la présidence pour les médias en architecture.

Save the date for #archfest2019. Next year’s Festival of Architecture takes place in Toronto from October 26 to 30.

Réservez la date de #archfest2019. Le prochain Festival d’architecture se déroulera à Toronto, du 26 au 30 octobre 2019.

The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built environment in Canada, demonstrating how design enhances the quality of life, while addressing important issues of society through responsible architecture. www.raic.org L’IRAC est le principal porte-parole en faveur de l’excellence du cadre bâti au Canada. Il démontre comment la conception améliore la qualité de vie tout en tenant compte d’importants enjeux sociétaux par la voie d’une architecture responsable. www.raic.org/fr

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Johanna Hurme (left) and Sasa Radulovic (centre), of 5468796 Architecture, were among the award recipients.

Janice Filmon, lieutenante-gouverneure du Manitoba (à droite) a accueilli la cérémonie de remise des Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture et de la Médaille du Gouverneur général en architecture de paysage, le 13 septembre.

Tracey Goncalves

Le renouvellement de l’adhésion pour 2019 a commencé! Membres de l’IRAC, surveillez les rappels de renouvellement dans votre courrier électronique et connectez-vous à www.raic.org/fr pour payer votre cotisation annuelle. Conservez votre adhésion pour avoir accès aux nouveaux avantages tels que le programme d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle pour les architectes, les rabais sur les cours d’éducation continue et un taux de groupe spécial dans les gymnases GoodLife Fitness.

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Johanna Hurme (à gauche) et Sasa Radulovic (au centre), de la firme 5468796 Architecture, faisaient partie des récipiendaires.

Inside this issue Dans ce numéro Maria Cook Editor, RAIC Journal Rédactrice en chef, Journal de l’IRAC

Anyone who buys professional liability insurance cares about how much they are paying and whether they have the coverage they need. Compounding these anxieties are “contracts that unreasonably transfer risk and liability to professionals,” according to RAIC President Michael Cox, FRAIC. It’s a predicament that the RAIC is addressing with the RAIC Professional Liability Insurance Program. An article offers details on this new member benefit.

et si elle bénéficie de la protection dont elle a besoin. S’ajoutent à ces inquiétudes les « contrats qui entraînent un transfert déraisonnable du risque et de la responsabilité aux professionnels » selon le président de l’IRAC, Michael Cox, FRAIC. C’est un problème que l’IRAC est en voie de régler avec le Programme d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle. Un article présente les détails de ce nouvel avantage pour les membres.

Media outlets across Canada put Governor General Julie Payette’s first year on the job under the microscope earlier this fall. The RAIC became a small part of the story as one of the organizations that could not be accommodated at Rideau Hall. Instead, the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba Janice Filmon hosted the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture awards ceremony at Government House in Winnipeg. The September 13 event marked the debut of a new design for the Governor General’s Medal in Architecture. Read about the four-year journey to create a new medal.

Les médias de tout le Canada ont scruté minutieusement la première année du mandat de la gouverneure générale Julie Payette plus tôt cet automne. L’IRAC a fait un peu partie de l’histoire, car c’est l’un des organismes qui n’ont pu être reçus à Rideau Hall. La lieutenante-gouverneure du Manitoba, Janice Filmon, a plutôt présidé la cérémonie de remise des Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture de 2018 au Palais du gouvernement, à Winnipeg. L’événement qui s’est déroulé le 13 septembre, en présence de plus de 100 invités, a été l’occasion d’inaugurer le nouveau design de la Médaille du Gouverneur général en architecture. Découvrez le processus de quatre ans qui a mené à la création d’une nouvelle médaille.

Also in this issue, news about membership, Festival 2019, and awards deadlines.

Toute personne souscrivant une assurance responsabilité professionnelle se soucie de savoir combien elle paie

Aussi dans ce numéro, de l’information sur l’adhésion, le Festival 2019 et les dates limites de candidature aux prix.

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Journal de l’IRAC

Protecting architects in a challenging environment Protéger les architectes dans un contexte exigeant

By RAIC and BMS staff Par le personnel de l’IRAC et de BMS

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has created a new insurance program that is designed for architects and provides comprehensive professional liability coverage and other insurance at highly competitive rates.

The RAIC Professional Liability Insurance Program started October 1 as a benefit for RAIC members only.

“The RAIC is proud to support members with an insurance program that is costeffective and provides extensive coverage and exceptional service,” says RAIC President Michael Cox, FRAIC. “It’s an example of the work we are doing to add value to membership.

“Among the challenges facing architects today are contracts that unreasonably transfer risk and liability to professionals,” Cox noted. “That’s why public-sector procurement reform is a crucial advocacy activity for the RAIC. In addition to advocating for change related to contracts, fees, and other procurement practices, we also want to protect our members, their businesses, families, and assets.”

The RAIC has partnered with BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd. (BMS) to give members direct access to leading professional liability and business coverage as well as evidence-based risk management and other services from specialist brokers.

Eligibility across Canada For RAIC members in Ontario & Quebec: The RAIC Liability Insurance Program provides members in Ontario and Quebec access to “excess” or “top-up” coverage to complement their compulsory coverage.

This coverage is available for those who want to purchase higher limits.

For RAIC members in all other provinces and territories: The RAIC Liability Insurance Program meets all provincial regulatory requirements and is available to members across Canada.

Members in every province and territory can also purchase commercial general liability, business insurance, cyber securi-

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ty and privacy liability, and employment practice liability through the program.

Comprehensive coverage Architects across much of Canada are required to have professional liability insurance, except for those in Alberta. In 2017, the Architectural Institute of British Columbia introduced a new by-law requiring all practicing architects to hold professional liability insurance ($250,000 per claim). Registrants have until February 1, 2019, to be compliant. Alberta is expected to follow suit.

Professional liability (also known as errors and omissions) insurance helps protect architects from the cost of a lawsuit when a client accuses them of being negligent or is dissatisfied with their work, a project is delayed, or other problems arise relating to their professional services. Coverage ensures payment of both compensatory damages and legal costs associated with a claim.

Here’s an example: An architect is named in a lawsuit where a client alleges oversight and errors from a recent project. The architect’s firm designed a building that failed to obtain an occupancy permit due to supposed building code violations stemming from an accusation of inadequate design. The construction company may have to do additional work that will be costly to both the client and the construction company. Either the construction company or the owner may file a lawsuit against the architect and the architectural firm for oversights and errors that caused significant cost overruns.

The RAIC Professional Liability Insurance also responds to protect architects when faced with a complaint to their regulatory body. Any member of the public can make a complaint if they are concerned that an architect behaved in an unprofessional manner, contravened the Architects Act or provincial regulations, or otherwise is incompetent or unfit to practice. In these circumstances, the RAIC insurance program provides coverage for legal costs associated with having to respond to the complaint or appear at a disciplinary hearing.

For example, a competitor files a complaint with a provincial regulatory body alleging that an architect copied parts of their design during a Request-for-Proposal process. They also accuse the architect of offering incentives to the prospective client to win the business, including waiving particular fees. The architect denies the allegations but is called into a lengthy investigation and is required to defend herself or himself at a disciplinary hearing.

Highlights • • • •

Limits up to $10M Regulatory Legal Expense Technology-related coverage Design/Build

How to apply or find out more RAIC members can email raic.insurance@ bmsgroup.com or call 1-844-294-2714 to speak to a specialist broker as well as obtain additional information and applications. Once BMS receives a member’s completed application, the team will be able to provide a no-obligation quote within two-to-five business days.

L’Institut royal d’architecture du Canada a créé un nouveau programme d’assurance conçu pour les architectes, qui offre une couverture complète et d’autres assurances à des taux très concurrentiels.

Le programme d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle de l’IRAC est offert depuis le 1er octobre à titre d’avantage pour les membres de l’IRAC seulement. « L’IRAC est fier d’offrir à ses membres un programme d’assurance qui est abordable et qui offre une couverture étendue et un service exceptionnel, mentionne le président de l’IRAC, Michael Cox, FRAIC. Voici un exemple du travail que nous accomplissons pour offrir une valeur ajoutée aux membres. » « Parmi les problèmes auxquels sont confrontés les architectes d’aujourd’hui figurent les contrats qui prévoient le transfert déraisonnable du risque et de la

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responsabilité aux professionnels, souligne M. Cox. C’est pourquoi la réforme de l’approvisionnement du secteur public est un enjeu crucial pour l’IRAC. En plus de prôner des changements liés aux contrats, aux frais et aux autres pratiques d’approvisionnement, nous voulons également protéger nos membres, leurs entreprises, leurs familles et leurs biens. » L’IRAC s’est associé à BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd. (BMS) pour offrir aux membres un accès direct à des services de pointe en matière de responsabilité professionnelle et de couverture commerciale, ainsi qu’à des services de gestion des risques fondés sur des données probantes et à d’autres services offerts par des courtiers spécialisés.

Admissibilité à la grandeur du Canada Pour les membres de l’IRAC au Québec et en Ontario : Le programme d’assurance responsabilité civile de l’IRAC offre aux membres de l’Ontario et du Québec l’accès à une couverture supplémentaire ou complémentaire pour compléter leur couverture obligatoire. Cette couverture est offerte à ceux qui souhaitent augmenter leurs limites de protection.

Pour les membres de l’IRAC dans les autres provinces et territoires : Le programme d’assurance responsabilité de l’IRAC répond à toutes les exigences réglementaires provinciales et est offert aux membres partout au Canada.

Les membres de chaque province et territoire peuvent aussi souscrire une assurance responsabilité civile générale commerciale, une assurance commerciale, une assurance responsabilité contre les cyber-risques et une assurance contre les atteintes à la vie privée, et une assurance responsabilité en matière de pratiques d’emploi par le biais du programme.

Couverture exhaustive Les architectes sont tenus d’avoir une assurance responsabilité professionnelle dans la plupart des provinces et territoires canadiens, à l’exception de l’Alberta. En 2017, l’Architectural Institute of British Columbia a adopté un nouveau règlement obligeant tous les architectes qui pratiquent à détenir une assurance responsabilité professionnelle (250 000 $ par réclamation). Les titulaires ont jusqu’au 1er février 2019 pour se conformer. L’Alberta devrait emboiter le pas.

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L’assurance responsabilité professionnelle (aussi appelée assurance contre les erreurs et omissions) permet de protéger les architectes contre le coût d’une poursuite judiciaire lorsqu’un client les accuse de négligence ou est insatisfait de leur travail, qu’un projet est retardé ou d’autres problèmes liés à leurs services professionnels. La couverture garantit le paiement des dommages-intérêts compensatoires et des frais juridiques associés à une réclamation.

Voici un exemple : un architecte est cité dans une poursuite où un client allègue qu’un projet récent a été négligé et qu’il a commis des erreurs. Le cabinet de l’architecte a conçu un bâtiment qui n’a pas obtenu de permis d’occupation en raison d’infractions présumées au code du bâtiment découlant d’une accusation de conception inadéquate. L’entreprise de construction peut avoir à faire des travaux supplémentaires qui seront coûteux à la fois pour le client et pour elle. L’entreprise de construction ou le propriétaire peut intenter une poursuite contre l’architecte et le cabinet d’architectes pour des omissions et des erreurs qui ont causé des dépassements de coûts importants. suite à la page 23

THE FUTURE OF

ARCHITECTURE Save the date! October 26 – 30, 2019

LE FUTUR DE

L’ARCHITECTURE Réservez la date ! Du 26 au 30 octobre 2019

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RAIC Journal

Journal de l’IRAC

A Medal Redesigned Un nouveau design pour la médaille By / Par Maria Cook

1

3

1 The Governor General’s Medal (1982 to 2016) 2 The new Governor General’s Medal in Architecture awarded for the first time in 2018 3 The Massey Medal (1950 to 1970) 1 La Médaille du Gouverneur général (1982 à 2016) 2 La nouvelle Médaille du Gouverneur général en architecture décernée pour la première fois en 2018

2

After 36 years, the bronze medallion given to recipients of the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture has undergone a redesign.

The new medals debuted at the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture awards ceremony on September 13 at Government House in Winnipeg. The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba Janice Filmon presented 12 shiny medals – one for each winning project – to the architect-laureates of 2018.

Here’s the story of the redesign.

Why change?

3 La Médaille Massey (1950 à 1970)

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The previous medal, created in 1982, depicted the vice regal lion. In 2013, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG) adopted a formal policy that prohibits reproduction of the vice regal lion. The OSGG advised the RAIC of this change in 2014. Also, the shortened title engraved on the medal “The Governor General’s Medal” risked being confused with other awards.

Imagery and Symbolism

What was the process?

The shape of the badge is round. A lion is wearing a coronet of maple leaves and is holding a compass in his right paw. The lion is found between two oak trees with acorns, and he is sitting on a rocky mount.

2015

The lion is the symbol of the Governor General, in whose name the medals are awarded. The coronet indicates that the medals are administered by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Its maple leaves signal that this is a Canadian prize.

The compass is a drawing and measuring tool for architects.

Grants of armorial bearings are honours from the Canadian Crown that provide recognition for the contributions of Canadian individuals and organizations.

The rocky base and the trees represent two fundamental construction materials — stone and wood. The oak trees symbolize sturdiness and excellence and are shaped to suggest shelter, alluding to the essence of architecture.

Motto: The image is encircled by a motto in Latin “Recognizing excellence in architecture” which is the purpose of the medals. The names of the winning project and firm are engraved on the reverse side.

The RAIC wrote the Chief Herald of Canada requesting a grant for new armorial bearings.

The Deputy Herald Chancellor signed a warrant authorizing the Chief Herald to proceed with the grant of arms – a legal document issued under the authority of the Governor General of Canada.

There are three stages in the grant process: the creation of a written description, the preparation of a preliminary design, and the production of the official letters patent.

A specialist in the design of emblems worked with the RAIC to determine the elements, which must follow the rules of heraldry. The heralds aim to create meaningful and powerful designs using

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“The medal has been refreshed and redesigned. It reflects our history and the contemporary nature of architecture. The medals are beautiful works of design and symbolic tokens which reflect the esteem in which we hold the recipients.”

RAIC President Michael Cox, FRAIC « La médaille a été actualisée et redessinée. Elle reflète notre histoire et la nature contemporaine de l’architecture. Les médailles sont des œuvres d’art magnifiques et des symboles qui reflètent toute la considération que nous accordons aux lauréats. » Michael Cox, FRAIC, président de l’IRAC

a limited number of symbols and colours, often in dramatic contrast.

Canadian Mint for a quote, and subsequent sculpting and minting.

The first preliminary design, based on an earlier concept from the RAIC, proved unsuccessful. Concerns included the depiction of a carpenter’s square, a stained-glass window, and an Ionic capital.

2018

2016 The board of directors explored options for a different design, including a more abstract approach. They produced sketches and ideas for a narrative.

Emmanuelle van Rutten, MRAIC, regional director for Ontario North, East and Nunavut, took the lead in the dialogue between the Canadian Heraldic Authority and the RAIC board members as they worked on the second design.

2017 The second concept for the medals was presented to the RAIC board of directors.

Throughout 2017, the design underwent further development and refinement before being approved by the board. Design considerations included the expression of the lion, the tree species, the extent of shelter and sky, and the tool that the lion was holding.

The final version was sent to the Royal

The Canadian Heraldic Authority produced the grant of arms, which includes an original painting of the arms. It is signed by the Herald Chancellor, the Chief Herald of Canada, and the Deputy Herald Chancellor and affixed with the seal of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

The grant was registered in perpetuity in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. It is accessible online, and the official notice of the grant was published in Part I of the Canada Gazette under the title “Government House.”

The Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa completed and delivered the new medals.

What’s an armorial bearing?

Armorial bearings, or heraldic emblems, come in three forms: coats of arms, flags, and badges. They identify individuals or organizations visually, using stylized images, in a way that has conveys prestige, permanence, and gravitas.

They are composed using a system of design principles (layout, symmetry, colour) that has origins in medieval west-

By the Numbers

12

number of medals awarded each two-year cycle

17

number of months for the armorial design process

11

number of months for sculpting and minting

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ern Eur­ope. Rich in symbolism, heraldic emblems also help convey a sense of identity and are highly personalized to their bearers.

The Canadian Heraldic Authority, situated at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, is the government service that creates coats of arms, flags, and badges.

Heraldic or not?

The RAIC board of directors discussed at length whether the medal should employ classical heraldic language versus a modern design and whether there should be a design competition.

They decided the heraldic approach was appropriate for this award, after learning more about the heraldic criteria and design process, and because the medal is given in the name of the Governor General.

$2,581

cost of armorial bearing (includes processing fee, design and the letters patent)

$6,500

cost for design and preparation of a die by the Royal Canadian Mint

460g

weight of the medal

89mm

diameter of the medal

Un nouveau design pour la médaille Après 36 ans, la médaille de bronze remise aux récipiendaires des Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture a été redessinée.

Les nouvelles médailles ont été décernées pour la première fois lors de la cérémonie de remise des Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture, le 13 septembre, au Palais du gouvernement à Winnipeg.

La lieutenante-gouverneure du Manitoba, Janice Filmon, a remis 12 médailles étincelantes - une pour chaque projet gagnant - aux architectes lauréats du concours de 2018.

Voici l’histoire de la nouvelle médaille.

Pourquoi changer?

About the awards Every two years, the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture recognize and celebrate outstanding design in recently completed built projects by Canadian architects. The awards are administered by the RAIC and the Canada Council for the Arts.

The RAIC created the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture in 1982. The awards continue the tradition of the Massey Medals, which were awarded between 1950 and 1970. The Right Honourable Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born Governor General, inaugurated the Massey Medals.

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228

number of entries received in 1982, the first year of the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture

La médaille précédente, créée en 1982, représentait le lion vice-royal. En 2013, le Bureau du secrétaire du gouverneur général (BSGG) a adopté une politique officielle qui interdit la reproduction du lion vice-royal. Le BSGG a informé l’IRAC de ce changement en 2014.

De plus, le titre abrégé « Médaille du Gouverneur général » gravé sur la médaille risquait d’être confondu avec d’autres distinctions. suite à la page 22

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Janice Filmon, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (front row, 4th from right) and her husband Gary Filmon (front row, 5th from right) pose with recipients of the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. The group includes RAIC President Michael Cox, FRAIC (third row, last on the left).

suite de la page 21

En quoi consistait le processus?

Imagerie et symbolisme

2015

La forme de la médaille est ronde. Un lion porte une couronne de feuilles d’érable et tient un compas dans sa patte droite. Le lion est assis sur un rocher entre deux chênes avec des glands.

L’IRAC a écrit au Héraut d’armes du Canada afin de demander une concession de nouvelles armoiries. Les concessions d’armoiries sont des distinctions honorifiques accordées par la Couronne canadienne en reconnaissance de la contribution d’individus et d’organismes canadiens.

Le lion est le symbole du gouverneur général, au nom duquel les médailles sont décernées.

La couronne indique que les médailles sont

Le Vice-chancelier d’armes a signé un mandat autorisant le Héraut d’armes à procéder à la con-

“Heraldry is essentially based on a narrative of elements which are symbolic of our identity. This process has a very rich and beautiful history and a tremendous amount of craft and artistry.” Emmanuelle van Rutten, MRAIC, RAIC Regional Director for Ontario North, East and Nunavut « L’héraldique repose essentiellement sur une description d’éléments qui symbolisent notre identité. Ce processus a un historique très riche et très beau et comporte beaucoup de savoir-faire et de créativité. » Emmanuelle van Rutten, MRAIC, directrice régionale de l’IRAC pour le Nord et l’Est de l’Ontario et le Nunavut administrées par l’Institut royal d’architecture du Canada. Les feuilles d’érable indiquent qu’il s’agit d’un prix canadien. Le compas est un outil de dessin et de mesure pour les architectes.

La base rocheuse et les arbres représentent deux matériaux de construction fondamentaux : la pierre et le bois. Les chênes symbolisent la robustesse et l’excellence et leur forme évoque un abri, faisant allusion à l’essence même de l’architecture.

Devise : L’image est entourée d’une devise en latin « Reconnaître l’excellence en architecture » qui est le but visé par les médailles. Les noms du projet gagnant et du cabinet sont gravés sur le revers de la médaille.

cession d’armoiries - un document juridique délivré sous l’autorité du gouverneur général du Canada.

Le processus de concession comprend trois étapes : la création d’une description écrite, la préparation d’un design préliminaire, et la production des lettres patentes officielles.

Un spécialiste de la conception des emblèmes a travaillé avec l’IRAC pour déterminer les éléments qui doivent respecter les règles de l’héraldique.

Les hérauts d’armes cherchent à créer des motifs significatifs et percutants en utilisant un nombre limité de symboles et de couleurs, souvent très contrastés.

Le premier design préliminaire, basé sur un

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Tracey Goncalves

Janice Filmon, lieutenante-gouverneure du Manitoba (première rangée, 4e à partir de la droite) et son époux Gary Filmon (première rangée, 5e à partir de la droite) posent avec les récipiendaires des Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture de 2018. Le groupe comprend le président de l’IRAC, Michael Cox, FRAIC (troisième rangée, dernier à gauche).

concept antérieur de l’IRAC, s’est avéré infructueux. Les préoccupations concernaient la représentation d’une équerre de charpentier, d’un vitrail et un chapiteau ionique.

2016 Le conseil d’administration a exploré les différents designs possibles, y compris une approche plus abstraite. Les membres du conseil ont produit des esquisses et formulé des idées de texte.

Emmanuelle van Rutten, MRAIC, directrice régionale du Nord et de l’Est de l’Ontario et du Nunavut, a piloté le dialogue entre l’Autorité héraldique du Canada et les membres du conseil d’administration de l’IRAC pendant qu’ils travaillaient au deuxième design.

2017 Le deuxième design des médailles a été présenté au conseil d’administration de l’IRAC. Durant toute l’année 2017, le design a été retravaillé et perfectionné avant d’être approuvé par le conseil d’administration. Les éléments de design comprenaient l’expression du lion, l’essence d’arbre, la dimension de l’abri et du ciel et l’outil que le lion tenait.

La version définitive a été envoyée à la Monnaie royale canadienne pour obtenir une soumission, puis elle a été sculptée et frappée.

2018 L’Autorité héraldique du Canada a produit la concession d’armoiries, qui comprend une peinture originale des armoiries. Elle est signée par le Chancelier d’armes, le Héraut d’armes du Canada et le Vice-chancelier d’armes adjoint et porte le sceau de l’Autorité héraldique du Canada.

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“Architecture plays an essential and ennobling role in our world. The best architects create structures that strike our imagination, broaden our minds and stand the test of time.” Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, (Message in 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture awards booklet) « L’architecture joue un rôle essentiel et exaltant dans notre monde. Les meilleurs architectes créent des structures qui frappent notre imagination, élargissent nos esprits et résistent à l’épreuve du temps. » Julie Payette, gouverneure générale du Canada (Message dans le livret des Médailles du gouverneur général en architecture 2018)

La concession a été inscrite indéfiniment au Registre public des armoiries, drapeaux et insignes du Canada, accessible en ligne. L’avis officiel de la concession a été publié dans la Partie I de la Gazette du Canada sous le titre « Résidence du gouverneur général ».

La Monnaie royale canadienne à Ottawa a réalisé et livré les nouvelles médailles.

symbolisme, les emblèmes héraldiques contribuent également à transmettre un sentiment d’identité et sont très personnalisés pour leurs titulaires.

L’Autorité héraldique du Canada, située à Rideau Hall, à Ottawa, est le service gouvernemental qui crée les armoiries, les drapeaux et les insignes.

Héraldique ou pas?

Que sont les armoiries?

Les armoiries, ou emblèmes héraldiques, se présentent sous trois formes : armoiries, drapeaux et insignes.

Ce sont tous des moyens d’identifier visuellement des individus ou des organisations, à l’aide d’images stylisées, d’une manière qui confère prestige, pérennité et gravité.

Elles sont réalisées selon un système de principes de design (disposition, symétrie, couleur) qui trouve son origine en Europe occidentale médiévale. Riches en

Le conseil d’administration de l’IRAC a longuement débattu la question à savoir si la médaille devait comporter un langage héraldique classique ou moderne et si un concours de design devait être organisé.

Les membres du conseil ont décidé que l’approche héraldique était appropriée pour ce prix, après en avoir appris davantage sur les critères héraldiques et le processus de conception, et parce que la médaille est décernée au nom du gouverneur général.

“The remarkable beauty, innovation, and diversity of projects being honoured today tell us a great deal about the profession in Canada.” Janice Filmon, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba « La beauté, l’innovation et la diversité remarquables des projets honorés aujourd’hui en disent long sur la profession au Canada. » Janice Filmon, lieutenante-gouverneure du Manitoba

En chiffres

12

nombre de médailles décernées chaque cycle de deux ans

17

nombre de mois nécessaire au processus de conception des armoiries

11

nombre de mois requis pour la sculpture et la frappe de la médaille

2 581$

coût des armoiries (incluant les frais de traitement, la conception et les lettres patentes)

6 500$

coût de la conception et de la préparation d’une matrice par la Monnaie royale canadienne

460g poids de la médaille

89mm

diamètre de la médaille Au sujet des médailles Tous les deux ans, les Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture sont décernées à des architectes canadiens qui ont récemment réalisé des projets de construction exceptionnels. Les médailles sont administrées par l’IRAC et le Conseil des arts du Canada.

L’IRAC a créé les Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture en 1982. Ces prix s’inscrivent dans la tradition des Médailles Massey, décernées entre 1950 et 1970. Le très honorable Vincent Massey, premier gouverneur général né au Canada, a inauguré les Médailles Massey.

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228

nombre de soumissions reçues en 1982, la première année de remise des Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture

Journal de l’IRAC

23

Protéger les architectes dans un contexte exigeant suite de la page 19 L’assurance responsabilité professionnelle de l’IRAC protège également les architectes lorsqu’ils font l’objet d’une plainte auprès de leur organisme de réglementation. Tout membre du public peut déposer une plainte s’il craint qu’un architecte se soit comporté de façon non professionnelle, ait contrevenu à la Loi sur les architectes ou aux règlements provinciaux, ou qu’il soit incompétent ou inapte à exercer sa profession. Dans ces circonstances, le programme d’assurance de l’IRAC couvre les frais juridiques associés à l’obligation de répondre à la plainte ou de comparaître à une audience disciplinaire.

Par exemple, un concurrent dépose une plainte auprès d’un organisme de réglementation provincial alléguant qu’un architecte a copié des parties de sa conception pendant un processus de demande de propositions. Il accuse aussi l’architecte d’offrir des incitatifs au client potentiel pour gagner le contrat, notamment en renonçant à certains honoraires. L’architecte nie les allégations, mais il fait l’objet d’une longue enquête et doit se défendre lors d’une audience disciplinaire.

Faits saillants Quelques points saillants de l’assurance responsabilité professionnelle offerte dans le cadre du programme de l’IRAC : • • • •

Limites allant jusqu’à 10 M$ Frais juridiques réglementaires Couverture technologique Conception/bâti

Comment présenter une demande ou en savoir plus Les membres de l’IRAC peuvent communiquer par courriel à raic.insurance@bmsgroup.com ou appeler au 1-844-294-2714 pour joindre un courtier spécialisé ou obtenir plus de renseignements ainsi que les demandes. Dès que BMS reçoit une demande dûment remplie d’un membre, l’équipe sera en mesure de lui présenter une soumission sans obligation dans deux à cinq jours ouvrables.

2018-10-24 3:51 PM

24

RAIC Journal

Journal de l’IRAC

Membership has its benefits Les avantages d’être membre It’s time to renew your RAIC membership.

Not yet a member? Join the RAIC today and start taking advantage of valuable member benefits, services, and programs that save money and contribute to career and educational success.

Top four ways to save 1. The RAIC Professional Liability Insurance Program Provided in partnership with BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd., the program is designed for architects and provides comprehensive professional liability coverage and other insurance at highly competitive rates. Full packages or top-up options are available. Coverage includes: • Professional Liability • Commercial General Liability • Office Insurance • Directors’ and Officers’ Liability • Cyber Security and Privacy Liability • Employment Practices Liability • Design/Build 2. Home and Auto The RAIC has partnered with The Personal to provide members with preferred group rates on home and auto insurance. It offers personalized coverage to fit individual needs, expert advice from licensed insurance advisors and 24/7 emergency assistance when making a claim.

3. GoodLife Fitness RAIC members are eligible for discounts of 30 to 40 percent off GoodLife membership rates, with access to more than 250 clubs across Canada.

4. Special member pricing Members get deals on RAIC events such as professional development programs, award submissions, and the annual Festival of Architecture, as well as; • Savings of up to 50 percent at the online store on products such as authorization seals, CCDC seals, job postings on raic.org, National Master Specification products, and Kaplan AEC Education exam preparation materials; • Free subscription to Canadian Architect magazine and free Guide to Determining Appropriate Fees for the Services of an Architect;

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• Discounts on magazines (Azure, Archi tectural Record, The Plan), and books (Wiley Architecture and Design books, MIT Press architecture titles); • Savings on travel services including Fairmont Hotels, Budget Rent-a-Car, Via Rail, and more.

To find out how you can benefit from membership, please contact Sarah Holtman at membership@raic.org or 613-2413600 Ext. 200.

For a limited time, RAIC members who renew before January 1, 2019 will be eligible for a special continuing education voucher, as well as one free webinar (one hour). Restrictions apply. Ask for details.

C’est le temps de renouveler votre adhésion à l’IRAC. Vous n’êtes pas encore membre?

Joignez-vous à l’IRAC dès aujourd’hui et commencez à profiter des avantages, des services et des programmes qui permettent aux membres d’économiser de l’argent et de contribuer à la réussite de leur carrière et de leur formation.

Quatre façons d’économiser

sur l’assurance auto et habitation. Elle offre une couverture personnalisée pour répondre aux besoins individuels, des conseils d’experts de conseillers en assurance autorisés et une assistance d’urgence 24 heures sur 24, 7 jours sur 7, au moment de présenter une demande de règlement.

3. GoodLife Fitness Les membres de l’IRAC ont droit à des rabais de 30 à 40 pour cent sur les tarifs d’inscription à GoodLife et ont accès à plus de 250 centres d’entraînement au Canada.

4. Tarifs spéciaux pour les membres Les membres profitent d’offres sur les événements de l’IRAC tels que les programmes de perfectionnement professionnel, les programmes de prix et le Festival annuel d’architecture, ainsi que : • Des économies jusqu’à 50 pour cent sur les produits offerts dans le magasin en ligne, comme les sceaux d’autorisation, les sceaux du CCDC, les offres d’emploi sur le site raic.org/fr, les produits du Devis directeur national et les documents de préparation à l’examen de Kaplan AEC Education;

1. Programme d’assurance responsabilité professionnelle de l’IRAC Offert en partenariat avec BMS Canada Risk Services Ltd, le programme est conçu pour les architectes et offre une couverture complète de responsabilité professionnelle ainsi que d’autres assurances à des taux très concurrentiels. Des forfaits complets ou des options complémentaires sont offerts. La couverture comprend :

• Abonnement gratuit au magazine Canadian Architect et le document Un guide aidant à déterminer les honoraires appropriés pour les services d’un archi tecte offert gratuitement;

• Assurance responsabilité civile professionnelle • Assurance responsabilité civile générale commerciale • Assurance commerciale • Assurance responsabilité civile des administrateurs et des dirigeants • Assurance contre les cyber-risques et assurance contre les atteintes à la vie privée • Assurance responsabilité civile en matière de pratiques d’emploi • Assurance conception-construction

• Économies sur les services de voyage, y compris les hôtels Fairmont, les services de location d’auto Budget, Via Rail, et plus encore.

2. Auto et habitation L’IRAC s’est associé à La Personnelle pour offrir aux membres des tarifs de groupes préférentiels

• Rabais sur les magazines (Azure, Architectural Record, The Plan), et les livres (Wiley Architecture and Design, livres d’architecture de MIT Press);

Pour savoir comment vous pouvez profiter de l’adhésion, veuillez joindre Sarah Holtman à adhesion@raic.org ou au 613-2413600, poste 200.

Pour une période limitée, les membres de l’RAC qui renouvellent leur adhésion avant le 1er janvier 2019 seront admissibles à un crédit de formation continue, ainsi qu’à un webinaire gratuit (une heure). Des restrictions s’appliquent.

Demandez les détails.

2018-10-24 3:51 PM

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long view

2018-10-24 3:34 PM

terrifying Beauty A major exhibition examines the landscapescale impacts of the human epoch.

TEXT

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Stefan Novakovic Edward Burtynsky

Basque Coast #1, UNESCO Geopark, Zumaia, Spain, 2015. courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto

PHOTO

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Layers of sedimentary rock lean out towards a coastline, disappearing into sand before meeting the water. We are witnessing history: flysch lines in the rock chart some 50 million years of geological time, spanning far beyond the human epoch. But look closer, and signs of humanity dot the landscape. A faded orange traffic cone rests in a crevasse tens of millions of years old, with pieces of red debris scattered nearby. There is concrete, plastic and chicken bones, all of it set to become embedded in the geological record.

The large-format photograph was taken by Edward Burtynsky on Spain’s rugged Basque coast. It is the prelude to the Anthropocene exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Simultaneously presented at the National Gallery of Canada, the exhibition—together with a film of the same name—is a collaboration between Burtynsky and filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier.

Anchoring the exhibition, Burtynsky’s photographs convey an unsettling dualism. There is an undeniable splendor in nearly every composition, from the clearcutting of a Malaysian palm oil plantation to a suburban highway in California. Eschewing didacticism, Burtynsky’s vivid colours and sublime scale draw the eye, but it’s the disturbing realities depicted that keep it fixated. Phosphor tailings, algae blooms and concrete seawalls all hint at disaster on a majestic scale. The photographer’s hypnotic calm and balance meets the human epoch’s terrifying—but often subtle—realities, leaving viewers to work out the emotional impacts. Beauty is in the photographs. What makes them so devastating is that their horror is left to us.

Complementing the photographs, a compelling series of short film segments presents more intimate portraits of humanity and the planet.

While Burtynsky shoots from a distance, the videos take in the world at the human scale. We follow scavengers navigating an endless garbage dump and view piles of burning elephant tusks.

Unfortunately, the exhibition suffers for its augmented and virtual reality components. Through an app, several of Burtynsky’s prints trigger videos when a phone or tablet is pointed at the photographs. There are clear links between the photos and videos, but there’s also obvious tension in experiencing physical works of art while simultaneously being prompted to look at our screens. Spurring a sense of immediacy that transcends the white cube of the gallery, the app also conjures virtual reality models of those burning elephant tusks, along with a nearly extinct white rhinoceros, and (outside the main gallery) a massive Douglas fir tree. Though thematically integrated to the exhibit, the complexyet-stark reality of Anthopocene is undercut by the clumsy affect of a video game tree and a cartoon rhinoceros.

And yet, climate change entails simple and catastrophic moral clarity. If the pull of augmented and virtual reality creates a more democratic and accessible gallery experience—particularly for school trips— maybe it’s worth it. Should we dwell in ambiguity when the arc of humanity must forcefully and immediately be bent toward justice?

Anthropocene runs at the Art Gallery of Ontario until January 6, 2019, and at the National Gallery until February 24, 2019.

2018-10-24 3:34 PM

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CA Nov 18.indd 28

2018-10-24 3:35 PM

canadian architect 11/18

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Add Via Edit: A Decade of Housing TEXT

5468796 architecture James Brittain, unless otherwise noted

PHOTOS

Winnipeg firm 5468796 calls on architects to focus strategic attention on multi-family housing design.

Setting up 5468796 over 11 years ago, we decided that until we could articulate what our work might be about, it would be better to remain silent. It was more important for us to simply get to work.

Over the first decade, our work has focused on the “missing middle” of multi-family housing in its many forms and ownership models, from refugee and social housing to market rate condominiums. We didn’t actively pursue this type of work, but rather, it was a result of our choice to stay in Winnipeg at a time when many of our colleagues left for greener architectural pastures. Our location in a “parochial second city” provided a quick feedback loop—from design to construction

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to response to critique—a context to visibly stand out or fail in. Serendipity and connections certainly played a role. Like most architects starting out, we have been shaped by the type of work we have been given, before we could shape it.

From this perspective, it is easy to be skeptical about the narrow definition or field in which capital ‘A’ architecture operates in Canada today.

Houses for the 1% and the luxury towers shaping the ever-expanding skylines of Canadian metropolises do not meet the growing need for well-built and planned cities. Nor do they provide access to carefully considered and designed places for the vast majority of the population.

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62M The project was built at a time when the Canadian dollar lost much of its value relative to US currency, and commodity prices skyrocketed in the local market. This resulted in a need to change the exterior envelope in its entirety. The raised structure’s mirrored soffit and cladding, a high-end mesh guardrail, and extruded aluminum fins camouflaging the faceted façade were all at risk of being eliminated. We replaced each of these elements with more economical—and consequently, more robust—alternatives.

Instead of the reflective soffit, matte black metal shingles give the building a sense of weight. The cladding is made from weathering steel whose velvety patina conceals the typical oil-canning of light-gauge metal. The mesh was distilled to a tightly woven off-the-shelf chain link. Finally, the fins were built by folding layers of pre-finished flashing into rigid forms.

To us, the resulting building is more straightforward, robust and rigorous.

It gives us clues on how to go about designing in the future.

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The multi-family housing typology is the one area of architecture that has the most impact on the lives of “ordinary people” going about their everyday lives. With the condominium boom taking hold across the country, the number of residential units passing across an architect’s desk is unprecedented. And as a result of the typology’s inherent repetition, and potentially banal programme—as well as the private sector’s pursuit of profit at the expense of quality and livability—the margin in which architecture can operate is incredibly narrow. It seems therefore incredibly important that as architects we should respond to the challenges of this typology with the rigour that it deserves. Given the dramatic shift towards smaller family units in North America, and the adoption of multi-family housing as an acceptable form of living, the opportunity to do so is now.

This multi-faceted challenge demands that the definition of architecture (and an architect) be broadened to that of a strategy (and

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james florio

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a strategist). The role of a strategist is not limited to skillful form-making, technical achievement, or satisfying the client’s financial targets.

It also includes concern for making good spaces for people both inside and outside of the program; weaving the project into the existing city fabric; being environmentally sustainable; finding the right partners and partnerships; operating in political and financial realms; and meeting the challenge of affordability—all while keeping the project on time and on budget. To date we have succeeded and failed at each one of these objectives.

Unpacking our past ten years of experience in multi-family housing has allowed us to reflect on the lessons learned that guide the way we conceive of architecture.

[Critical Opportunism]: The vast majority of housing in Canada is built by the private sector. The market-driven formula for success tends to be

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Named after its street address on 62 MacDonald Avenue, 62M is a housing development that makes use of a residual urban site beside a freeway. Elevating the building on 35-foot-high stilts allows it to capture views beyond the immediate setting. The building contains 40 pie-shaped units, as well as a luxurious glass-box penthouse perched atop its elevator core.

Previous page and ABOVE

limited. In the world of private development, architecture is a commodity that is expected to bend to the pressures of net-to-gross floor area ratios. All too often, the results fail to impress: fat f loor plates with deep, tunnel-like units off double-loaded corridors, no cross-ventilation, and a single narrow window face at the perimeter. As members of a profession founded on creative thought, innovation and concern for the greater good, we have to do better. It falls on the architect to

2018-10-24 3:54 PM

OZ

GROSS FLOOR AREA

40 462 ft2

COST

UNIT TYPES bedrooms

2

48

0

0

storeys

8

11

0

0

0

11 545 ft2

parking stalls

/ac

UNITS

BUILDING EFFICIENCY

93%

UNITS

HOLLOWCORE [4’-0”]

125

25

97%

AVERAGE UNIT 2

1159 ft

SMALLEST UNIT 2

870 ft

LARGEST UNIT 2

1888 ft

• FLOORS • ROOF

100

• FOUNDATION

150

SITE EFFICIENCY

81%

75

OCCUPANTS

[FOOTPRINT/SITE]

59%

45%

[GROSS/NET]

COVERED AREA

75%

• STRUCTURE • EXTERIOR WALLS • INTERIOR WALLS

236 / ac

100%

CONSTRUCTION

30 [indoor / heated]

94

RESIDENTIAL

+

50

3.49

OCCUPANCY

25

BOLE

FLOOR AREA RATIO

TYPOLOGY

$

SITE AREA

RIVER

canadian architect 11/18

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[EXTERIOR/SITE]

63

175

$174/ft2

OZ The financial feasibility of OZ is predicated on maximizing the sellable area on a site heavily constrained by bulk zoning regulations. We were able to achieve this while also keeping circulation spaces at a minimum by stacking a series of two-storey interlocking units with skip-stop corridors over top of ground-oriented townhouses; maximizing mezzanine configurations; and implementing a number of unconventional exiting scenarios. The building was constructed using steel structure with precast hollow-core floor planks. In hindsight, this choice of materials resulted in a series of complicated construction details, and the project may have been more easily built in concrete or masonry.

[Clarity]: Taking time and making an effort to define the parameters early on in the design process allows us to distill a project to its fundamental core. This creates a roadmap that establishes the right hierarchy of design ideas and priorities for the duration of the project. Regardless of the turbulence that inevitably follows as a project matures and external pressures increase, this roadmap encourages us to hang on to what we have collectively deemed to be the most important aspects of each project. With this clarity, we can respond to changes without losing sight of the whole.

[Robustness]: Working in Winnipeg teaches us that architectural ideas will always be vetted through the lens of more conventional or cheaper alternatives. In order to survive in this context, every design decision

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5468796

broaden these parameters—early on and without additional expense.

In several of our projects this has involved breaking a simple block into parts that begin to define the “in-between,” shared outdoor spaces where life can happen. In a three-storey walk-up project like youCube or CentreVillage the formula is simple: individual doors at grade result in a 100% buildable-to-sellable efficiency ratio, with no space or cost devoted to indoor public corridors or exit stairs. As a trade-off, developers are able to re-allocate a portion of the budget towards the outdoor public realm—a shared space that allows life to extend beyond the confines of individual suites. This communal space also becomes part of the network of public spaces in the city. With mid-rise buildings, the inclusion of skip-stop corridors (Courtyard 33 + OZ + Pumphouse) or the redefinition of budget priorities (62M + Avenue Building) have allowed us to re-invest a portion of our client’s budget, and incorporate public spaces or civic presence into the project’s pro forma.

CENTRE VILLAGE designed in joint venture with Cohlmeyer Architecture Centre Village is a three-storey walk-up organized around two public spaces: a central courtyard and a shared vehicular-pedestrian laneway.

It was originally conceived as an affordable housing co-op, but shifted to a conventional social housing project midway through construction.

From its inception, a primary goal was to explore the notion of compact living, with units that are 25% to 35% smaller than standard market sizes.

As a proof of concept, 5468796 furnished one of the units as a show suite, illustrating its liveability. But once these units were occupied, we discovered that many low-income families are reliant on hand-me-downs—which often have enormous proportions. It would be very unlikely for these residents to acquire compact furniture, or to live with relatively few possessions.

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STRADBROOK A shingled, mirrored glass façade was the defining aspect of this project. As designed and constructed, it provides the project with texture, richness, and reflectivity which contribute to the quality of the neighbourhood. However, as the project progressed, we became concerned that the client might decide to edit out the façade’s mirrored finish altogether. We realized first-hand the inherent risks of relying on the “luxury” of a single element in a design.

youCUBE The no-frills exterior of this project contrasts with its complex interior geometry, with circulation elements that are non-intuitive, exciting and unique. However, the interior’s strict adherence to a concept was at times heavy-handed, and the effort required to execute it precisely could have been used to better effect in other areas. We have since asked ourselves if the project would have been just as successful with a more economical and controlled gypsum board pony-wall strategy instead of custom aluminum guardrails.

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BLOC_10 In Bloc_10, each suite is a unique configuration of three modules, staggered across three floors to enable cross ventilation and views. Eight of the ten units reach to the corners. The project was also an experiment for the DIY generation—units were left unfinished, and each of the modules has a “wet wall” allowing for kitchens and bathrooms on any floor. The end results varied: some have conventional layouts, while other owners took full advantage of the opportunity to test the system with unconventional layouts, living patterns and aesthetics.

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canadian architect 11/18

34 AVENUE The Avenue Building has had a long and important history along Portage Avenue in Winnipeg.

But in the 15 years prior to redevelopment, the building was vacant and extremely neglected.

It became a poster child for the plight of Winnipeg’s downtown. The task of rebranding the building and overcoming the stigma surrounding it demanded a major shift on a minor budget. The completed project featured mirror-finished balconies and a projecting canopy, as well as an undulating ground-floor façade that enlarges the sidewalk for pedestrian comfort. Convincing the client-builder-developer to invest into these elements—in lieu of recladding the century-old office building with more conventional materials—resulted in a building that engages the city in an active, effective way.

must be essential. This leads to an innate frugality of our interventions, shaving off the excess in order to create projects that do not depend on extraneous or decorative elements. Efficiency of means results in more robust projects that can resist the inevitable value engineering process, to the service of the client and user—and ultimately to the benefit of the architectural outcome for all.

[Openness + Maturing]: For us, one sign of a great project is when the final outcome is far removed from our initial inclinations. This does not mean that we suppress intuition. Rather, we engage in an iterative, openended and flexible process that allows our ideas to evolve as we react to various contexts, conditions, clients and end-users. Letting go of preconceived notions creates room for innovation, or even true invention. Flexibility is necessary to allow projects to mature and improve with each obstacle, as opposed to eroding as issues arise. Our more successful projects are ones that have transformed from their original diagram into a detailed narrative that directly supports their core architectural values.

[Relentlessness]: Architectural projects are inevitably influenced by outside forces not present during the initial design phases. This is especially true with our most common client type: the single entity owner-developer-builder who can decide to change any element of a project at any time, and has the means to implement changes without further scrutiny. Re-

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maining open to this evolution means treating each request as an opportunity to learn and improve. The inevitability of this process requires courage to adapt, and the conviction to pursue improvements at all stages of the project. The design process is liberating when allowed to evolve—details get tighter, concepts get leaner and projects get better.

Each new challenge requires growth. Members of the team develop individual strengths, that when brought together, enable 5468796 to innovate and challenge presupposed solutions with intelligence rather than responding with obstinance. The power of our collaborative partnership is our greatest resource. With more knowledge, we are more open to embracing change and reacting in a way that improves the project outcomes.

Today, we are an office of 20 working around a single table towards shared goals. While by no means do we feel that we have all the answers, our experience has armed us with certain opinions and convictions about the particular realities that contribute to our pursuits. After 10 years, our first inclination of getting to work remains true and more focused, thanks to the principles that we have discovered along the way.

Through this quest for conceptual clarity and robustness, we strive to remain nimble, curious and open, and to recognize the opportunities that unlock a project’s potential beyond a profit line. Ultimately, we hope that in the next 10 years, we are able to realize architecture that is neither more nor less what it needs to be.

2018-10-24 3:34 PM

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Acting Out A new theatre brings international-calibre design to a small town in Quebec.

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2018-10-24 3:34 PM

Gilles-Vigneault Performance Hall, Saint-Jérôme, Quebec Atelier TAG | Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes in consortium TEXT Olivier Vallerand PHOTOS James Brittain PROJECT

ARCHITECTS

In the early 2000s, Atelier TAG won competitions to design the Châteauguay Library on Montreal’s south shore as well as the Théâtre du Vieux Terrebonne just north of the city. Both of the resulting buildings won Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. From that auspicious start, the studio has made a name for itself designing

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cultural institutions in Quebec. The latest in the series is the GillesVigneault Performance Hall, a multipurpose arts venue in Saint-Jérôme, in the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains resort area north of Montreal. The theatre skilfully continues the evolution of Atelier TAG’s work, bringing together material experimentation, the use of structure to define space, and a desire to encourage social interactions through connections between interior and exterior spaces.

The new venue allows performing arts producer Diffusion En Scène, who advanced the idea for the theatre 20 years ago, to finally own a space with the equipment to fulfill its mission as a major regional player. With funding secured from the city of Saint-Jérôme and Quebec’s Ministry

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1

16 14 godmer st.

15 16 3

4 17

6

5

7

12

8

9

13

de la gare st.

12

10 11

site plan 1 bike path 2 Parking 3 Saint-Jérôme Tourist Office 4 Apple Orchard 5 Clock Tower 6 Public Market 7 Place de la Gare 8 Old Station 9 Legault Plaza 10 cafÉ 11 City Hall 12 Place des Festivités 13 Fountain 14 Loading dock 15 Rooftop Terrace 16 Observation Belvedere 17 Wood Canopy 18 Saint-Jérôme Cathedral

0

pa r

en

ts

t.

18

40M

of Culture, a competition was held in 2014 to design the building on a prominent site in the downtown area of Saint-Jérôme. The location is close to the cathedral, the local college and the former train station.

It also benefits from a section of the P’tit Train du Nord linear park— a 200-kilometre bike trail built over an old railway line—running along its edge. The winning entry, by Atelier TAG in joint venture with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte, garnered a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 2014 and received supplementary funding from the Canadian government and lead sponsor Desjardins in 2016. Construction was completed in late 2017, after a delay when the discovery of contaminated soil forced changes to the design, including the move of the mechanical equipment from a planned basement to the back of the building.

For architect Katsuhiro Yamazaki, who co-leads Atelier TAG with Manon Asselin, MRAIC, the Gilles-Vigneault Performance Hall presented a new opportunity to investigate how people activate a building. However, as he notes, this is a counterintuitive proposition in a theatre, since most activities occur in the evening and interior conditions such as daylight must be tightly controlled. This challenge guided the architects’ grand gesture: an expressive wood canopy that extends from the interior atrium over the corner entrance forecourt.

Nearly 1,000 square metres in size, the canopy protects a grand staircase that connects the vast Place des Festivités—a new urban plaza at the heart of Saint-Jérôme’s civic and institutional core—with a second-floor foyer. For the architects, elevating the theatre’s main foyer creates a better

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A pleated cross-laminated timber canopy covers a grand stair extending from the public plaza to the theatre’s upper lobby.

The P’tit Train du Nord park stretches alongside the theatre. Above Expanded metal mesh is used on the exterior façades as well as for interior partitions, nodding to the metal roof of the nearby cathedral.

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Opposite The 860-seat auditorium uses an elegant wood-and-grey palette. Right The exterior wood canopy continues inside the building. The origami-like feature is made of black spruce from Quebec, minimizing the environmental impact of production and transport.

connection to the urban environment, and En Scène has already started programming events on the plaza and in the outdoor spaces around the foyer. The theatre’s asymmetrical plan allowed the architects to place a café-bar, along with support and administrative spaces, on the eastern side, creating animation along the linear park and gardens. The performance space itself is a traditional Italian auditorium layout that responds to the needs of most shows presented in Quebec.

For the designers, spatial decisions go hand-in-hand with material and structural choices. The structural wood canopy highlights the forest industry associated with the history of the area and its colonization— a competition request—while also marking the entrance with a strong visual presence. Its pleated underside makes visible the cross-laminated timber beams and panels, and hides mechanical systems, while connecting

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to the building’s primary exposed concrete and metal structure. This hybrid structural solution came from code and technical issues limiting the use of wood apart from the canopy. Simultaneously, it responded to the engineering challenge of having the structural stability of the building concentrated in the back, with no bracing possible in the openplan foyer. The integration of inventive structural responses has already been recognized through awards from the Association des firmes de génie-conseil du Québec and the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction.

For Yamazaki, one of the building’s successes is in its combination of an innovative, expressive wood structure with a more conventional system that is detailed such that it deserves to be visible instead of hidden.

On the east and north elevations, curtain walls open the building to the Place des Festivités and P’tit Train du Nord park. To the west

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On its service side, the theatre takes on a refined industrial look that subtly distinguishes it from its surroundings. Angled cut-outs follow the contours of the auditorium and fly-tower.

ABOVE

and south, the design team chose to clad the blank back-of-house walls with a diamond-patterned expanded metal mesh, a version of which was initially developed by SANAA for their New Museum in New York City. The mesh acts as a shading device for the f ly tower and stage house, limiting solar heat gain in the summer months. The material choice also nods to the metal roof of the nearby cathedral, whose appearance shifts with the movement of the sun and which has acquired a patina with weathering over the years. Inside, the same mesh is used as a wall covering and as a curtain-like screen alongside the main foyer, reinforcing the visual continuity between interior and exterior.

Similar to the Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne, the expressive use of cladding allows Gilles-Vigneault to be perceived differently as one approaches it. However, it does not fully hide the fact that visitors coming by car—the vast majority of the venue’s audience—face almost completely blank walls as their first impression of the building. While visitors can walk from the parking lot through the P’tit Train du Nord park alongside the building’s glazed façades, the main entrance is at the opposite corner. The architects placed a secondary entrance adjacent the park along with a café-bar that could potentially be used all day, but the administration currently keeps it closed outside of show times.

For this critic, the references to SANAA’s New Museum (in both the choice of material and formal resolution of the fly tower) or to Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Institute of Contemporary Art (in the combination of a wooden canopy and grand exterior staircase) are a little too obvious. But at the same time, these decisions create a strong presence for the theatre, especially against the more traditional backdrop of Saint-Jérôme. En Scène’s director David Laferrière has noted how locals are taking pride in the new international-calibre theatre, which brings increased visibility to both the town and his company.

Furthermore, he praises the aesthetic accessibility of the design: it’s

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forward-looking and inviting, values that are in harmony with the varied programs and diverse audiences that inhabit the space.

En Scène’s artistic mission is to be an agent of change—to develop audiences for quality arts productions that are substantial, but also have popular appeal. That combination is illustrated by the long-term allure of the theatre’s namesake, Gilles Vigneault, a long-time local resident who is one of Quebec’s most celebrated poet-musicians. The creative way in which En Scène announced the new theatre building—through a half-dozen online videos in which artists of various disciplines performed in the building at various stages of construction—exemplifies their approach to combining accessibility, discovery and education.

By fully integrating the new venue with the city-owned Place des Festivités, Atelier TAG and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte have offered En Scène a perfect setting to explore and expand on their work. At the moment, the arts producer is perhaps still discovering everything the building has to offer. But there is no doubt that they will soon find ways to activate its spaces and use their potential—in ways that will surprise even the theatre’s designers.

Olivier Vallerand is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University’s The Design School and an architect with 1x1x1 Creative Lab. CLIENT Diffusion En Scène | ARCHITECT TEAM Atelier TAG—Manon Asselin, Katsuhiro Yamazaki, Cédric Langevin, Jason Treherne, Pawel Karwowski, Simon Robichaud, Catherine Gagnon Leblanc. Jodoin Lamarre Pratte—Nicolas Ranger, Michel Bourassa, Maxime Gagnon, Ariane Latendresse, Olivier Millien, Guylaine Beaudoin, Jordi Jordana, Michel Dupuis, Serge Breton. | STRUCTURAL SDK et associés | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL SMi Enerpro | CIVIL Marchand Houle et associés | LANDSCAPE Atelier TAG | Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes in consortium | INTERIORS Atelier TAG | Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes in consortium | CONTRACTOR Construction Demathieu & Bard (CDB) | LIGHTING CS Design | ACOUSTICS Legault & Davidson | SCENOGRAPHY Go Multimédia | AREA 3540 m2 | BUDGET $21 M | COMPLETION November 2017

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Master Stroke Canada’s first natural swimming pool pairs sophisticated architecture with an advanced system of water-cleaning filters and plants.

PROJECT

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Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool, Edmonton, Alberta ARCHITECT gh3* TEXT Cynthia Dovell PHOTOS gh3*

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Opening Page A level ground plane unites the shower deck, pools, and beach areas into a single controlled composition. Opposite Steel plates pivot open at the entrance to the reception and change pavilion, emphasizing the depth of its enclosing gabion wall. ABOVE The natural filtration system includes pools stocked with debris-trapping pebbles and microorganism-consuming plants.

The first view you get of Edmonton’s latest outdoor pool is a long black gabion wall. But it’s no ordinary wall: it has a particularly even texture and refined construction that hints at something special on the other side. And indeed, there is. It’s the country’s first natural swimming pool—a system where plants, rather than chemicals, are used to treat the water.

It’s a sweltering hot August afternoon when we visit. Coming by transit from the north, the approach to the pool has no sidewalk, no signage, and no formal pathway, so it’s a bit disorienting to find our way to the entrance. But we hear the clear and familiar sounds of swimmers behind the wall, and eventually join a line of visitors.

Admission is a thirty-minute wait—demand is high for this novel place—but the building is oriented to provide ample shade for waiting alongside the east-facing wall.

A swimming hole has long existed in Borden Park. In the late nineteenth century, residents enjoyed dipping into a pond in their dungarees; after the park was formally established in 1906, one of the city’s first three outdoor swimming pools was opened in the same spot.

In the 1950s, that simple structure was upgraded to a flat-roofed pavilion, with red brick walls and broad overhangs.

Parts of the 1950s building are incorporated in the southwest corner of the current pool, designed by gh3*, a Toronto-based architecture and landscape architecture firm. The mid-century spirit also lives on in the new pavilion’s straightforward form: a simple rectangular bar, constructed from black limestone gabion. Occasional glazing slices reveal

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the full mass and thickness of the seasonal building’s envelope—which, unlike a typical layered building skin, is made solely of gabion. At the entry, a series of steel plates pivot open to reveal a through-space, leading directly past the admissions desk to the pool’s courtyard. Setting foot in this vestibule is akin to passing through a fortification into a spa-like club. The architecture is rigorous, regimented and elegant.

Height-wise, the new building and surrounding fence align with the original 1950s structure. This creates a continuous datum that lends the pool a clear feeling of “insideness,” while being open to the sky and overhanging trees above. The idea of expansive flatness is further emphasized at the ground plane. The sand, the flush edge of the pool water, the pool deck, and the wood shower deck are on a continuous level, creating an evenness that echoes prairie fields.

The pavilion is organized in a rational manner: inside its gabion walls, two circulation corridors run the length of the building. Distinct interior volumes include the admissions desk, changerooms and washrooms. Finished surfaces of marine-grade plywood were rubbed with black and white paints to expose the wood grain in high contrast, yielding a highly textured effect.

From the exterior gabion walls to the interior concrete f loors and sinks, the most important material in the project is stone. “Everything is built on the idea of stone in its incremental forms,” says architect Pat Hanson, FRAIC. “When you think about clean water, you think about mountain water—water rolling over rocks and this relationship of cleanliness and hard mineralized surfaces.”

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ABOVE The pavilion includes three bays of universal change rooms.

Since the pool is only open in the summer, the structure is not heated or conditioned, and the gabion walls are exposed on the interior.

Below The changeroom walls are made of marine-grade plywood that has been rubbed with black and white paints to bring out the material’s natural grain.

To preserve the integrity of the water, showers are mandatory. After soaking under sleek, cane-shaped on-deck showerheads, we enter the wading pool. The water has a soft quality to it, similar to a lake, and is perfectly cool on this blazing hot day. This natural, clean water is as much an achievement as the building itself, and as my infant son dips into it, I am glad for the designers’ efforts.

Swimming pools in Canada have typically been rendered safe through the use of harsh chemicals like chlorine. This sterilizing comes at the cost of red eyes and bleach-scented skin. The Borden Park Pool water is different. Before city-supplied water enters the closed loop system, it is dechlorinated and phosphates are removed. From the pool, water is continuously filtered through a three-chamber sedimentation system that removes large particles. It can then go one of two ways. In one direction, it gets sprayed onto specially selected aquatic plants at the top of a large Neptune sand filter. The plants remove microorganisms by absorbing them as nutrients. The water slowly filters through layers of granite rocks, which catch smaller dirt particles and microscopic impurities. The other pathway leads to the on-deck filtration system

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mixed “grey” water pumped to raised gravel bed

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clean swimming pool water pumped to supply nozzles at base of pools

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In one stage of the filtration, sprinklers spray the pool water onto planted beds. The plants take up microorganisms in the water as nutrients, helping to purify it for reuse in the pool. Gabion separating walls connect the landscaped filtration elements to the architectural language of the pavilion. Bottom right Simillar to a lake, the pool water contains small amounts of algae, which give it a feeling of softness and a blue-green tinge.

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consisting of a sand-and-stone submersive pond and planted hydrobotanic pond. After travelling to a holding basin, the water can then move to heating, a UV purifier, and another phosphorous absorber. Rather than being sterile, this water is living and clean.

One of the project’s biggest achievements was getting Alberta Health Services and other authorities onside. Canada’s swimming pool regulations are among the world’s most stringent—much stricter than the regulations in Europe, where natural pools have existed for decades.

To operate this Canadian-first-of-its-kind pool, Borden Natural Swimming Pool was classified as “recreational waters,” like a lake. “In the end, we applied for the building permit as a ‘constructed beach with variances’. And the variances were the pools,” Hanson explains. “We had the potential to back up the system with chlorine if it didn’t work.

And it has worked out, but it was a bit of a calculated risk.”

As in any lake, there are small amounts of algae in the water, which contribute to the feeling of softness. With more swimmers and the residual phosphor from their bodies, algae growth accelerates. Water samples are tested three times a week in collaboration with the University of Alberta; if the amount of algae is high, the water turns dark green and cloudy. While this is not a health hazard, lifeguards can’t see far into dark water and public safety becomes an issue. In these instances—as on the day of our visit—the pool’s deep end must be closed to the public.

From my vantage point on a floating pool noodle, this is a reasonable trade off for a chemical-free pool. The cloudiness of the water is a perfectly natural growing pain for an innovative idea in its debut season. I hold my baby while he splashes water in our faces, and we are happy.

Edmonton-based architect Cynthia Dovell, MRAIC is a principal at AVID Architecture.

She sits on the Edmonton Arts Council’s public art committee and teaches design studios for the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University.

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CLIENT City of Edmonton, Robb Heit (Project Manager) | ARCHITECT TEAM Pat Hanson (FRAIC), Raymond Chow (MRAIC), John Mckenna, DaeHee Kim, Joel Di Giacomo, Bernard Jin (MRAIC), Nicholas Callies | STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/CIVIL Morrison Hershfield | LANDSCAPE gh3* | INTERIORS gh3* | CONTRACTOR EllisDon | NATURAL POOL CONSULTANT Polyplan | AREA 770 m2 | BUDGET $14.4 M | COMPLETION July 2018

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A Banking Legacy The Bank of Canada’s headquarters are transformed from the inside out, With Striking sensitivity to the Arthur Erickson original.

Bank of Canada Head Office Renewal, Ottawa, Ontario Perkins+Will TEXT Odile HĂŠnault PHOTOS doublespace photography, unless otherwise noted PROJECT

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By the time Arthur Erickson tackled the design of the Bank of Canada Headquarters in Ottawa in the late 1960s, he had demonstrated mastery in concrete at Simon Fraser University, and made forays into using glass in his pavilions for Expo 67 in Montreal and the 1970 world exhibition in Osaka.1 The Bank of Canada presented him with challenges in creating glass architecture at a different scale: the prestigious site covered an entire city block in downtown Ottawa. In addition, there was the need to integrate the existing 1938 Bank of Canada, a neo-classical building

by Marani, Lawson & Morris (later Marani, Rounthwaite & Dick).

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Opening Page The Bank of Canada headquarters occupies a city block on Wellington Street, a short distance from Parliament Hill. ABOVE As part of the renovation, the East Plaza was revamped to create public seating areas and an entrance to the relocated Bank of Canada Museum. Right Planted mounds from Erickson’s design were retained in the building’s atrium, which is used as an event space and work areas for the bank’s employees.

To accommodate the Bank’s growing number of employees, Erickson positioned two 12-storey glass towers on either side of the original Bank. An 80-metre-high atrium, topped by transparent pyramids, linked the three buildings, drawing inspiration from Roche and Dinkeloo’s recently completed Ford Foundation Building in New York. In a gesture of openness difficult to imagine today, the atrium was accessible to the public. Its garden court became a much-appreciated oasis in the Capital’s densely built downtown core. The outer skin of the complex was composed of light- and heat-reflecting glass, while patinated copper horizontal and vertical elements—matching the green hues of the nearby Parliament buildings—broke the uniformity of the façades.

Shortly after the building was completed, Toronto architect and critic Macy DuBois wrote a mixed review of it. (See CA, June 1978.) He felt that “the all-glass façade, in our present state of perception, is unresponsive to the environmental realities.” On the other hand, DuBois expressed great enthusiasm about the Bank’s innovative open-office layout: “The Bank of Canada is an important contribution in office building design and we all should be grateful for such careful work.”

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Some forty years later, things have changed considerably. In 2010, an 5.0-magnitude-earthquake shook the region, damaging the 1938 building. Post 9/11, security has become a growing concern. Finally, the last few decades have seen tremendous technological advancements, not just in the world of communications, but also in the development of energyefficient materials.

What did remain stable, though, is the Bank building’s ability to adapt to change. In 2013, the institution commissioned Perkins+Will, along with a formidable team of professionals and advisors, to update the 77,575-square-metre facility. The designers were tasked with two major objectives: to address performance and infrastructure deficits of the facility, and to modernize the Bank as a workplace. Over the three-year-long, $460-million project, Perkins+Will made a multitude of changes, from upgrading the earthquake resistance of the building (which was at about 40 percent of the contemporary code requirement), to installing a new system of fire sprinklers (which previously only existed in select areas).

Moreover, the solution they adopted to replace the obsolete mechanical systems proved key to the Bank’s in-depth transformation.

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ABOVE A soaring atrium connects Erickson’s two towers to the original neoclassical bank building. Perkins+Will’s renovation creates collaborative work areas throughout the complex, including on the rooftop of the 1938 structure. Opposite The existing 30-inch-deep waffle slabs now house a radiant heating and cooling system. Combined with a double-skin envelope, this provides users with a healthier work environment while lowering energy costs.

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In their efforts to be as deferential as possible to the original scheme, the architects began the design process by organizing a two-day charrette.

They brought together several of Erickson’s contemporaries—including longtime collaborator and friend Cornelia Oberlander, Hon. MRAIC, and architect Keith Loffler, MRAIC, who worked on the bank project with design architect Jim Strasman, FRAIC—along with experts such as conservation architect Julia Gersovitz, FRAIC of EVOQ. The intense work session led to a number of recommendations, which proved highly useful as Perkins+Will considered their options to modernize the Bank’s headquarters. It became obvious early on that any change to the complex had to be anchored in a restructuring of the building’s heating and cooling systems. From the beginning, the exterior skin created large energy loads, and substantial floor area on each level was used to accommodate bulky HVAC equipment. On the outside, two 12-storey copper-clad bays—flanked and topped by ventilation louvres—marked the presence of the mechanical rooms.

In the original system, fresh air was heated or cooled in the mechanical bay of each floor before being circulated in a floor-level perimeter trench and delivered through grilles. The system occupied a lot of space and, by today’s standards, was extremely inefficient. Additionally, according to Keith Loffler, Erickson was not particularly happy with the look of the complex’s east and west façades with their mechanical bays, nor with the way the flow of the open plan was interrupted by the mechanical units at the building’s perimeter.

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CABLE ACCESS FLOOR

BUTT-jointed INTERIOR GLAZING DYNAMIC BUFFER ZONE EXISTING CURTAIN WALL RETURN AIR FLOOR GRILLE EXISTING HEATER TRENCH

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Top Continuing in the spirit of Erickson’s design, open planning and transparent partitions ensure access to natural light and views throughout the office floors. ABOVE To ensure the security of the headquarters, the Bank of Canada Museum was relocated from the 1938 building at the centre of the complex to a new bespoke space below the East Plaza. Opposite Portions of the historic bank building were restored by heritage consultants EVOQ, including the formal front entrance hall. The lower levels of the building now house meeting rooms and a conference centre.

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As they searched for a satisfying solution, Perkins+Will took a closer look at another feature of the original scheme—its waffle ceiling system.

They came up with the idea of integrating a radiant heating and cooling system in the upper portion of the original 30-inch-deep coffers. (They also used the coffers to conceal fire sprinklers.) As well, they created a dynamic buffer zone along the towers’ periphery by inserting a second glass skin. The former mechanical system was entirely removed, freeing substantial floor space, and the copper sheathing used on the exterior of the bays was replaced with glass.

Inside, the work environment was completely remodeled in keeping with Erickson’s original intention to create open office spaces throughout. Floors were raised slightly to accommodate cabling, with access provided through removable triangular metal tiles. The Chicago arm of Perkins+Will assisted in redesigning the office areas and developing new spaces such as an innovation lab and knowledge centres. Partially inspired by colourful Canadian banknotes, they transformed the offices into a series of dynamic—one could even say joyous—workspaces. With

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a spirit more often found in start-ups than in conservative banking establishments, employees can now work from just about anywhere in the complex: at their assigned desk, on a terrace atop the roof of the 1938 building, or in any of a plethora of new collaborative spaces.

The Bank’s revamping is done with such discretion that it might have gone unnoticed, had it not been for the closure of the atrium to the public.

That provoked an uproar among the most faithful protectors of Arthur Erickson’s heritage, although the notion that such a space should still be open to anyone and everyone seems somewhat idealistic in this day and age. Nevertheless, the design of the garden court was worth preserving because it embodied an idea dear to Erickson—that of creating strong connections between architecture and nature. Cornelia Oberlander, who was eventually retained as a consultant on the project by landscape architects DTAH, implemented a scheme in keeping with Erickson’s original vision of indigenous trees rising in the enclosed atrium space.

Three planted mounds were left in place, but the 1970s water feature was removed to create a work and lounge area for the Bank of Canada staff.

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macy Dubois, reprinted from the Canadian Architect, june 1978

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ABOVE Left

The skylight covers at the top of the atrium were remade from the 1970s molds, which had been preserved by the supplier.

A view of the Bank of Canada complex in 1978, soon after its completion by Arthur Erickson.

ABOVE Right

Another decisive step was dislodging the Currency Museum from the lower floors of the 1938 building, where Erickson had placed it, and replacing it with meeting rooms and a conference centre. Heritage architect Julia Gersovitz’s team restored the building’s formal front entrance hall, off Wellington Street, and refurbished a suite of offices for the Bank’s Governor and Deputy-Governor in the historic edifice.

The museum was relocated under the East Plaza, which was totally remodeled by Perkins+Will in collaboration with DTAH. Arthur Erickson had drawn several ambitious—but unbuilt—schemes for the plaza, and it is said that he eventually lost interest in this exterior space as the Bank reneged on his ideas. For years, a rather uninteresting raised plinth with a few pyramidal shapes and scant furniture stood where the now-vibrant plaza currently presides. Lead architect Andrew Frontini, FRAIC, says: “the East Plaza is where we expressed our voice.” The universally accessible plaza now includes several triangular elements with tiered seating, which incorporate entrances and skylights for the remodeled museum.

Having shown an amazing level of abnegation working on the iconic Bank headquarters, perhaps the architects went slightly overboard while designing the one space where they were given a greater amount of freedom. The plaza could have been more abstract, or at least slightly more restrained. The multipurpose pyramids rising from the ground seem too literal in their evocation of Canada’s mountainous landscapes, and the vocabulary used for the two glass ventilation pillars (doubling as lighting columns) appears out of sync with other elements of the design scheme.

But these quibbles should not detract from the major accomplishments of this project. With the latest alterations to their headquarters, the Bank of Canada has proved once again its impressive and continuous commitment towards excellence in architecture. Perkins+Will and its collaborators

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must be commended for their tremendous—and humble—efforts in adapting the complex to contemporary realities while respecting the original design. The architects’ search for authenticity extended to every corner of the building—even its rooftop. Having to replace the roof ’s Plexiglas pyramids, they identified the original supplier, still in business, and found out he had preserved the molds used in the 70s. Now, that is respect.

Odile Hénault, a Montreal-based critic and consultant, is currently an instructor at the McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.

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For an in-depth study of the Expo 67 and Osaka 70 pavilions, see Izabel Amaral’s

doctoral dissertation, Tensions tectoniques du projet d’architecture : études compara-

tives de concours canadiens et brésiliens (1967-2005), Université de Montréal, 2010.

CLIENT Bank of Canada | ARCHITECT TEAM Andrew Frontini, Joe Connell, D’Arcy Arthurs, Fred Vermeulen, Matt Johnston, Lara Leskaj, Jennifer Carzoli, Courtney Ruhl, Werner Sommer, Robert van Lin, Sara Barrett, Wade Brown, Mary Anne Bull, Stan Bury, Audrey Caron, Lauren Clack, Nicholas Cross, Robert Currie, Madelyn Delgado, Ivan Desroches, Joanne D’Silva, Sara Feigl, Kat Forget, Mark Ganassin, Patrick Grzybek, Catarina Guimaraes, Gavin Guthrie, Julia Hansen, Becky Hinss, Stephen Kolacki, Adrienne Kromm, Cameron Laabs, Martin Lariviere, Bridget Lesniak, Ranee Leung, Jay Lim, Michelle Malecha, Michael Margulis, Austin Modern, Smita Modi, Alan Mortsch, Ali Navid-Bakhsh, Luc Nugent, Clayton Payer, John Pellegrino, Donald Peters, John Potter, Anthony Prince, Talayeh Rad, Shari Roberts, Nilakshi Roy, Courtney Ruhl, Murali Selvaraj, Angelo Sferrazza, Peter Shupe, Paula Swanborough, Jason Sweers, Stephen Van Der Meer, Sarah Wybenga, Debbie Young, Matthew Zelensek | HERITAGE EVOQ | STRUCTURAL Adjeleian Allen Rubeli | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL BPA | LANDSCAPE DTAH | INTERIORS Perkins+Will | CONTRACTOR PCL | SECURITY LEA | A/V Engineering Harmonics | FOOD SERVICE WSP | ACOUSTICS HGC | COST Turner & Townsend | BUILDING SCIENCE CLEB | LIGHTING Gabriel MacKinnon / Perkins+Will | CODE/LIFE SAFETY Morrison Hershfield | AREA 77,575 m2 | BUDGET $460 M | COMPLETION April 2017

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Canadian Modern Dalhousie Architectural Press Graham Livesey

Publisher REVIEW

During the last 15 years, there has been a renaissance in Canadian architectural publishing, supported by the efforts of the Canada Council and other funding agencies, private sponsors, and numerous dedicated journalists, scholars, curators and architects. In particular, the intrepid publishers must be commended. This includes stalwarts such as Douglas & McIntyre, newcomers like Figure 1 Publishing, and international houses such as Princeton Architectural Press.

One of the key players in this vital landscape is Dalhousie Architectural Press, established over 35 years ago in Halifax, originally as TUNS Press. Landmark books by the press include Patkau Architects: Selected Projects 1983-1993 (1994), which did much to put Canadian architecture on the map. In 2013, the press began a series called Can-

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adian Modern, overseen by Michelangelo Sabatino. Numbering six books to date, the series is effectively a set of exhibition catalogues that concentrate on archival material.

George Thomas Kapelos’s Competing Modernisms: Toronto’s New City Hall and Square (2015) and Steven Mannell’s “Living Lightly on the Earth”: Building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974-76 (2018) provide detailed documentation of two crucial, and yet opposite, buildings in Canadian history. Kapelos’s book, which complements an exhibition held at Ryerson University in 2015, comprehensively presents the Toronto City Hall competition of 1958. He includes a fine essay on the history of design competitions in Canada (especially city hall competitions), along with spreads on the finalists and 50 other entries. What is missing is a more lengthy description and analysis of the winning entry, a building that has since achieved iconic status. Nevertheless, the book is a significant contribution to the study of Canadian architecture.

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Canadian Architectural Archives, University of Calgary

Solsearch Architects

panda collection, canadian architectural archives, University of calgary, 58504-3

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ABOVE A 1976 poster by Solsearch Architects describes their P.E.I. Ark project. It was an insert in the Journal of the New Alchemists in 1977, and available by mail order. Top Right Submissions for Toronto’s New City Hall and Square competition were arranged for adjudication in the Horticulture Building on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition. Bottom Right The 1959 Canadian Trade Pavilion in Kingston, Jamaica, was a geodesic structure designed by Jeffrey Lindsay, who founded the Fuller Research Foundation Canadian Division.

The same can be said of Mannell’s evocative book on the Ark for Prince Edward Island, produced along with an exhibition at the Confederation Centre of the Arts (2016-17). Opened in 1976, the Ark represented a remarkable experiment in environmentally responsive design and living—it was a true product of its time. Mannell provides much information on the genesis and life of the project, accompanied by many intriguing images. Sadly, the project met its demise in 1998.

The most unfamiliar story in the series is told in Cammie McAtee’s Montreal’s Geodesic Dreams: Jeffrey Lindsay and the Fuller Research Foundation Canadian Division (2017). Lindsay was a Montreal-born engineer who became enamoured with the work of U.S. inventor Buckminster Fuller. He established a Canadian arm of Fuller’s research outfit in 1949, and experimented with geodesic structures in the following years. Notably, he also provided structural design services for Erickson and Massey’s mall at Simon Fraser University, and the firm’s projects for Expo 67.

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Lindsay’s daughter donated her father’s notebooks, drawings, and photos to the Canadian Architectural Archives at the University of Calgary in 2014. The book was produced in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Centre de Design at UQAM in 2017, and provides a window on a little-known aspect of Canadian design.

Michael Windover and Anne F. MacLennan’s Seeing, Selling, and Situating Radio in Canada, 1922-1956 (2017) explores the early social and spatial territories of radio. The authors, an architectural historian and a communications historian, cover topics such as the modern architecture of radio broadcast stations, and the prominence of radio consoles in the sitting rooms of Canadian homes. The book accompanied an exhibition held at Carleton University in 2017.

The book that launched the series, Linda Fraser and Michelangelo Sabatino’s Arthur Erickson: Layered Landscapes—Drawings from the Canadian Architectural Archives (2013), presents drawings from the Arthur

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Postmodernist Myths

ARCHITECTURE

ITSELF

07.11.2018 – 07.04.2019

and Other Michael Graves, Claghorn House sketch © Michael Graves Architecture & Design. Michael Graves, Concept for murals in Associated Metals and Minerals Offices, 1979, image source © Michael Graves Architecture & Design.

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66 Erickson collection at the Canadian Architectural Archives. The material was showcased in a small exhibition designed by the Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative and held at the Nickle Galleries on the University of Calgary campus in 2013. Featuring projects from 1953-1968, the catalogue’s highlights include pencil and ink renderings of the Stegeman House (1954), the Filberg House (1958), the Dyde House (1960), the Thomas House (1960), and the Graham House (1966). These are interspersed with drawings of larger projects from the period.

Arguably, the most important book published so far in the Canadian Modern series is Marco Polo and Colin Ripley’s Architecture and National Identity: The Centennial Projects 50 Years On (2014). Elegantly written, the text explains the history leading up to 1967, and documents key buildings across the country constructed to mark a most

auspicious year in Canadian history. The publication matches an exhibition held at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in 2014. In this case, the subject deserves the treatment of a more extensive publication, as many of the projects remain institutions of provincial and national import.

Dalhousie Architectural Press continues to produce timely and important books in its recognizable 8” x 8” format. The quality of the books is generally high, although the format seems dated at this juncture. Nevertheless, the books contribute to an overall view of Canadian architectural culture that is essential to promote.

A Few Minutes of Design

of nos. 2 and 3? Draw them.” There may be such a thing as “design principles”—this set seems to assert that design should be logical and pleasing. But that’s not where design generally starts.

A few of the problems are open-ended in the right way—for example, jumbles of lines that the reader is encouraged to join together. But most seem quite proscriptive, even when not trying to be. While as a writer I like words, the accompanying texts hem in the reader. They could be edited down by half, which would help make the tasks more open. Other activities are too abstract. If you want to explore how two objects might be joined together, the way to do it is by playing with the objects themselves, not by drawing them from photographs.

Considering that the set is clearly conceived as a pack of cards, it is a lost opportunity that there doesn’t seem to be any way to turn them into a game. Or to use the cards themselves as tools—stencils perhaps, or building blocks to be stacked or slotted together. That was the approach taken by Charles and Ray Eames’s House of Cards, an altogether more playful (and oblique) introduction to design.

However, this card set did generate in each test group a discussion of “what is design?” These cards, while trying hard, don’t have the answer. Perhaps raising the question is enough.

By Emily Campbell (Princeton Architectural Press, 2018) REVIEW Lawrence Bird

This new set of cards offers 52 activities intended to “Spark Your Creativity.” The cards run the gamut of design, from typeface to architecture, divided into colour-coded suites on different themes. Their appearance is engaging—colourful, with attractive, vivid photographs. Unfortunately, the activities are less so. This reviewer field-tested the cards with two groups: a gathering of architects, and a family of kids who aren’t especially focused on design. The response was lukewarm, which is not what you want from a set of cards meant to excite people about design.

The set is by Emily Campbell, who has a background in design and the design education of children. Perhaps for this reason the cards serve more as a meditation on what makes design tick, rather than engaging users in the design process. Many of the tasks seem condensed from what might be a week-long project—for example, look for forms in a picture of an engine, and then create a new form based on them. Distilling this to an ostensibly five-minute task robs it of its potential richness.

The bigger problem is that the assignments (because this is what they often feel like) use examples of design—a set of icons, a typeface— as the basis for instructions like “What rules would govern the shape

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Graham Livesey, MRAIC is a professor in the Master of Architecture program at the University of Calgary.

Lawrence Bird, MRAIC is an architect, planner and visual artist. He works at pico Architecture in Winnipeg.

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calendar and how to select appropriate climate data sets and record building measurements.

www.passivehousecanada.com

11/29—12/08

Project Management for Architects The RAIC’s project management courses for architects, interns and project managers come to Edmonton. www.raic.org

Winnipeg 11/22

ACROSS CANADA Vancouver 11/17

Small Housing Summit Organized by Small Housing BC, Canada’s first conference on small housing aims to gather top innovators and leading minds to discuss the challenges and act on the opportunities offered by smaller forms as a tool for urban growth. www.smallhousingbc.org

11/21

UBC SALA Lecture Series: Lyana Patrick Lyana Patrick contributes to the growing scholarship on Indigenous community planning, exploring what this looks like for diverse urban Indigenous populations. www.sala.ubc.ca

—12/22

Fred Hollingsworth: Art of Architecture This exhibition presents the

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pioneering West Coast modernist architect’s masterful colour renderings, furnishings and artworks. The designs were produced for homes and buildings in Vancouver and beyond.

www.westvancouverartmuseum.ca

12/11

Wood Solutions Conference This one-day educational event features seminar streams focusing on current topics such as mass timber, as well as an interactive trade show. www.wood-works.ca/alberta/wsf/

05/07/19

AIBC Confab 2019 This new one-day professional development event offers interactive workshops, panel discussions, and intimate seminars; all with the goal of promoting conversation and a shared learning experience. www.aibc.ca

Calgary 12/05

Design Matters – Borja Ferrater Organized by the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design, the Design Matters lecture series presents a lecture by Borja Ferrater, founding partner at the Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB). www.evds.ucalgary.ca

01/16/19

Design Matters — Sierra Bainbridge December’s Design Matters speaker Sierra Bainbridge is a principal at Boston-based MASS Design Group. She asks: “Architecture is never neutral; it either hurts or heals. How can we intentionally use architecture as a tool for healing?” www.evds.ucalgary.ca

Edmonton 11/22—11/24

Understanding and Working with the Passive House Planning Package Participants will learn the structure, inputs and outputs of the Passive House Planning Package,

www.umanitoba.ca

11/30

FAUM Lecture Series — Dustin Wiebe Dustin Wiebe is a researcher in residence in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba. His current work examines relationships between material culture, religion and musical aesthetics. www.umanitoba.ca

Toronto 11/21

Home and Away – Alison Brooks and Brigitte Shim This lecture at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design features London-based Alison Brooks in conversation with Toronto’s Brigitte Shim. www.daniels.utoronto.ca

11/23

Ryerson DAS Lecture Series — Douglas Cardinal Sponsored by the Canadian Wood Council, Ryerson’s Department

Fred Hollingsworth, Design for a Show House, c. 1960, watercolour on paper, Courtesy of the Hollingsworth Family.

An exhibition at the West Vancouver Art Museum presents work by architect Fred Hollingsworth, including this watercolour rendering, from around 1960.

FAUM Distinguished Lecture — Scott Stirton The Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba presents a lecture from president and CEO of Winnipeg’s Architecture49, Scott Stirton. Stirton has played an active leadership role in key projects including the Canadian Human Rights Museum at the Forks.

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1960s struggle to preserve an inner-city community against redevelopment.

of Architecture Science presents a lecture by Douglas Cardinal. www.arch.ryerson.ca

www.cca.qc.ca

11/28—11/30

The Buildings Show Now in its 30th year, the Buildings Show includes ConstructCanada, and is North America’s largest event for products, services, educational programming and professional networking.

Halifax

12/07

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12/05

Atlantic Wood Design Awards The 2018 Atlantic Wood Design Awards Ceremony will be held in Halifax.

www.thebuildingsshow.com

TSA Bash The Toronto Society of Architects’ annual party supports the organization’s work throughout the year. torontosocietyofarchitects.ca

—01/06

Edward Burtynsky: Anthropocene The Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada co-present Anthropocene, a major new contemporary art exhibition that tells the story of human impact on the Earth through film, photography and new experiential technologies. www.ago.ca

01/24—02/09/19

Project Management for Architects The RAIC’s project management courses for architects, interns and project managers come to Toronto for the second time.

www.atlanticwoodworks.ca

New York The CCA’s current exhibition provides a counter-reading of postmodern architectural projects.

features industrial designs imbued with the sense of environmental sustainability that is at the heart of Rashid’s current practice.

www.oaggao.ca

—02/24/19

Anthropocene A sister exhibition to the presentation in Toronto, the National Gallery of Canada’s Anthropocene features new works from the collective of Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. www.gallery.ca

Montreal —12/09

RAIC Festival of Architecture 2019 Next year’s Festival of Architecture takes place in Toronto, with the theme “The Future of Architecture.”

Entrer en interférence: cinq architectures en Belgique / cinq architectures au Québec This exhibition at the UQAM Centre for Design brings together projects by five Belgian architectural firms and sets them side-by-side with projects by five Quebec firms.

Ottawa

—01/13/19

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10/26—10/30/19

www.raic.org

—02/10/19

Karim Rashid: Cultural Shaping The Ottawa Art Gallery hosts the first large-scale presentation of the iconic designer’s work in Canada to date. The exhibition

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www.centrededesign.com

Relevés sentimentaux The Maison de l’architecture du Québec hosts an exhibition that combines narratives on place by landscape architect Anne Ardouin, artist Juliette Blouin, and architect Claire Duquesne. maisondelarchitecture.ca

—04/07/19

Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernist Myths This exhibition at the CCA brings together an array of building fragments, drawings, models, and primary source documents, all of which present canonic projects from unexpected points of view. www.cca.qc.ca

—01/13/19

Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980 Situated between the capitalist West and the socialist East, Yugoslavia’s architects responded to contradictory demands and influences, developing a postwar architecture both in line with and distinct from the design approaches seen elsewhere in Europe and beyond. www.moma.org

—01/20/19

Scripts for a new world: Film storyboards by Alessandro Poli This exhibition explores how different elements of film—images, storyboards, scripts, and audio—generate a new language for architecture in the work of Italian architect and Superstudio member Alessandro Poli. www.cca.qc.ca

01/22/19

McGill Lecture Series — Iñaki Ábalos The co-founder of Ábalos + Sentkiewicz Architects presents “Documentalism and Material Culture,” this year’s Siew Fang Chan Lecture. www.mcgill.ca/architecture/

—02/17/19

Milton-Parc: How we did it Through a rich and vivid selection from the CCA archives, Milton-Parc: How we did it retraces the dramatic

London —01/20/19

Renzo Piano: The Art of Making Buildings Focusing on a selection of key buildings through rarely seen drawings, models and signature full-scale maquettes, this exhibition explores how the Renzo Piano Building Workshop designs buildings piece by piece, making deft use of form, material and engineering to achieve a precise and yet poetic elegance. www.royalacademy.org.uk

Paris —12/30

Tadao Ando: The Challenge The Centre Pompidou hosts a major retrospective of the work of Japanese architect and Pritzker winner Tadao Ando. Themes include the simplicity of space and the urban challenge. www.centrepompidou.fr

Madelon Vriesendorp. Freud Unlimited, 1976. CCA. DR1984:1552

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In the Limelight TEXT

Elsa Lam

Designed by Paul Raff, a shell-shaped pavilion in North Toronto is a sparkling backdrop for formal and spontaneous performances.

Tucked behind a wall of apartment towers north of downtown Toronto, Lee Lifeson Art Park is a bustling place on a warm Friday morning. A runner stretches his legs, a maintenance crew buzzes down long grasses, teenagers gather around a bench, a man in a tracksuit performs a slow-motion tai-chi walk down a path.

In the centre of the park, an elderly Asian man sits on a fold-out chair on the wooden deck in front of Paul Raff ’s Limelight bandshell. He plays the erdu—a stringed instrument with a small sound box and long neck that makes a singing sound like a high-pitched violin. It isn’t that loud, but the bandshell provides enough amplification to hear the melodic tunes above the whirr of the weed whackers.

Lee Lifeson Art Park is named after bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson, who both grew up in the neighbourhood and went on to found the rock band Rush, with drummer Neil Peart. Just as the band created lush sound from just three instruments, Raff aimed to create a complex form using a single material.

The form began as a parabolic cone, which was then splayed open to send sound waves across the amphitheatre. The resemblance to a seashell emerged coincidentally, says Raff. Black glass mosaic tiles make the bandshell a mute backdrop for performances, but also give the structure a sparkling quality reminiscent of a disco ball.

Raff brought his experience in both art and architecture to the process of creating Limelight. The work was initially designed digitally, and then a full-scale model was sculpted from industrial plasticine, normally used for modeling automobiles. Further adjustments and refinements were made to the physical model, which was then digitally scanned for fabrication.

Originally, Raff planned to create the artwork with tiles set on concrete, but for ease of fabrication, the final form was constructed with a steel frame and high-density foam.

A trained sculptor was brought in to help manage the layout of tiles on the irregular curves and ridges of the surface.

ABOVE The Limelight bandshell is designed to provide natural amplification, and is clad with glass mosaic tiles. A park pavilion

by Forrec frames a view to the stage.

While Raff was originally commissioned to produce a stand-alone artwork, he ended up working closely with the others involved with the park, particularly landscape architecture firm The Planning Partnership and architect Tim Scott of Forrec. Based on the emerging park layout, The Planning Partnership decided to create an amphitheatre centred on the bandshell, while Scott set up his public washroom pavilion at the top of the performance area, forming a gateway that frames a view of the sculptural piece.

The amphitheatre can be booked for formal events, but the designers wanted to create a space that also invites spontaneous performances—whether by teenagers from the local arts-focused high school, or neighbourhood denizens like this morning’s musician. “All the world’s indeed a stage / And we are merely players,” goes Rush’s song “Limelight,” from which the pavilion gets its name. And indeed, it’s the perfect spot for watching the theatre of the world go by.

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