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12 artscape wychwood Barns in leAding the AdAptive Reuse of AbAndoned stReetcAR seRvice bARns in midtoWn toRonto, Joe lobko ARchitect inc./du toit ARchitects limited Attempt to pReseRve As much of the buildings As possible. teXt dAvid steineR

18 University of waterloo school of pharmacy

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contents

9

news

inners of the 2010 AIBC Architectural W Awards announced; RAIC welcomes new Executive Director.

24 insites

Canada could learn a lesson or two from Norway’s innovative National Tourist Routes project, according to Mason White.

27 report

John Lorinc presents the forces behind the innovative repurposing of the historic Maple Leaf Gardens into a Loblaws supermarket and a student recreation facility for Ryerson University.

30 Books

Three recent publications are reviewed by Ian Chodikoff, Tanya Southcott and Omar Gandhi.

33 calendar

SNØHETTA: architecture—landscapes—interiors at Cambridge Galleries Design at Riverside; RAIC/SAA 2010 Festival of Architecture in Saskatoon.

34 Backpage

June 2010, v.55 n.06

The NaTioNal Review of DesigN aND PRacTice/ The JouRNal of RecoRD of The Raic

The late Don Watt, trailblazing designer of some of Canada’s best-known graphic icons, is profiled by Ian Chodikoff. the univeRsitY of WAteRloo school of phARmAcY bY hARiRi pontARini ARchitects in Joint ventuRe With Robbie/ Young + WRight ARchitects. photo bY ben RAhn.

cover

06/10 canadian architect

5

IMara (wynford drIve)

viewpoint

editor Ian ChodIkoff, OAA, FRAIC associate editor LesLIe Jen, MRAIC editorial advisors John MCMInn, AADIpl. MarCo PoLo, OAA, MRAIC contributing editors GavIn affLeCk, OAQ, MRAIC herbert enns, MAA, MRAIC douGLas MaCLeod, nCARb

thIs redeveLoPMent In toronto LeveraGes the IsMaILI CoMMunIty’s CuLturaL CaPItaL to IMProve the quaLIty of arChIteCture and PubLIC sPaCe In the suburbs.

above

In my editorial viewpoint in the October 2005 issue of Canadian Architect, I debated whether the Bata Building, a Modernist building on a prime development site in Toronto’s Don Mills should be preserved or replaced by a complex comprised of a museum, religious centre and park—a project developed by an architecturally literate organization with a mandate to disseminate “democracy and pluralism in an interdependent world.” It was believed by many that to forego an opportunity to build a globally connected cultural facility to save a Late Modern building would have compromised Toronto’s ability to evolve as a pluralistic city and to promote diversity through progressive architecture and public spaces.

Nearly five years later, with the demolition of the Bata Building having taken place, the very same international organization held a ceremony at the end of May to officially lay the cornerstone of its ambitious building project on the controversial site.

Through the initiative of the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the construction of the Ismaili Centre, the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture, and a publicly accessible park is now officially underway. Designed by Charles Correa, the Centre will be the latest addition to a network of Ismaili Centres worldwide. The Aga Khan Museum will be designed

by Fumihiko Maki, the architect also responsible for the recently completed Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa. The two Toronto projects will be set within a landscaped park designed by Lebanesebased landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic; Moriyama & Teshima Architects are the Torontobased joint venture partners for the project.

The AKDN’s decision to purchase two adjacent parcels of land in Don Mills was made for several reasons, the primary one being that the new buildings and park will be located near the densest Muslim population in Canada. Open to the public, the development aims to connect members of a specific cultural and religious community while enriching the overall cultural capital of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

6 canadian architect 06/10

It has taken over a decade to begin construction on the 6.8-hectare suburban site, but during the same period, leaders in the GTA have begun to realize the region’s potential to lead in disseminating global culture through high-quality architecture located outside of the downtown core—an awareness that will undoubtedly serve to improve the long-term cultural sustainability of the suburbs.

It is encouraging to note that the AKDN redevelopment is one of several projects recently completed or under construction in the GTA and in other Canadian metropolitan regions whose mandate has been, at least in part, to tap into the cosmopolitan diversity of Canada with a range of buildings that address religious, ethnic and cultural specificities while celebrating or at least accommodating the needs of our country’s broadly defined populations.

With these kinds of projects—particularly those extending beyond buildings of worship—we are witnessing an emerging form of architecture that is embedded with pluralism as its guiding principle.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail during his visit to Toronto, the Aga Khan spoke of his desire to see Canada promote its own brand of pluralism on the international stage because “societies are not pluralist by accident. They’re pluralist by the will of the government, of the people, of civil society,” and it is this desire which has become a fundamental component of the Canadian identity. “Immigrants to this country know that. They recognize it, they see it, they sense it...when my community came here, they weren’t only immigrants—they were encouraged to keep their social structures, their economic structures, their relationships among families. In how many other countries do you know that this is happening? So there’s a massive accumulated quantity of knowledge and experience here.”

Regardless of our individual ethnic or religious affiliations, Canadian society must leverage its diverse accumulated cultural capital to develop a sophisticated pluralistic society that is equally sophisticated with respect to creating buildings of architectural importance.

Ian ChodIkoff

ichodikoff@canadianarchitect.coM

regional correspondents halifax ChrIstIne MaCy, OAA regina bernard fLaMan, SAA montreal davId theodore calgary davId a. down, AAA Winnipeg herbert enns, MAA vancouver adeLe weder publisher toM arkeLL 416-510-6806 associate publisher GreG PaLIouras 416-510-6808 circulation Manager beata oLeChnowICz 416-442-5600 ext. 3543 custoMer service MaLkIt Chana 416-442-5600 ext. 3539 production JessICa Jubb graphic design sue wILLIaMson vice president of canadian publishing aLex PaPanou president of business inforMation group bruCe CreIGhton head office 12 ConCorde PLaCe, suIte 800, toronto, on M3C 4J2 telephone 416-510-6845 facsimile 416-510-5140 e-mail edItors@CanadIanarChIteCt.CoM Web site www.CanadIanarChIteCt.CoM Canadian architect is published monthly by bIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier bIG holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-tobusiness information services. the editors have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate and authoritative information, but they assume no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the text, or its fitness for any particular purpose. subscription rates Canada: $52.95 plus applicable taxes for one year; $83.95 plus applicable taxes for two years (Gst – #809751274rt0001).

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Postmaster: please forward forms 29b and 67b to 12 Concorde Place, suite 800, toronto, on Canada M3C 4J2. Printed in Canada. all rights reserved. the contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in full without the consent of the copyright owner. from time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: telephone 1-800-668-2374 facsimile 416-442-2191 e-mail privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca mail Privacy officer, business Information Group, 12 Concorde Place, suite 800, toronto, on Canada M3C 4J2 member of the canadian business press member of the audit bureau of circulations publications mail agreement #40069240 issn 1923-3353 (online) issn 0008-2872 (print)

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Patkau architects

news

cOmpetitiOns patkau architects win Fallingwater design competition.

Patkau Architects of Vancouver is the winner of Fallingwater’s first-ever design competition for on-site cottages that will support residential educational programming at the Frank Lloyd Wright masterwork in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The second-place winner of the competition is Phoenix, Arizona-based Wendell Burnette Architects, and Olson Kundig Architects of Seattle, Washington has been chosen as the third-place winner.

Patkau Architects’ winning design for six small efficient and sustainable cottages will serve as the basis of a final design, to be implemented following regulatory approval and fundraising. “Its strength is not just in what is included, but in what is left out,” the jury said of the winning design. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which preserves and maintains Fallingwater, will build the cottages on the grounds of the 5,000acre Bear Run Nature Reserve that surrounds Fallingwater, some distance from the house itself. The design competition is the first that Fallingwater has sponsored for construction of new buildings on site. The new cottages will serve an important outreach goal by expanding lodging capacity for participants in Fallingwater Institute’s diverse educational programs. Patkau Architects was among six firms chosen by a preliminary selection committee to participate in a design competition of ideas supported through a grant from the Fine Foundation. Participants developed designs for low-maintenance, energyefficient cottages that should create a sense of community and become a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of small-scale green housing. The designs of the six firms will be displayed in an exhibit, Design Competition: New Cottages at Fallingwater, at the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Heinz Architectural Center from June 12 to August 22, 2010. In addition to the above mentioned firms, the three remaining

firms are: Saucier + Perrotte Architectes of Montreal, Quebec; MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects of Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Marlon Blackwell Architect of Fayetteville, Arkansas. www.wpconline.org/news/view/115 halsall associates Limited and rFr win competition for footbridge in calgary.

Canada-based engineering services firm Halsall Associates Limited and French firm RFR together have won the conceptual design competition for the new St. Patrick’s footbridge in Calgary. The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) chose the approach taken by RFR/Halsall specifically because it complements the natural splendour of the surrounding community. As part of an effort to develop the East Village into a dynamic community that integrates into the downtown core, CMLC commissioned the international contest in September 2009. From 33 initial submissions from major firms across the world, three finalists were chosen to participate in a public presentation and were subject to the opinions of not only the CMLC, but of interested Calgarians. The pedestrian bridge is 170 metres in length and is split into three arches of 50, 30 and 90 metres in length. The bridge will connect St. Patrick’s Island to the East Village to the south and to the Bow River path system to the north. emerging architects win first prize in the shuko montreal ideas competition.

Three emerging architects—Kim Pariseau, Étienne Pelletier and Dominic Poncelet—have met this competition challenge by proposing an audacious new project entitled LOOP that transforms the public space above the Ville-Marie Expressway into a dynamic experience. Currently, this residual space is an eyesore that divides the historic Old Montreal from the bustling downtown core. The goal of this project is to reconnect the urban fabric and form a public meeting place to create a point of convergence between these two districts along with a third—

Patkau architects’ winning submission for a design comPetition organized by the western Pennsylvania conservancy (which owns and oPerates frank lloyd wright’s fallingwater) ProPoses six cottages buried into a hillside.

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underground Montreal. This new space reconnects tourist sites and cultural attractions such as the Palais de Congrès/CHUM and Place JacquesCartier/Quartier des Spectacles, creating a seamless downtown. Furthermore, this site also improves street flow, usage and access to Montreal’s underground. www.realisonsmontreal.com/docs/projects/10_RM_ Shuko_CdM_rapport_jury_final_ang.pdf

awards winners of 2010 aiBc architectural awards announced.

Themes of adaptive reuse and fresh design were front and centre at the 2010 Annual AIBC Architectural Awards, and a total of 11 awards were bestowed upon British Columbia’s architectural leaders. Two Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Awards in Architecture (Medal) were given to: Alhambra + Garage + Cordage + Grand + Terminus by Acton Ostry Architects Inc., and the False Creek Energy Centre by Walter Francl Architecture Inc./Pechet and Robb art and architecture ltd. Four Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Awards in Architecture (Merit) were given to: 135 Keefer Street by Gair Williamson Architect Inc.; House in Southern Gulf Islands by Gates_Suter Architects; Mountain View Cemetery

by Birmingham & Wood—Architects and Planners; and the West Vancouver Community Centre

by Hughes Condon Marler Architects. Xthum by WMW Public: Architecture + Communication Inc. claimed the 2010 AIBC Innovation Award, while Matthew Soules Architecture Inc. took the AIBC Emerging Firm Award. And finally, three AIBC Special Jury Awards were given to: the Lynn 06/10 canadian architect

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Oaa people’s choice award and Best of show award winners announced.

The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) recently announced the winner of the 2010 Best of Show Award—the Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto

by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects. The 2010 People’s Choice Award was given to the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat in Ottawa

by Maki and Associates and Moriyama & Teshima Architects. The Best of Show is the jury’s favourite project in the OAA Design Excellence category which recognizes and profiles the innovative, expanding skills of Ontario architects in creating spaces, buildings and communities, built within the past five years, which enhance the environment and enrich human activity. The People’s Choice is the public’s favourite among this year’s 15 Design Excellence winners. Fourteen new buildings in Fort Erie, Grey Highlands, Mississauga, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ottawa, Toronto, and Walsingham were also honoured with Design Excellence Awards. The Lapierre house in St. Catharines and the Queen’s Quay Terminal Building in Toronto both received Landmark Awards as notable examples of the development of architecture in Ontario. www.oaa.on.ca phyllis Lambert design montreal Grant: call for applications to young design professionals.

This grant will be awarded for a third consecutive year. Created for young design professionals, this grant aims to acknowledge and promote the talent of emerging Montreal designers and foster their professional recognition. The winner will receive a $10,000 award to fund a professional development project in one of the cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, of which Montreal is a member. The Phyllis Lambert Design Montreal Grant rewards the talent of a young Montreal designer with fewer than 10 years’ professional practice, and having demonstrated exceptional quality in studies and work as well as a marked interest in the city. The grant must be used to fund a professional development project—for example, a study trip, a work internship, participation in a design competition, a workshop, symposium or any other activity relevant to the advancement of a nascent design career.

Created by the City of Montreal in 2008, the grant is named in honour of Phyllis Lambert, a great Montrealer and staunch defender of emerging designers. The submission deadline is no later than 4:30pm on August 16, 2010. www.realisonsmontreal.com

what’s new 11th international Garden Festival: Gardens of paradise.

The International Garden Festival enters its second decade with a program of gardens and special events for the 11th edition. The 2010 Festival will display a record 21 gardens on the Festival site as well as extramural gardens in Montreal, Calgary and Toronto. The theme of this year’s Festival is “Paradise” and Berlin is the invited city. The program includes the broadcast of the new documentary film, Twice Upon a Garden, as well as culinary, musical, cultural and artistic events throughout the summer. The 11th edition of the Festival will present 21 ephemeral gardens created by 65 designers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom. The lineup of conceptual gardens includes three new gardens by designers selected by a jury following an international competition, along with four new gardens created by designers from Berlin invited to take part in the Festival. Building on emerging practices in landscape architecture, participating designers have been invited to imagine their garden of paradise; inspired by the history of gardening and exploring philosophy, religion and history and incorporating aspects of contemporary society and their own personal histories to bring to life new forms, tastes, fragrances and paradisiacal landscapes. Presented since 2000, the Festival has exhibited more than 115 gardens by 200 designers from 15 countries as well as extramural gardens in Montreal, Toronto, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The only event of its kind in Canada, the Festival is a showcase and a springboard for emerging designers in all disciplines. It is one of the most visited exhibitions of contemporary art in Canada and thus opens new horizons for the general public, offering new forms of contemporary design, demonstrating new materials and presenting gardens inspired by the pressing environmental issues of the day.

Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens are located in Grand-Métis, Quebec, and are open from June 5 to October 3, 2010. www.refordgardens.com raic welcomes new executive director.

Architecture Canada | RAIC has announced that Jim McKee has been named Executive Director,

niP Paysage

Steven Boutique by mcfarlane green biggar ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN INC; Rennie Art Gallery and Offices by Walter Francl Architecture Inc./mcfarlane green biggar ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN INC; and Thompson Rivers University Students’ Union by Stantec Architecture Ltd. www.aibc.ca

Oursins by niP Paysage makes another star aPPearance at the 11th edition of the international garden festival in grand-métis, Quebec.

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effective July 19, 2010. McKee comes to the Institute with experience heading the Coalition for Cultural Diversity (CCD) where he was responsible for all aspects of its operations, including governance, strategic planning, budgeting and fundraising, policy development, government relations, communications, and staffing. With the CCD he was instrumental in mobilizing cultural organizations in Canada and around the world to secure widespread political support for an international treaty affirming the right of countries to apply cultural policies. His previous experience includes working for the Writers Guild of Canada as Director of Policy and Communications, and prior to that, positions with Transport Canada, First City Trust and Deloitte & Touche. “Jim McKee’s management experience with Canadian and international organizations which are focused on the cultural and creative agenda, and his close working relationship with Canadian public sectors are expected to help advance the mandate of Architecture Canada | RAIC,” said Randy Dhar, FRAIC, RAIC President. “I’m excited and honoured by the opportunity to work on behalf of a membership whose work contributes in such a major way to the quality of life of Canadians, and who figure prominently in addressing one of the major challenges of our time by continuing to innovate new approaches to sustainable building,” said McKee. He replaces Jon Hobbs, FRAIC, who is retiring at the end of June after 14 years with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). www.raic.org 06/10 canadian architect

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Making new tracks

the adaptive reuse of long-vacated streetcar service barns as a cultural precinct in Midtown toronto is a priMe exaMple of what the city is starting to do right.

ArtscApe WychWood BArns, toronto, ontArio Joe LoBko Architect inc./du toit Architects Limited text dAvid steiner photos tom ArBAn proJect

architect

Among century-old houses, just west of Toronto’s core, are the Wychwood Barns—a collection of brick-clad former industrial sheds, converted into artists’ housing and cultural facilities. It is an amalgamation of covered public space, tiny rental apartments, offices for non-profit organizations, a greenhouse and a park. With its long, low profile, a restored brick façade, new glazing and well-considered park amenities, the building is a complement to the surrounding well-established single-family neighbourhood.

The design and reconstruction incubated for eight years from the time a 12 canadian architect 06/10

local councillor announced his intentions to keep the site from being sold off to private interests until construction was completed in 2008. In that time, the brownfield site was cleaned, a post-industrial relic was preserved, and the municipality set a new standard for achieving a creative redevelopment and bureaucratic cooperation.

At the beginning of the last century, St. Clair Avenue and Christie Street— where the Barns are located—was a largely residential area near the edge of the city. At the time, streetcars were a private enterprise. An operator would own the tracks, the cars, a yard and the service barns where the cars could be repaired, marshalled and stored. The Wychwood Barns were constructed between 1913 and 1921, occupying about one acre of a five-acre site. In 1921, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bought up all of the private streetcar operators in the city and became the sole owner of the transit system. But as the transit lines extended west alongside the growing city, the Barns lost their purpose. By 1973, the TTC used them as a storage facility and in 1985 they were vacated and boarded up.

Their rehabilitation began when Joe Mihevc, the municipal ward’s City Councillor of 18 years, made a campaign promise that the site would remain public space and not be sold off to conventional developers. Mihevc was the crucial gear that enabled this complicated process of rehabilitating a con-

taminated industrial site in an urban neighbourhood, negotiating what he calls the “institutional silos of the municipal government.” After the city bought the site from the TTC, they hired Artscape, a non-profit developer of cultural projects, to manage every part of the redevelopment from fundraising and tenant agreements to design and reconstruction. Artscape had been a pioneer of sorts in Toronto regarding the conversion of urban buildings and brownfields into cultural facilities. They learned how to attract the appropriate tenants, raise capital, and navigate the bureaucratic rapids required for approval. For a company whose primary source of money is from government, charitable foundations and non-profit organizations, a lot of political support was needed to transform the Wychwood Barns. Twentytwo million dollars in project costs ($14 million for construction) were collected from the three levels of government, private donations and financing. Leased for 50 years at one dollar per year, Artscape is responsible for all of the upkeep, tenants, repairs and fundraising.

Despite an industrial building’s origins, the shell, once stripped of its industry, is malleable and able to accommodate a variety of activities. As obvious as this may now seem to the general population, it wasn’t apparent to the immediate community nearly a decade ago. When Joe Lobko, the project’s architect, won the request for proposals in 2003, he had already completed a

the rehABiLitAted doors of BArn four creAte A stunning visuAL BAckdrop WhiLe reAffirming the industriAL LegAcy of the originAL BuiLding. above Live/Work studios occupy the BuiLding on the right WhiLe A rAnge of puBLic And non-profit Activities comprise the remAinder of the fAciLity. opposite

feasibility study and conducted an intensive round of community meetings that began in 2001. A majority of locals wanted to preserve the existing structure, though many needed assurance as to how it would be transformed.

Lobko’s firm (which has since merged with du Toit Architects Limited) set out to preserve as much of the building as possible, “exploring the intrinsic use of the barns,” he says, and to make a seamless integration with the park.

The five-storey smokestack, a bay of the original five-metre-high wood doors, and much of the brick façade was retained. They used the existing layout of the structure to organize the program. As such, the building is laid out in five rows—labelled from one to five—arranged according to different functions: housing, public space, food, open space, and administration.

All 26 live/work units in Barn One face onto Benson Avenue where onebedroom studios occupy the top floor, and tiny bachelor apartments are located on the ground floor. There are five two-level family units with a 06/10 canadian architect

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double-height entry which have the living space on the ground with bedrooms above. Masonry bays in front of 20 units were removed and replaced by a new façade, clad with milky green recycled plastic panels, built a metre or so back, thereby creating a narrow arcade. On the opposite side of the apartments are 15 small artists’ workspaces that face onto the second barn or onto the east entrance plaza.

Barn Two is empty. It was imagined as a covered street that would be the public heart of the facility. The concrete floor pattern and fullheight glazing at either end are reminiscent of the trains that used to occupy the buildings.

Offices and work studios in the adjacent barns line the skylit space, and a farmers’ market takes place every Saturday. The original steel trusses, scrubbed down to remove lead remnants, were repainted grey and left exposed.

Smaller offices for non-profit ventures are located in the third barn. Spread over two floors (with light and views coming from Barn Two), Barn Three also houses the mechanical rooms and a small theatre that opens to the park. In the fourth barn, The Stop—a non-profit food organization—occupies the entire space, comprised of a greenhouse, a commercial kitchen and a sheltered garden. Mike Dixon, a University of Guelph professor who worked for NASA researching food production on the moon, helped design the greenhouse system.

Built specifically for The Stop, a small office and eating area—two storeys high and adjacent to the kitchen—are probably the finest spaces in the project. Lobko and project architect Megan Torza designed aluminum window walls on both sides of the office, providing a view to the greenhouse on one side, and to the kitchen on the other.

From the eating area, you can look out in three directions: to an enclosed garden, to the greenhouse, and to the park beyond.

The fifth barn has been stripped of its roof and most of its walls, leaving it open to the sky above.

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rehabilitated facility to the adjacent park. David Leinster from The Planning Partnership—the landscape architecture firm hired by the city— designed a number of simple and distinct areas on the site: a beach volleyball court, an enclosed dog run, a jungle gym, and a few grassy mounds.

Concrete paving and rows of Hackberry and Kentucky Coffee trees were planted to the east and west, creating forecourts on either side of the building. To encourage public transit and reduce traffic, on-site parking was entirely omitted.

A small but fierce opposition objected to losing the extra acre of park occupied by the building that they preferred to be completely razed. Additional concern was raised over government-subsidized tenants moving in; many felt the renovation might be too successful, bringing excessive traffic and commotion. All parties involved wanted to prevent the city from selling any of the land to a conventional developer who would inevitably build speculative houses at the maximum density allowable.

From the initial design meetings and community consultation, locals made it clear that the renovation should be energy-efficient. Mike Godawa and Nuno Duarte, mechanical and electrical engineers from Stantec (Keen Engineering at the time), focused primarily on minimizing the consumption of water and heat. A concrete cistern, 1.5 metres in diameter and 50 metres long, is set beneath Barn Two to collect roof run-off and stormwater overflow. The reservoir feeds all facility toilets, the park irrigation system and the greenhouse.

A geothermal field provides the building’s primary heat. Fifty boreholes, dug 130 metres deep and spaced five metres apart, circulate foodgrade polypropylene glycol. The pipes dispel heat into 85 metres of thermally stable bedrock. To cool Barn Two, dampers in the roof vents open when the temperature and humidity reach a certain level. Ventilation fans provide the minimum necessary air exchanges. Solar panels were considered and then abandoned due to the high capital costs and an extended payback.

Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, a park made from the remnants of a retired steel mill in northwest Germany, served as a key precedent for Lobko’s team when they researched the reuse of industrial architecture for social purposes.

Opened in 1994, the German park took nearly 10 years to complete. Blast furnaces, warehouses, A portion of the BArn’s originAL structure WAs preserved to creAte A sheLtered gArden. Middle A vieW of the neW greenhouse for the stop, A nonprofit urBAn AgricuLture orgAnizAtion. right neW Live/Work studios ALong Benson Avenue heLp BreAk doWn the monotony of this former industriAL BuiLding. top

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smokestacks and a tangle of steel framing were preserved. Duisburg-Nord demonstrated the flexibility of industrial architecture to accommodate a variety of programs and how their unusual forms resonate favourably with the public. The project was a big success, both commercially (based on attendance) and architecturally.

During his eight-year involvement with the Wychwood Barns, Lobko devised a recipe to succeed at rehabilitation projects. He refers to it as a list of 10 ingredients, without particular proportion, which includes the following: a magical building that refuses to be demolished; an enormously ambitious client; a dedicated community; a political champion; recognition that existing buildings and “green” building are complementary; a great mechanical engineer and site superintendent; and a creative city bureaucracy. In a modified version, the list could work for any architecture project, but seems tailored to ones that are highly politicized and publicly funded. Like many successful projects, the Wychwood Barns had the luck of being realized during the right conditions, and at the right economic and political cycle of Toronto’s history. Could this have happened elsewhere? Perhaps, but the mix of ingredients surrounding the redevelopment of the Wychwood Barns seems particularly fortuitous.

As one of a number of recent Canadian precedents, and a crucial one in Toronto, perhaps municipal governments in other Canadian cities will explore the options available to them when confronted with urban industrial sites of similar complexity, context and cultural value. ca David Steiner is a freelance writer living in Toronto. the evocAtive industriAL chArActer of the WychWood BArns is reAdiLy AppArent.

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studio BArn covered street community BArn green BArn fifth BArn chiLdren’s pLAy the meAdoW off-LeAsh dog AreA BeAch voLLeyBALL

client ArtscApe architect teaM Joe LoBko, John keen, megAn torzA, kenneth choW, JonAthAn friedmAn, donnA diAkun, AAron finBoW structural BLAckWeLL BoWick pArtnership Limited Mechanical/electrical stAntec consuLting landscape the pLAnning pArtnership contractor dALton heritage e.r.A. Architects greenhouse michAeL diXon (university of gueLph) transportation BA group code consultant LeBer ruBes inc. public interface gottschALk + Ash internAtionAL area 60,000 ft2 budget $14.3 m coMpletion novemBer 2008

OPTICAL ALLUSIONS IT ’S TIme TO ThINk INSIde The bOx p roduct : MEMpHIS t o M I LA N A N d B A c K ™ pAttErN L I B r A ry

To learn more call 1 800 267 2149 ext 2128 or visit us online at www.interfaceflor.ca.

Mission Zero and the Mission Zero mark are registered trademarks of Interface, Inc. CirCle reply Card 16

Tom ArbAn

Floral PharmacoPeia

a striking new building For the university oF waterloo school oF Pharmacy establishes a satellite camPus in gritty downtown kitchener.

ProJect School of PhArmAcY, UnIVErSITY of WATErloo, KITchEnEr, onTArIo architects hArIrI PonTArInI ArchITEcTS In JoInT VEnTUrE WITh robbIE/YoUnG + WrIGhT ArchITEcTS teXt TAYmoorE bAlbAA Photos bEn rAhn And Tom ArbAn

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With a rich floral motif punctuating its façade, a vibrant green and frosted white tone, and the more earthen use of copper and stone, the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy building in downtown Kitchener is distinct and easily remembered by its monolithic presence. Described as an “urban icon” by some, the predominantly glazed building—designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects with Robbie/ Young + Wright Architects—might indeed embody jewel-like qualities that distinguish it from the lingering industrial grittiness of its surroundings. Yet it is the function of this building—a satellite campus of scientific research and education—that provides a lens through which to view its impact on the urban environment. As a stand-alone university building far removed from the main campus, the School of Pharmacy is part of an increasing number of academic faculties and departments enticed, in part, by municipalities looking to infuse

new life into downtown cores. In this case, it was the donation of land (a prominent corner site at King and Victoria Streets) and $30 million from the City of Kitchener that provided the principal motivation for the creation of new educational territory detached from greater student life, but which is engaged with the ambitions of a new urban setting.

Though the scenarios surrounding the satellite campus are unique in every case, they find common ground in the need to stake their place, and reach out to host communities in ways both expected and unanticipated. For the City of Kitchener, this site (the western gateway to the downtown core) called for a “landmark building,” a symbol for the creation of a new knowledge hub, and a catalyst for new synergy and investment unfolding in other municipalities that have gone down similar paths. With the School of Pharmacy, the site and surrounding area comprised a

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considerable void in a central part of Kitchener, one created by the 1997 demolition of the former Goodrich Tire plant. As a major presence in the city for 75 years (employing up to 1,200 people in the 1950s), the departure of this industry and the subsequent erasure of the building left this pocket of the city in need of redefinition and the creation of context in otherwise vacated land. The centrality of the site adds weight to the role of the university as a public institution, and presents an opportunity to establish a solid model for the urban development of the city. Density, massing, height, use of materials, and the provision of public space are concerns that rise above those of the building’s inner workings, and ones that situate the School’s presence within a widened discourse—that of city-building.

Though it is one of several examples of urban infill infusing new life into the streets of Kitchener, the Pharmacy building occupies environs

InTErIor PAnElS of frITTEd GlASS EmbEllIShEd WITh florAl PATTErnS ProVIdE SomE VISUAl PrIVAcY for STUdEnTS. ThESE TrAnSlUcEnT PAnElS comPlEmEnT ThE STrIKInG APPEArAncE of florAl PATTErnS PAInTEd on ThE bUIldInG’S ExTErIor GlASS SPAndrEl PAnElS. above ThE STrAIGhTforWArd mASSInG of ThE EIGhT-STorEY offIcE ToWEr And fIVE-STorEY WInG AnchorS ThE bUIldInG To ITS PoST-IndUSTrIAl cornEr SITE. oPPosite toP

of particularly low density, and could be influential in its creation and occupation of the newly designed individual city block. In this regard, it would be unfair not to consider the original ambitions of the project that see the Pharmacy building as part of an expanded courtyard scheme. This original scheme is comprised of two L-shaped buildings enveloping a semipublic space of cultural and educational flavour.

In essence, two more phases of construction are needed to complete the whole. A recently completed satellite building of McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine—also designed by Hariri Pontarini

Architects—forms the southern enclosure of this prospective courtyard, and along with a new atrium featuring an educational herbarium, would complete the composition. Suggesting an invigorated synergy between the practices of medicine and pharmacy, and greater involvement of the public in this momentum, the completed vision is clearly one of placemaking potential; a strong gesture in the creation and demarcation of community space. In a pocket of Kitchener characterized by sparse construction and expanses of undefined space, a well-defined courtyard could set a forward-thinking precedent for future growth, and for the further contri06/10 canadian architect

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its own. Distinguished by its material palette, sculptural massing, and the expressive weight achieved by the overall composition, its presence on a prominent street corner is lively and robust.

The creation and importation of this new academic community has, in some ways, justified a more embellished façade, and a more dramatic distinction between building and context. Though

bution of meaningful depth and interiority to the urban fabric.

The School of Pharmacy (Phase I of IV) is comprised of an eight-storey office tower and a trailing five-storey wing of mainly classrooms and laboratories. Its totemic appearance is enhanced while it awaits the realization of more encompassing ambitions. Still, it is capable of holding

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rESEArch lAborATorIES rESEArch lAb PErSonnEl fAcUlTY offIcES mEETInG room WAShroomS corrIdor GrEEn roof (PhASE 2) School of mEdIcInE (PhASE 2) TEAchInG And ProfESSIonAl PrAcTIcE lAb (PhASE 2)

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the use of stone and copper grounds the building to the presence of adjacent warehouses, a fully glazed curtain wall adds to an otherworldly feel.

Ornate watercolours visible in the façade comprise a narrative on the origins of pharmacy. This documentation of medicinal herbs, vital to earlier remedies, illustrates a visual return to the roots.

Given the increasingly synthetic nature of pharmacy, in which mimetic compounds are labproduced, the message of the visuals is somewhat puzzling. This sense of artificiality is only enhanced by the manner in which the herbs have been diced up and retiled, a “synthetic softening” in which visual warmth is added to an otherwise cold material.

There are numerous ways to make glass a more textured medium: laser-etching, fritting, stonelaminating, and sandblasting, to name a few. In this case, a legacy of stained glass most resembles the technique at hand. In contrast to stained glass, however, this façade does not employ glass as a medium for the filtering of light, but rather, involves a more pronounced distinction between transparency and opacity. The laminations of herbal patterns occupy insulated spandrel panels, resulting in the more fragmented allocation of light and shadow across the entire skin. Allowing for a more calculated mediation of solar heat gain within the building, and by virtue of the highly contrasted glass types, the all-encompassing curtain wall strikes a textured equilibrium. But considering the evocative and uplifting impact that stained glass has had on so many interiors, perhaps there was an opportunity to explore degrees of light transmission through the floral skin and within some of the building’s spaces; a further animation of light, shadow, tone, and colour that the exterior skin seems to promise.

Schedule and budget, particularly scrutinized in the construction of educational buildings, may not have allowed for this level of experimentation or the subsequent recalibration of the building’s mechanical performance to occur. Working within these constraints, however, the School of Pharmacy speaks to the issue of technology and ornamentation. With the aforementioned pressures posing, as is typical, an obstacle to more elaborate expressions, the resolution of the skin represents a well-conceived and artful response to issues of economy. A careful coordination between design, digitization, and prefabrication shows that a lot is possible, even at this scale, and with relatively few authors.

With a pronounced interface between inside and outside, the building demarcates a zone of research and education, and defines a space of incubation. Its functional program and organization must foster a series of new internal relationships, formulated by overlapping interests and symbiotic associations. On the inside, a certain flexibility of space hints at the pedagogical

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Tom ArbAn

model. Offices, lecture halls, classrooms, common spaces, study rooms, and laboratories comprise a series of spaces within which experimentation and dialogue will propel the far-reaching ambitions of an academic program and reputation still in the making.

Upon entering, a more limited demographic of students, staff, and faculty are filtered through a secure lobby. For the visitor, an airy café provides some sense of participation. A guided tour of the building highlights the somewhat sensitive and “off-limits” nature of most of the building, but reveals well-lit and spacious surroundings for its users. Laboratories are clear-span spaces, and give an air of flexibility for the dynamic and evolving research that they allow for. With the academic programs of the building still in their infancy, and the building not yet near capacity, it is difficult to assess the success of the building’s common spaces. However, the generous and light-drenched south corridor that looks upon the future courtyard could aspire to be the most significant space for those less formal but equally important encounters and illuminations.

Beyond its physical threshold, the arrival of the building is being felt in other ways. New students, faculty, and staff are direct participants in the local urban economy. Many seek housing in surrounding neighbourhoods. Public lectures allow for the building’s largest venue to serve as a common ground between education, industry, and public dissemination. For these relationships to be strengthened, the building presents a largely autonomous community that is nonetheless defined by its relationship to the general public. An interesting anecdote that highlights this healthy tension is that of the employment of outside actors to simulate real-life scenes with pharmacy students. A number of scenarios test the students’ ability to respond to various public health situations in what is becoming a widened role for the pharmacist today. Though it may appear trivial, this point illustrates the degree to which the building users’ relationship to the outside world is imported and simulated, all for the sake of education. The architecture has responded to the need to fabricate an identity for the school, to instantaneously create a community where previously there was none. In the end, this identity is perhaps most effective as an iconic architectural presence, afforded a certain freeA dETAIl of ThE norTh fAçAdE IllUSTrATES hoW A UnITIzEd PAnEl SYSTEm cAn ProVIdE VISUAl rElIEf ThroUGh ThE USE of rEcESSES And VoIdS. middle ThE corrIdor of ThE nEW School commAndS A SPEcTAcUlAr VIEW of SUrroUndInG KITchEnEr. right SlIdInG Wood-And-GlASS PAnElS crEATE An oPPorTUnITY for ThE School To oPEn dIrEcTlY onTo ITS nEW ShElTErEd coUrTYArd.

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dom of expression because of its “satellite” status. As a solitary figure, the School of Pharmacy strikes an enticing pose, an affirmation of architecture that is sculptural and playful. The memory of Kitchener’s industrial past looms large on site, as old neighbouring structures of brick and timber speak to the resounding scale of the industries that once were. The School of Pharmacy presents a more individual presence, a ship of learning “docked” at the portal of the city.

Built with a sensible scale and a sculptural inclination, and with an artful and well-balanced material palette, its physical presence is confidence entrenched, a planting of hardy roots in fertile ground. ca

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Taymoore Balbaa is a licensed architect and practitioner. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Professor in Ryerson University’s Department of Architectural Science.

UndUlATInG ExTErIor WAllS oVErlooK ThE coUrTYArd To ProVIdE A cloISTErEd EnVIronmEnT InSIdE ThE nEW School; A condUcIVE lEArnInG EnVIronmEnT IS AchIEVEd ThroUGh hIGh cEIlInGS, loTS of nATUrAl dAYlIGhT And clEAr ProGrAmmInG of SPAcE. leFt ThE oVErAll mASSInG of ThE nEW fAcIlITY.

above, leFt to right

client UnIVErSITY of WATErloo School of PhArmAcY architect team hArIrI PonTArInI ArchITEcTS: SIAmAK hArIrI (PArTnEr In chArGE), mIchAEl boxEr, nElSon lAI, JEff STrAUSS, hoWArd WonG, mIchAEl lAfrEnIErE, John cooK, lImInG rAo, bErnArd SIn, cArolInA bEnolIEl, mArIA ESPInoSA, APrIl WonG, mIchAEl coGAn, bArbArA moSS, mEhrdAd TAVAKKolIAn, rAmTIn ATTAr, JUSTIn ford, PAUl KozAK. robbIE/YoUnG + WrIGhT ArchITEcTS: nEIl mUnro, donnA JohnSTon, EdWArd JoSEPh, Ann PErcIVAl, ErIc AndErSEn, SUrESh PATEl, chEn zhoU, SATomI TAbEI, mATThEW bElAEn. structural hAlcroW YollES PArTnErShIP Inc. mechanical/civil STAnTEc conSUlTInG lTd. electrical croSSEY EnGInEErInG lTd. landscaPe clAUdE cormIEr ArchITEcTS PAYSAGISTES Inc. contractor bAll conSTrUcTIon lTd. code hInE rEIchArd TomlIn Inc. area 183,000 fT2 budget $36 m comPletion dEcEmbEr 2009

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Vancouver Convention Centre

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CirCle reply Card 17

3rw Arkitekter

insites

road trip

An exAminAtion of norwAy’s nAtionAl tourist routes begs the question of why CAnAdA doesn’t Adopt A similAr initiAtive.

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mAson white

road culture

The myth of the road trip—simultaneously as both escape and journey—is cross-cultural and historic. The Grand Tour of the 1700s and 1800s perpetuated travel as an educational experience. The 1900s saw a different kind of travel that evolved rapidly with the success of the automobile. As road travel’s popularity grew, so did the network that facilitates it. Both the Interstate Highway system in the United States and the Trans-Canada Highway can be said to form their own ecology, or what Reyner Banham called an “autopia.”

Canada’s road ecology is a 7,821-kilometre highway linking Victoria, BC with St. John’s, Newfoundland. Construction of the Trans-Canada Highway commenced in 1950, officially opening in 1962. As road travel in Canada expanded in the 1960s and ‘70s, so did the culture of travelling by car, motorcycle, van, and camper, among others.

Road culture and the allure of the road trip was popularized in multiple media and loomed large in the North American lifestyle. But between destinations, natural or urban, how does this infrastructure respond to the land? It is simply efficient and no-nonsense. And what is along it?

Perfunctory pit stops, bathrooms, visitor centres, 24 canadian architect 06/10

and information kiosks come in the form of nostalgic or drab cabin-like houses, dotting the route in uninspired roadside lots. A majority of these roadside architectures are situated at a designated distance from each other based upon refuelling, consumption, or bathroom pacing logic.

Although the so-called ecology of roadway and highway systems—so commonplace in our environment today—can be said to have originated some 70 years ago in North America, there is little doubt that its rethinking is now occurring elsewhere. But, with their tendency towards over-engineered efficiency and singularity, what kind of environment can highways and roadways offer? And is road culture inherently predisposed toward the Populuxe or Postmodern? Norway has put forward a few responses to this. In fact, they are investing an unprecedented 800 million Norwegian Krone ($136.5 million CDN) toward a targeted reinvigoration of the road trip. norway’s national tourist routes

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is responsible for constructing and maintaining roads throughout Norway. Under their supervision, a Tourism and Travel Project (Reiselivsprosjektet) was initiated in 1994, and concluded in the recommendation to implement National Tourist Routes (Nasjonale turistveger) across Norway. Karl Otto Ellefsen, professor at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, has remarked that “the Norwegian travel industry is [prior to

the Routes project] a collage of small companies with little access to capital and a low level of professionalism in terms of development.” The Norwegian Public Roads Administration sought to change that, by developing 18 road sections as a dispersed tourist attraction, stimulating economic growth through tourism, trade and industry. The first four roads were opened in 1997.

Along them, the National Tourists Routes projects upgrade selected sections of the roadway system deemed unique and opportune. This has yielded a 1,850-kilometre-long outdoor museum highlighting the powerful interface between architecture, infrastructure and landscape. What could be a better context for a road trip—or a museum tour for that matter—than a rugged coastline of fjords, islands, lakes and mountains?

It could be argued that the Roads Administration, by default, has become the curator of Norway’s landscape. With almost 60 architecture firms designing 131 projects to date along 18 different routes, the Norwegian Tourist Routes elevate the road-trip experience from a cultural event into an architectural and landscaped cultural event. Each project is unique, custom, and a direct response to the particularities found in its context’s views, ground condition, and experience. The Routes projects become not only perfunctory pit stops, but also destinations in and of themselves. Forgoing the tendency to explain and present information in museum fashion, the projects offer a way to navigate and view the land.

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built Along one of norwAy’s most fAmous lookouts in Ørnesvin­ gen, 3rw Arkitekter’s overlApping Con­ Crete slAbs hAng over A 600­metre verti­ CAl drop. aBoVe reiulf rAmstAd Arkitekter’s (rrA) intervention on roAd 63 inCludes A series of plAtforms And wAlkwAys Along the trollstigen plAteAu.

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This new network provides a variegated infrastructural interface for travellers to interpret the landscape while still in it. Estimated for completion by 2016, substantial funding remains fuelled by the estimated 81.7-trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, in its status as the third-largest exporter of natural gas after Russia and yes, Canada.

Two organizational councils manage the commissioning of Routes projects. Architects are selected either through invitation or competition.

Both processes are monitored by a council consisting of architects, landscape architects and artists. A second council is managed by a curator commissioning a single artwork per route. The councils modelled themselves on an Olympic committee, paralleled earlier by the 1994 design commissions for Lillehammer. Equally interesting is the manner in which the National Tourist Routes required cohesive collaborations across municipalities, county council districts, and other public agencies representing planning, trade and industry. Jan Andersen, National Tourist Routes project manager, indicates that the challenge is in “inspiring involvement, a sense of

ownership, and complete support for the highquality requirements.” Compounding these challenges is, of course, the upkeep and evolution of such a network in order to allow it to maintain its status as desirable to tourists. The Norwegian Public Roads administration proposes a quality audit every five years to assess operations and management and any necessary expansions or modifications. Professor Ellefsen believes that the National Tourist Routes can be seen within the larger context to connect with the reuse and reconstruction of the “Norwegian cultural landscape.” Amidst the excitement of the potential of the projects, he poses significant questions about the nature of touristic development with limited resources, rural encroachment, and the difficulty in representing national identity.

On a utilitarian front, each project varies in its combination of restrooms facilities, rest areas, parking, walking paths, and dumpsites. The Routes projects could crudely be categorized into two approaches: either a walk or an overlook. So generally, projects propose an approach of moving through the landscape, or of viewing and contemplating the landscape. Many proposals merge qualities and programs of both, and in fact it is many of these that seem to be the most successful.

Four projects

One powerful example of such a combination of moving through and looking out to the landscape is Todd Saunders and Tommie Wilhelmsen’s

Lookout Point in Aurland (see CA, February 2006). The overlook, a three-hour drive from Bergen, was completed in 2005 and is often used as the cover image for the Tourist Routes program. In part, this is because of its simplicity and elegance, and its heroic yet light-handed approach. Or as they state: “Nature first and architecture second was the guiding principle when we sat down to design this project.” Like an incomplete bridge across the chasm of Sogn og Fjordane—one of the larger fjords on the West Coast— the lookout extends out 35 metres and over the void, before bending back toward the sloping rock face. Saunders says, “We wanted people to come out in the air.” Just before returning back to the ground to support itself, the overlook offers only a frameless glass pane between the viewer and the water, some 640 metres below.

Touching lightly in only two places, the overlook is comprised of laminated Norwegian pine. So as not to disturb the purity of this expression and experience, parking and public restrooms are provided a short ways along the road. As a testament to the competitive process, at the time of its completion, both architects were under 35 years old.

Another project, by 3RW arkitekter in collaboration with Smesvig landskapsarkitekter AS, is situated along a zigzagging road in Ørnesvingen, within the Geiranger fjord 600 metres below.

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ghilArdi + hellsten rrA

view options are available: a dynamic view around the hairpin bend, and a static long view of the fjord facing opposite. The dramatic walking view parallels the knuckle in the road, with benches as a road buffer, and leads to a thin cantilevered concrete platform extending out in the fjord’s airspace.

The combination of walkway and platform gives the experience its panoramic and cinematic quality.

Reiulf Ramstad arkitekter’s (RRA) intervention along Road 63, some seven hours north of Oslo, is comprised of an impressive series of platforms and walkways cascading down the Trollstigen (literally meaning troll ladder) plateau. Here, the view includes not only the undulating topography but also the impressive Route 63 itself, which consists of 11 hairpin turns originally completed in 1936. RRA have provided two vantage points from which to view the landscape, one from high above at the edge of the Stigfossen waterfall which tumbles down the steep slope below. The second viewing platform is accessed by a descending concrete walkway that terminates in a tectonically tiered public surface. The elegant platform is lined with Corten steel sheets and glass along the outer perimeter.

Ghilardi + Hellsten arkiteker, a young Oslo-based practice, is currently at work on two Routes projects. One is the stunning Eldhusøya that proposes a looping navigation walk at a maintained level of +8 metres. They argue that this offers “the traveller the possibility of experiencing the sea and the horizon as a constant.” As in the Aurland project, the walkway is light in its impact, as it hovers just above sensitive vegetation, providing crate-like perforations for light, water, and ultimately growth. Youth again plays a role, as Franco Ghilardi and Ellen Hellsten are part of an emerging generation of Norwegian architects at the vanguard of design. conclusion and potential

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The Tourist Routes’ strength—besides the actual artifacts that they generate—is the kind of culture that emerges out of this project. This refers not only to users of such a network that will no doubt come away with a heightened sense of their surroundings and the emotive role that architecture can play, but also to the commissioned practices. For several of the design practices, a Tourist Routes project will be their first built work or at least their first public commission. This national initiative cultivates an entire generation of architects and landscape architects, however modest the project, and provides an essential step toward leveraging further work, public or private.

Alongside the expression of national identity found in the projects themselves, the Tourist Routes projects also foster a new generation of Norwegian practices, thrusting them into the international spotlight. With a population of only 4.8 million, the architectural (and cultural) output of Norway rivals any country in our young century. The work found along the Tourist Routes is representative of this new generation of design: inventive, sophisticated, and forward-looking.

Needless to say, the potential for Canada to pursue such an endeavour is not only relevant but rich with opportunity. And it is about time for the Trans-Canada highway to undergo its next evolution. Road trip, anyone? ca Mason White is an Assistant Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto. He is a partner in Lateral Office and founded the research project InfraNet Lab.

ghilArdi + hellsten Arkiteker, A young oslo­bAsed prACtiCe, is Currently At work on A looping pedestriAn trAil in eldhusØyA; A frozen lAndsCApe of rrA’s tourist fACilities in trollstigen; An AeriAl view of 3rw Arkitekter’s Ørnesvingen lookout; two detAiled views of the vArious Components Com­ prising the trollstigen And Ørnesvingen lookouts respeCtively.

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report

cleaning up the gardens A­solid­public-privAte­pArtnership­is­getting­ reAdy­to­trAnsform­toronto’s­venerAble­ mAple­leAf­gArdens. ­John­lorinc

Maple Leaf Gardens, the shrine to Canada’s hockey obsession, is a cathedral-like box filled with stories, but few resonate quite like its creation myth.

In the early 1930s, when gravel magnate Conn Smythe was trying to finance a more respectable home for his gritty hockey team, he struck a deal with local trade unions to allow him to pay workers in both cash and Maple Leaf shares. Thus motivated, the Depression-era crews raced to erect the yellow-brick stadium in less than six months, completing the job in time for the 19311932 National Hockey League (NHL) season.

Last December, almost 70 years after the first puck dropped, a $60-million scheme to revitalize the Gardens came together with comparable alacrity. Moving to take advantage of federal stimulus funds, Ryerson University struck a partnership with Loblaw Companies Ltd., the Gardens’ owner, to transform the building into a multi-use facility that includes an 85,000-square-foot downtown-style supermarket, plus 150,000 square feet of recreation, athletic and program space for the fast-growing university.

The capstone of the project involves the creation of an NHL-sized rink with seating for 3,000 spectators on the upper level of the restored Gardens, directly under the domed roof that is one of the building’s iconic features. Ryerson has also vowed to make the athletic facilities available to community groups and to install state-of-the-art interactive multi-media displays throughout the building.

Ottawa will contribute $20 million to the project, and another $20 million will come from Ryerson students through an annual recreation fee.

Loblaw and the university have agreed to fundraise the remaining third. Ryerson president Sheldon Levy says the deal embodies the institution’s determination to seek out win-win partnerships with players in both the public and private sectors. “I have to be as concerned for Loblaw’s ROI as they have to be concerned with the ROI for Ryerson.”

“The [restored] building will resemble what it was in 1931 more than in 1999,” predicts Loblaw architect Russell Fleischer, a principal with Turner Fleischer in Toronto. This past March, Loblaw and Ryerson also retained Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects (BBB) and Stadium Consul-

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tants International (SCI) to design the institutional athletic and program space that surrounds the supermarket. “It’s a hugely iconic building and a lot of eyes are on what’s being done to it,” says BBB principal Greg Alexander. Not coincidentally, his firm has a long track record with stadia, designing the Air Canada Centre and the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, both of which involved the integration of restored heritage elements into modernized facilities. BBB/SCI is also in the midst of a massive restoration of Madison Square Garden.

With construction now underway and a reopening date set for March 2011, the revitalization plan marks the culmination of a meandering 11-year search for a culturally appropriate reuse for the Gardens. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment had considered various possibilities— recreation complex, opera house, rehearsal venue

for Cirque du Soleil, pedestal for a condo tower— before selling the property to Loblaw in 2003.

The chain wanted to transform the Gardens into a vast Real Canadian Superstore and adjoining liquor store, but that scheme stalled as the company battled losses due to intense competition from Wal-Mart.

“It’s an amazing win-win,” marvels hockey historian Dan Diamond, who belongs to Friends of Maple Leaf Gardens, an advocacy group that fought Loblaw’s plan to oust hockey from the building. “I still pinch myself that it got to this point.”

However else critics felt about turning Maple Leaf Gardens into a grocery emporium, retailing is hardwired into the property. In the late 1920s, the Eaton family owned the land on the northwest corner of Church and Carlton Streets, and were pursuing plans to build a department store there.

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But after they decided to locate their grand new College Park store a block west on Yonge Street, Smythe persuaded the family to sell him the land so he could build an arena for his newly acquired Maple Leafs.

The Eatons agreed and bought a stake in the team, establishing a relationship that lasted for decades. Smythe, in turn, retained the Montrealbased architects whom the Eatons had hired to build College Park. Ross & Macdonald was a well-regarded but conservative firm that had built some of Canada’s best-known railway hotels—for example, Winnipeg’s Fort Garry and Toronto’s Royal York, as well as Ottawa’s Union Station and Montreal’s giant downtown Eaton’s on rue Ste-Catherine.

For the Gardens, Ross & Macdonald’s Art Moderne style featured yellow brick, steep vertical windows, speed bands and stepped symmetrical planes protruding from the south and east walls. Larry Richards of the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design says the grand structure has “a lovely sense of scale” and functions like a Manhattan-style building that dominates its site by extending right to the sidewalk. Early on, Smythe allowed several retailers to operate on the Church and Carlton sides, including a bowling alley, a clothier, a cigar store and a diner. But in the 1970s, owner Harold Ballard had the street-grade retail spaces blocked up to create an interior lounge.

Dominion Bridge had the contract to build the Gardens’ dome. The firm forged its reputation by building some of Montreal’s immense St. Lawrence bridges. For the Gardens’ roof, Dominion’s engineers opted for an unusually lightweight design featuring four trussed arch ribs held in place by a rectangular array of trusses. The roof structure was loaded onto four perimeter corner columns, which meant no view-obstructed seats. The dome’s peak soared 140 feet above centre ice.

“That roof is an extremely efficient design,” observes Chris Andrews, a principal with Carruthers & Wallace (part of the Trow Group of Companies), which is in charge of the structural engineering work on the revitalization.

“It’s less than 14 pounds per square foot of structure. We’d have to use very advanced computer software to create a design that efficient. They did it with paper and pencil.” Andrews says it is one of the last large domed roofs left in North America.

The Gardens, moreover, is the only surviving arena among the NHL’s “original six” franchises, although the Leafs have played in the Air Canada Centre since 1999. None offered the well-appointed corporate boxes and other amenities that have become crucial revenue-drivers for professional sports teams. The Montreal Forum was transformed years ago into an unprepossessing multiplex theatre. More recently, Chicago Stadium, a wellpreserved Art Deco structure, and the barn-like Boston Garden were both razed to make way for condominiums and parking lots as their replacements. “Stadia,” as Dan Diamond comments, “are very awkward buildings to readapt because they are directed inward and not outward.”

Many older baseball fields—like Yankee Stadium or the Chicago White 28­canadian architect­06/10

Sox’ Comiskey Park, where the bleachers didn’t have women’s bathrooms— have met a similar fate. In Europe however, the replacement of some aging soccer arenas has produced some imaginative adaptive reuse ideas. In the case of Arsenal FC’s Highbury Stadium in North London, Allies and Morrison Architects retrofitted two of the original grandstands, both sporting Art Deco façades, with 700 condo units which overlook a landscaped interior courtyard that was once the soccer pitch.

Maple Leaf Gardens dodged the wrecker’s ball, although its preservation was hardly assured. Richards characterizes the building as “a social condenser” that occupies “a remarkable place in the social history of Toronto.”

Besides serving as home ice for the Leafs during the team’s heyday, it served as a venue for sporting events from wrestling to tennis, rock concerts, operas, and political conventions.

In spite of its cultural significance, the Maple Leaf organization hired a leading preservation expert to argue that the building had no distinctive architectural value during heritage hearings in late 1989. Historian Michael Bliss provided the rebuttal, connecting the dots between the Gardens and the broad cultural importance of hockey in Canada. In their decision, the Conservation Review Board members offered a haughty view: “Many would find the proposition that the endless round of hockey games is the stuff of history, to be not only astonishing but repugnant, but that is the clear and uncontradicted view of Professor Michael Bliss...and we accept that opinion.” They ultimately ruled that three elements of the Gardens should be designated: the façade, the roof, and the cathedral-like quality of the interior.

In recent years, Ryerson University has become a much more assertive presence in Toronto’s downtown core, and several of its expansion projects have involved joint development ventures with commercial partners, such as Canadian Tire and AMC Cinemas.

The Maple Leaf Gardens deal came together in exactly 365 days, says Levy, beginning with a March 2009 referendum by Ryerson students to approve an annual fee to build and operate a much-needed recreation facility.

Within weeks of the vote (three-quarters of the students supported the fee), Loblaw contacted Levy about offering up the Gardens as a venue, as well as a plan to contribute $5 million in cash and another $15 million through a joint fundraising campaign. “We had two legs of the stool,” says Levy.

Throughout the rest of the year, Ryerson officials doggedly pursued a grant from the federal stimulus fund, with Levy appealing directly to cabinet officials. He said the idea sold itself. “People wanted it to happen. I never had anyone who heard [the concept] not think that this is fantastic.”

Under the arrangement the two sides struck, Loblaw will occupy almost all of the ground floor, with the store’s main entry point at the southeast corner. Indeed, that entrance will be done up to resemble the cigar store that once operated in that spot. New windows along the Church Street wall will open up into the store’s fresh food market, and the store itself will be adorned with Gardens memorabilia, including seats and photos of famous concerts.

Maple Leaf Gardens’ distinctive main doors and its canopy will frame the entrance to Ryerson’s space. There will be a 2,400-square-foot lobby with multi-media panel displays and an escalator leading to the second floor.

There, students will have access to classrooms and sports facilities such as basketball and volleyball courts tucked under the new banks of seats for the hockey rink, which will sit on the third level. BBB is exploring the possibility of adding a track at the top of the bleachers, and it will reopen the southand east-facing windows that were blocked when Ballard added seating in the 1960s. The firm is also working on new types of exterior lighting as well as signage for Ryerson’s increasingly visible branding efforts.

ERA Architects has signed on to deal with the restoration of the façade and the canopy. Intern architect Will MacIvor, the project manager, says about one-fifth of the bricks will be repointed, but he hopes much of the material can be salvaged from the new openings for loading bays and air in-

take vents. The upper level fenestration will be refitted with double-glazed vintage steel industrial windows. ERA is also developing a restoration plan for the oft-renovated entrance canopy that brings its appearance (including fonts) back to the Gardens’ heyday from the 1940s to the 1960s.

To further enhance the Gardens’ sense of place, Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ) group is currently devising plans to create extensive interactive media walls throughout the building, as well as on some exterior surfaces, the canopy, and a restored version of the old scoreboard that will once again hang over centre ice. “We want to keep the historical integrity of Maple Leaf Gardens and the awesomeness, but we want to bring it to the now,” says Valerie Fox, the DMZ director. Some of the interactive features will be made available to students in the digital media program, she adds. “We’re going to beta-test stuff in there [during events] to see if it works.”

In terms of complexity, however, the design and restoration activity takes a back seat to the structural work required to allow for the construction of all the new internal features. A formidable issue involved the large concrete buttresses that held up the grey-level seats and which also supported the east-west walls. As Andrews explains, “Our challenge was to take out those seating areas and keep the walls stable.”

Because of the external heritage features, staging became a paramount concern. Andrews’ team—which is working for both Ryerson and Loblaw in order to ensure continuity—designed a series of temporary cross-braced steel frames and large horizontal trusses to support the exterior walls, which in turn have been fitted with highly sensitive monitors programmed to detect even the slightest level of vibration-related movement while the banks of seats were being demolished. “You’ve got a lot of instrumentation inside that building,” says Andrews, whose own Blackberry is set up to receive readings from the 24/7 monitoring system.

After the old banks of seats were removed, general contractor Buttcon Ltd.—whose projects include several of Ontario’s casinos and restorations to the province’s Legislative Assembly—began excavating a below-grade parking garage, but that process required the deployment of additional temporary bracing while crews lowered the footings for the perimeter columns that hold up the roof. From there, the balance of the project involves conventional construction techniques, and the new internal structure—though tied to the existing walls with reinforced internal supports—will nonetheless function like a building inside a building. As Andrews says, “It’s been described as almost like building a ship inside a bottle.”

Dan Diamond observes that blind luck played an unnervingly significant role in the Ryerson/Loblaw-sponsored resurrection of Maple Leaf Gardens.

Earlier condo plans didn’t pan out because the area around the Gardens wasn’t seen as desirable. And while Ryerson had balked at earlier suggestions that it acquire the Gardens, the university’s hesitation evaporated when Levy realized he could take advantage of Ottawa’s $4-billion stimulus package if he acted quickly. The Gardens, as Diamond says, “survived because a lot of things didn’t happen.”

The moral of the story is the same one heritage advocates always espouse: that with vacant historic structures, patience is vital. In this case, externally imposed delay marked the difference between a mainly superficial adaptive reuse and one that has allowed a once-grand building to return to its original function, albeit in a thoroughly contemporary context. “Thank God we did finally wait,” says Larry Richards. “It feels like Toronto is making the right decisions.” ca John Lorinc is a Toronto journalist who specializes in urban affairs.

Essential Resources for Every Practice.

The Colour, Light and Contrast Manual: Designing and Managing Inclusive Built Environments

Design Informed: Driving Innovation with EvidenceBased Design Gordon Chong, Robert M. Brandt, W. Mike Martin

Keith Bright, Geoffrey Cook The ways colour, light and contrast are used within built environments are critical in determining how people interact with the space, and how confident, safe, and secure they will feel when doing so. They also have a major influence on a person’s sense of wellbeing and their ability to use the environment independently and without undue effort. This book provides a unique, comprehensive and informative guide to how the three elements can work together to improve the design and management of environments for us all.

Co-written by a former AIA national president and the chair of architecture at UC-Berkeley, this book is a collection of key case studies of evidencebased design applied to architectural design primarily for healthcare and office buildings. Research in issues such as lighting, acoustics, and color is applied to human performance data and other metrics. EvidenceBased Architectural Design digs deeply into factual specifics and builds upon the research that the authors have completed.

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978-1-4051-9504-1 • Paper • March 2010 • $119.99

For more Wiley Architecture books please visit www.wiley.ca/architecture Available wherever books are sold. circle reply card 18 06/10­­canadian architect

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Books reVieWed BY

IaN CHODIkOff, TaNya SOuTHCOTT aND OMaR GaNDHI

sumptions of architecture, and which predict a more sustainable relationship between built form and an increasingly volatile climate. ts atelier Build

By Michael Carroll and Danita Rooyakkers. Halifax: Tuns Press, 2010.

Les Maisons-nature de Pierre thibault architecte Edited by Sophie Gironnay. Montreal: Les Éditions La Presse, 2010.

Publishing one’s own architectural monograph has become increasingly accessible to even the most mediocre of firms, significantly compromising this important genre of architectural publication and reducing it to a basic catalogue through which to market one’s portfolio of work.

Thankfully, there is still room for respectable and legitimate monographs and Les Maisons-Nature de Pierre Thibault Architecte is one such publication.

In this book, we are taken on a journey through several Thibault-designed homes from 1999 to present day, all of which convey an honest approach to design. Pierre Thibault has been running his own practice in Quebec City since 1988, and has distinguished himself as one of Quebec’s most respected architects.

Seemingly written with the client in mind, Thibault’s introductory chapter describes his love for architecture, along with a description of the many steps involved in designing a home—including the various aspects of site, materiality, form and construction. His specialty is the design of single-family dwellings, a process that requires establishing a close working relationship with the client. Interestingly, several contributions by clients discussing their experiences of working with Thibault are included, and prove most enlightinging to the reader.

Alain Laforest, who captures the homes’ vibrant natural settings while avoiding the use of heavy-handed colour manipulation, exclusively photographed the various projects. Readers will also enjoy the interview by Sophie Gironnay, founder of La Maison de l’Architecture du Québec in Montreal, who is able to draw out Thibault’s formative years in architecture—his influences, his mentors, and his peers—while helping readers understand some of the larger issues that Thibault 30 canadian architect 06/10

seeks to resolve while exercising his considerable artistry and craft. ic –arium: Weather + architecture Edited by Jürgen Mayer H. and Neeraj Bhatia. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2010.

Not a typical guidebook to sustainable design, –arium makes a bold attempt to link architectural form to the ways in which weather affects our urban environment. The book documents the studio class led by German architect Jürgen Mayer H. and Toronto urban designer Neeraj Bhatia during the winter of 2008 at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto.

–arium is organized into three streams of exploration—Weather Report, Weather Forecast and Weather Outlook. The Weather Report introduces weather as a cultural product and explores our perceptions of it and its relationship to everyday life. The Weather Forecast synthesizes this research through a complementary series of design proposals, or –aria, that explore the evolution of new spatial typologies informed and inspired by weather. Here, students begin with the abandoned Victoria Soya Mills Silo, a familiar industrial landmark on Toronto’s waterfront originally designed for the maintenance of a controlled and consistent environment. Together, the proposals challenge this fixed relationship between interior and exterior space by exploring new ways for architecture to respond, educate and transform within its surrounding atmospheric conditions. The book concludes with the Weather Outlook, a critique of the studio work that aligns the investigations with current theoretical and professional practice through a selection of essays and projects by participating studio critics.

Fuelled by the creative energy of the design studio, –arium is full of refreshingly new and compelling ideas that challenge our basic as-

As Tuns Press’s inaugural volume of their new series entitled Architectural Signatures Canada, this publication continues what prominent architect Grant Wanzel calls a tradition of documenting the “facts and products of the process of architecture.”

Atelier Build highlights the work of the 2004 Canadian Prix de Rome-winning Montreal-based practice that was formed in 1995 by partners Michael Carroll and Danita Rooyakkers after studying under Dr. Essy Baniassad and Brian MacKay-Lyons at the Technical University of Nova Scotia.

An alternative approach to architectural practice is described, one borne out of the unfavourable political and economic conditions in Montreal during the early 1990s. Due to a lack of available work, it became the responsibility of young architectural professionals to create opportunities for themselves. As a result of the developer-driven marketplace, the only viable solution for Rooyakkers and Carroll was to take on the roles of both developer and architect, a solution of control and risk. This was the foundation and beginning of Atelier Build.

The book chronicles the products of a vision centred on modesty, clarity and a devout respect for the local context. Each concise project description outlines the unique solutions that address the difficulties of building in a dense urban centre; issues such as construction on narrow lots and laneways while providing access to natural light.

In the eight profiled projects, the work of this practice is showcased through clear and intricately detailed plans, sections and elevations, along with honest images of the project interiors.

Indicative of the true essence of the firm, the finely crafted physical models illustrate the projects in context, never as standalone objects.

The book includes contributions from architects Grant Wanzel, Brian MacKay-Lyons and Brian Carter (also the editor of this volume), rounding out a complete survey of Atelier Build’s portfolio. As a refreshing contrast to contemporary image-centric works, architects and students with a passion for the city will find this a valuable resource. oG

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calendar Highlights from the Department of Architecture and Design

May 1-September 6, 2010 This exhibi­ tion at the Art Institute of Chicago includes works by noted architects such as Le Corbusier, Bruce Goff, Kisho Kurokawa, Aldo Rossi and Stanley Tigerman. Their diverse output—illustrated through hand drawings, digital prints, and new media—demonstrates the breadth of ideologies and approaches at play in architecture both historically and today. www.artic.edu Full Spectrum: The Architecture of Jeremy Sturgess

May 7-September 17, 2010 This exhi­ bition on the career of Calgary ar­ chitect Jeremy Sturgess takes place at the Nickle Arts Museum at the University of Calgary. The exhibi­ tion coincides with the launch of a book of the same name, and with the announcement of the creation of the Jeremy Sturgess Archives in the Canadian Architectural Archives. www.ucalgary.ca/~nickle Edifice: Exploring Art, Archives and Architecture

June 2-August 26, 2010 Taking place at the City of Vancouver Archives Gallery, this exhibition presents ten new paintings of downtown Van­ couver buildings done in realist style by Graham Winter, alongside a decidedly modern video wall of di­ gitized archival photos and records of the buildings and the period in which they were built. In doing so, the City of Vancouver Archives of­ fers a richness of historical context to the paintings, which in turn offer their own chronicle of the city today. www.vancouver.ca/archives 11th international Garden Festival: Gardens of Paradise

June 5-October 3, 2010 The 11th edi­ tion of the Festival will present 21 ephemeral gardens created by 65 designers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Nether­ lands, United States and the United Kingdom. Building on emerging practices in landscape architecture, participating designers have been

invited to imagine their garden of paradise—inspired by the history of gardening, exploring philosophy, religion and history, and incorpo­ rating aspects of contemporary soci­ ety and their own personal histories. www.refordgardens.com

place in the world. The biannual event has grown so popular such that it has spread to a number of differ­ ent hubs throughout the city, acquir­ ing much more of an international flavour in the process. www.lfa2010.org

Design Competition: New Cottages at Fallingwater

canBuild 10 Ontario regulatory Brownfields Summit

June 12-August 22, 2010 The designs of the six shortlisted firms of the Fallingwater design competition will be on display at the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Heinz Architectur­ al Center in Pittsburgh: Patkau Ar­ chitects of Vancouver, BC; Saucier + Perrotte Architectes of Montreal, Quebec; MacKay­Lyons Sweetapple Architects of Halifax, Nova Scotia; Wendell Burnette Architects of Phoenix, Arizona; Olson Kundig Architects of Seattle, Washington; and Marlon Blackwell Architect of Fayetteville, Arkansas. http://web.cmoa.org/?p=1222

June 22-24, 2010 This event at the Delta Toronto East addresses the new brownfield regulatory changes instituted by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Attendees include senior­level provincial and muni­ cipal officials, developers, brown­ field owners, qualified persons/ consultants and several other key decision­makers. www.brownfieldscanada.com raic/Saa 2010 Festival of architecture

June 23-26, 2010 This year’s RAIC/ SAA 2010 Festival of Architecture takes place in Saskatoon, timed to

coincide with the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. An impressive schedule of events awaits participants, with a trade show and Con Ed courses sup­ plemented by guided tours of the city and region. Highlights include keynote speakers Manfredi Nicolet­ ti, Sunand Prasad, Raymond Mori­ yama and Susan Lamb. http://festival.raic.org/index_e.htm craig dykers/Snøhetta lecture

July 15, 2010 As a companion event to the exhibition entitled SNØHETTA: architecture—landscapes— interiors, Snøhetta senior partner and director Craig Dykers lectures at 6:30pm at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge. Admission is free.

For more inFormation about these, and additional listings oF Canadian and international events, please visit www.canadianarchitect.com

SNØHETTA: architecture— landscapes—interiors

June 17-August 14, 2010 Cambridge Galleries Design at Riverside is the exclusive Canadian venue for this exhibition that also visits New York and Mexico City. This 20­year ret­ rospective featuring Norway’s most renowned architects features 11 of Snøhetta’s significant projects via film, computer animation, photo­ graphs, drawings, architectural models, texts and an interactive multi­touch table. www.cambridgegalleries.ca london Festival of architecture 2010

June 19-July 4, 2010 As London gears up for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this city­wide celebration of architecture includes an international architecture show­ case, an international architecture student festival, walking and cycling tours, open studios, and so much more. The Festival was launched in 2004 as the London Architecture Bi­ ennale (LAB) with a series of events focused on the Clerkenwell area, which is home to more architects per square metre than any other circle rePly card 19 06/10 canadian architect

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Brand identity

a recenT exhibiTion on The work of don waTT illusTraTes one man’s massive conTribuTion To The visual idenTiTy of everyday canadian culTure. ian chodikoff PhOtO courTesy The waTT family teXt

“I have been born with the designer’s curse, or blessing, seeing how everything could be improved.”

—Don Watt The presence of “starchitecture” or iconic architecture ascribed to celebrity architects fills the imaginations of designers and the pages of glossy magazines. However, no iconic architecture can match the widespread proliferation of recognizable commercial store signage that is inescapable in our daily lives. Although we may not know the names of the designers that created these aspects of our built environment, their achievements are seen everywhere. For example, drive through any community in Canada and you will encounter the influence of one particular individual who was responsible for the brands, logos and retail identities of everyday landmarks such as Loblaws, The Beer Store, Wal-Mart and The Home Depot.

Trained as an industrial designer, Don Watt developed the visual identity of some of the most recognizable brands in Canada over the past 34 canadian architect 06/10

50 years. And he even designed our vibrant Canadian flag.

To honour Watt’s lifelong career after his death in 2009 at the age of 73, the Watt family, in partnership with DW+Partners, Gottschalk+Ash International, and the Communication Designers of Toronto assembled an exhibition to document his work. Remembering Don Watt ran in April 2010 at the Ontario College of Art & Design.

Born in Regina, one of Watt’s first jobs upon graduating from the Ontario College of Art (as it was then known) was at A.V. Roe Company in the late 1950s, where he worked on the design of the fabled Arrow, Canada’s first supersonic fighter jet that was cancelled in 1959, leaving Watt without a job. Following a brief stint as a cartoon animator, he returned to Toronto and in 1966 he opened his first design office—Don Watt and Associates.

Perhaps Watt’s most famous design is the current version of the Canadian flag. When Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson’s government held a competition for a new flag in 1965, Watt submitted a design featuring a realistic representation of a red maple leaf flanked by two solid blue bands, symbolizing Canada’s motto—“from sea to sea.” Pearson had the design modified to its current state, and Watt’s role remained uncredited only until recently.

After spending years designing and developing packaging for Salada tea, Nescafé and others,

The colourful and highly recognizable logo for loblaws supermarkeTs was developed by The laTe don waTT.

aBOVe

Watt was given the opportunity to transform the identity of Loblaws supermarkets in 1973. This proved to be one of his most celebrated accounts, where he directed the design development of the triple-L Loblaws symbol, along with a revolutionary new retail layout and design, and an instore communication program that included large-scale photography and televisions promoting Loblaws’ No Name brand. Subsequently, Watt helped develop the supermarket chain’s “President’s Choice” brand with then-president Dave Nichol. Late in his life, he continued to help major supermarket retailers like Metro and Food Basics develop their own store designs and visual identities.

Watt’s ubiquitous talent spread elsewhere to include updating The Beer Store into an accessible and friendly retail outlet. Interestingly, many consumers still believe that The Beer Store is operated by the Ontario provincial government when in fact, the chain is run by the province’s largest breweries: Molson, Labatt and Sleeman.

It is inconceivable to imagine what our cities would look like without the influence of Don Watt. Although he is no “starchitect,” his creative genius in developing iconic symbols found in our everyday lives is readily apparent. ca

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