Canadian Architect January 2009

$6.95 jan/09 v.54 n.01

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14 greener Pastures for canada? it’s high time Canadians adopt the progressive green-roof poliCies and praCtiCes of the sCandinavian Countries. teXt kerry ross

20 scraPing for oil in alBerta the aCtions of multinational oil Corporations in the interest of oil sands development and resourCe extraCtion prove detrimental to the landsCape of northern alberta. teXt kelly doran

27 fifth town artisan cheese factory

ben rahn

kelly doran

gunnar sverrison

contents

9

news

rtscape Wychwood Barns open in ToronA to; winners of the 2008 Design Exchange Awards announced.

33 Practice

The scope of services provided by HOK’s Advance Strategies group is detailed by Ian Chodikoff.

37 calendar

highly finessed sustainable building praCtiCes are evident in an artisanal Cheese faCtory designed by lapointe arChiteCts. teXt leslie Jen

Actions: What You Can Do With the City at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal; 2009 Interior Design Show in Toronto.

penelope stewart

38 BackPage

January 2009, v. 4 n.01

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

Andrew King discusses the interface between art and architecture, captured beautifully in the work of artist Penelope Stewart.

diagram illustrating the network of oil pipelines emanating from northern alberta into the rest of Canada and the united states. image Created by kelly doran. coVer

01/09 canadian architect

ayako kIta

viewpoint

editor Ian ChodIkoff, OAA, MRAIC associate editor LesLIe Jen, MRAIC editorial advisors John MCMInn, AADIpl. MarCo PoLo, OAA, MRAIC CharLes WaLdheIM, OAlA(HOn.), FAAR contributing editors GavIn affLeCk, OAQ, MRAIC herbert enns, MAA, MRAIC douGLas MaCLeod, nCARb

the reCentLy oPened artsCaPe WyChWood barns In toronto Is the Latest exaMPLe of a CuLture-Led reGeneratIon ProJeCt.

above

Toronto’s Artscape Wychwood Barns, the latest best-practice model for enabling creativity at the community level, opened its doors to nearly universal acclaim in late November. The brainchild of Tim Jones, Artscape president and CEO, the new $21million restoration project represents a “creative convergence” approach to development involving the visionary efforts of social entrepreneurs, artists, developers and architects to improve the vibrancy and creative output of the city. Built on the site of a former Toronto Transit Commission repair facility, the 60,000-square-foot community centre contains 26 live/work studios, 15 artist studios, and environmentalists who work in the fields of education, urban agriculture and food security. The Wychwood Barns has joined the roster of other recent additions to Toronto qualifying as nodes of creativity, including the Distillery District, Liberty Village, Canada’s National Ballet School, and MaRS (a centre of innovation that connects science and technology with social entrepreneurs). With a variety of mandates, these projects are seen as both economically sustainable and culturally vibrant. It is hoped that they may also inspire other organizations to initiate and build similar types of facilities in smaller communities and in more suburban contexts.

Surrounded by a new city park, the Artscape Wychwood Barns will house over a dozen nonprofit organizations, along with indoor community facilities. The 4.3-acre site consists of five attached brick buildings built between 1913 and 1921. Having been abandoned for almost 30 years, the project became the first LEED-certified heritage project in Ontario to use stormwater recycling and both geothermal heating and cooling. The lead design consultant and architect for the project was Joe Lobko from du Toit Architects Ltd. By achieving three major community development goals for the project—education, partnerships and culture-led regeneration—Jones is widely regarded as the prince of canadian architect 01/09

both cultural stewardship and development in Toronto, largely due to his success in orchestrating a successful model of collaboration between the City of Toronto, local residents, non-profit community organizations, and Artscape itself.

While Artscape is deemed as being successful, it is not alone in its efforts. Over the past few years, “creative convergence” as applied to community development has been a popular subject of discussion in other cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Austin, Pittsburgh, and Quebec City. The common jargon spoken amongst leaders in these communities tends to include these four words: collaboration, convergence, clustering and creativity. As anyone who has undertaken the process of fundraising and securing political support for community development will tell you, these four words are easier said than done.

At a regional forum held at the Artscape Wychwood Barns the day before its official opening, Tonya Surman, Executive Director of the Centre for Social Innovation talked about entrepreneurship, collaboration and systems change: if you start with a physical space and bring people together, innovation happens. When you then attract “a solid dose of entrepreneurship and the power to leverage small, the power of creative aggregation occurs,” she noted.

When developing new facilities like the Artscape Wychwood Barns, part of the challenge is finding the right kind of investment and public funding to build better living environments. Aligning these development opportunities within a broader public policy and effective leadership creates a successful model for “creative convergence.” Let’s hope that such models of development will continue to be applied elsewhere as a viable tool for community development.

Ian ChodIkoff

ichodikoff@canadianarchitect.com

regional correspondents Halifax ChrIstIne MaCy, OAA Montreal davId theodore Winnipeg herbert enns, MAA regina bernard fLaMan, SAA Calgary davId a. doWn, AAA edMonton brIan aLLsoPP, AAA publisher toM arkeLL 416-510-6806 sales manager 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 41 -510- 845 faCsiMile 41 -510-5140 e-Mail edItors@CanadIanarChIteCt.CoM Web site WWW.CanadIanarChIteCt.CoM Canadian architect is published monthly by business Information Group, a division of bIG Magazines LP, a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business 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 7b 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- 8-2374 facsimile 41 -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 0008-2872

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PrOjects

AyAko kiTA

news

Opening ceremonies and a public launch of this much anticipated project took place on November 20, 2008 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to cultureled regeneration, Artscape has transformed the historic Wychwood TTC streetcar repair barns located in Toronto’s St. Clair and Bathurst neighbourhood into the Artscape Wychwood Barns—a multifaceted community centre where arts and culture, environmental leadership, heritage preservation, urban agriculture and affordable housing are brought together to foster a strong sense of community. The long list of challenges included environmental contamination, lack of resources to develop the municipally owned site, a need for park space in one of the most parkdeficient neighbourhoods in the city, and a neighbourhood divided on what type of development was appropriate. Ultimately, Artscape forged a consensus around a new vision which speaks to affordable artist housing, sustainability of not-for-profit arts and environmental organizations, animation and engagement of the local community, promotion and showcasing best practices in environmental design, honouring the legacy of public transit and preserving an important part of turn-of-the-century industrial architecture. The Artscape Wychwood Barns are comprised of four programmed components: the Studio Barn, the Covered Street Barn, the Community Barn and the Stop Community Food Centre’s Green Barn. The lead consultant and architect for the project is du Toit Architects Ltd. with E.R.A. Architects Inc. as the heritage architect. The Planning Partnership is responsible for the landscape architecture. www.torontoartscape.on.ca/barns/

AyAko kiTA

artscape wychwood Barns open in toronto.

awards winners of the 2008 design exchange awards announced.

The 2008 Design Exchange Awards program (DXA) promotes Canadian design excellence and recognizes the critical role of design in all types of organizations including commercial entities (large and small), not-for-profit organizations, and the public sector. The Awards also celebrate the success stories achieved through close partnerships between clients and designers. The following represent just a few of the categories: in the Commercial Architecture category, Daoust Lestage Inc. won the Best of Category award for Quai des Cageux. An Award of Excellence was given to Levitt Goodman Architects for Peel Youth Village, and to MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects for the South

aBOVe The ArTscApe WychWood BArns opened in ToronTo in lATe novemBer. conTAining ArTisTs’ live/Work sTudios And fAciliTies for urBAn AgriculTure And communiTy evenTs, The projecT required considerABle efforT To TrAnsform five Turn-of-The-cenTury sTreeTcAr repAir sheds ThAT sAT vAcAnT for over 20 yeArs inTo A viBrAnT communiTy cenTre.

Oshawa Community Centre. Three Awards of Merit were given to Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects Inc. for the Fire & Emergency Service Training Institute, Manasc Isaac Architects + Sturgess Architecture for the Water Centre, and Stantec Architecture Inc. for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. In the Residential Architecture category, the Best of Category award was bestowed upon two recipients: Levitt Goodman Architects for their own Levitt Goodman House, and Reigo + Bauer for 12 Cassels. Two Awards of

Excellence recognize the Prefab Cottage for Two Families by Kohn Shnier Architects, and 112 St. Clair Avenue West by Page + Steele Architects. Paul Raff Studio’s Cascade House won the Award of Merit. In the Landscape Architecture category, two Best of Category awards were given to PLANT Architect Inc. for Boustrophedon Garden and to space2place design inc. for the Garden City Park Play Environment. Daoust Lestage Inc. captured an Award of Excellence for the Thematic Gardens at the Promenade Samuel-de-Champlain. And an 01/09 canadian architect

9

Award of Merit was given to PWL Partnership Landscape Architect Inc. for Phase I of the Southeast False Creek Waterfront. In the Urban Design category, Daoust Lestage Inc. won the Best of Category award again for the Promenade Samuel-deChamplain, while two Awards of Excellence were given to the Office for Urbanism’s Heart of Our City Master Plan, and to Urban Strategies Inc. for Cornell University’s Comprehensive Campus Master Plan. Du Toit Allsopp Hillier’s Corktown Footbridge and space2place design inc.’s Spirit Trail for the City of North Vancouver each captured an Award of Merit. Wayne Fyffe, Past President and CEO of Credit Valley Hospital, and Carlo Fidani of the Peel Regional Cancer Centre were both recognized with an award for Canadian Company or CEO With Best Design Strategy. And lastly, the DX Staff Choice Award was claimed by Lapointe Architects’ Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Factory. An exhibition of the winning projects will be on display until March 1, 2009 in the Exhibition Hall at the Design Exchange in Toronto. www.dx.org/dxa/index.html

Reilly O’Neil Hogan from the US won first prize, Ruan Hao and Xiong Xing from China won second prize, and Dean MacGregor from Portugal took third prize. In his project “Embodied Ephemerality,” Hogan discusses how to challenge the daily city routines by getting off the subway at a new (wrong) station. How when you are forced to drift from your routine, you perceive the city with new eyes—in this case the Path station in Lower Manhattan. Hao and Xing’s second-place project “Interface Repairing—Light Festival” celebrates sunlight in the city. And MacGregor’s “Light Has a Body” third-place project takes the essence of light and focuses on the way that it enters and exposes itself through the refraction of water. In addition to the three prizewinners, the jury awarded eight honourable mentions to submissions from 11 different countries representing Europe, North America and Asia, selected from 686 projects from 244 schools in 46 countries. http://iva.velux.com/ 2009 american architecture awards.

The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design in association with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban This year’s award program, entitled Velux 2008: Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. is organLight of Tomorrow, resulted in three winners and izing the 2009 American Architecture Awards as a eight honourable mentions, which were recently way in which to honour new architecture, landCan Copper & Brass VC3638 3/3/08 3:31 PM Page 1 presented and honoured at an event in Venice. scape architecture, interiors, and urban planning winners of the international VeLUX award for students of architecture announced.

projects designed in the United States. In 2008, hundreds of submissions for this awards program were received by the museum from architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning firms across the United States. Over 60 of America’s most prominent architecture firms were recognized. The 2009 awards program considers new corporate headquarters, skyscrapers, institutions, sports and transportation facilities, interiors, urban-planning projects, airports, and residences, built in the US or abroad by a US architectural firm, both built and unbuilt projects alike, since January 1, 2007. International firms headquartered outside the United States are eligible to submit projects built or designed only in the United States. The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design founded the American Architecture Awards as a way in which to draw significant international attention to new buildings and planning projects being built and designed in the United States by the best of America’s architecture offices and firms. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2009. www.chi-athenaeum.org Glenn Murcutt awarded the 2009 aia Gold Medal.

The 2009 AIA Gold Medal has been awarded to Australian architect Glenn Marcus Murcutt, Hon. FAIA. Murcutt was recognized by the AIA

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D I S C

Board in large part for the depth of his work and the breadth of his influence. Murcutt, a sole practitioner, is noted for his ecologically responsive and socially responsible Modernist suburban and rural homes in which he incorporates a variety of natural materials. Although Murcutt works exclusively in Australia, he has had and continues to have a profound impact on architecture around the world. “While some might characterize a single-continent geographic range of work as ‘regional,’ the effect of Mr. Murcutt’s practice is amplified by impassioned and extensive lectures and a commitment to teaching throughout the world,� said Tom Howorth, FAIA, chair of the AIA Committee on Design’s Gold Medal Committee. Murcutt, born in London in 1936, grew up in the remote Morobe district of New Guinea. He established his own practice in Sydney in 1970. The Gold Medal honours an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Murcutt will be presented with the award at the American Architectural Foundation’s Accent on Architecture Gala in February. He becomes the 65th AIA Gold Medallist, joining the ranks of such visionaries as Thomas Jefferson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, I.M. Pei, Cesar Pelli, Edward Larrabee Barnes and last year’s recipient, Renzo Piano.

Barbara cappochin international Prize 2009.

The third edition of this biennial prize aims to heighten awareness and associate the different roles in the world of architecture—planners, builders and clients—in promoting the quality of planning and construction in natural and urban contexts. This international prize will honour an architectural work, completed between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2009, that offers a vision of the future as an expression of respect for the past. The prize is open to all architects or multidisciplinary teams led by architects. Works can belong to any of the following categories: public or private residences; commercial, administrative, or mixed-use buildings; public facilities (educational, cultural, sports, leisure or health care); and landscape architecture. A number of prizes will be awarded as follows: an international grand prize worth X65,000; a special prize of X6,000 for quality detail in architectural and construction elements; a prize of X6,000 for a project realized in the province of Padua; and the Giancarlo Ius Gold Medal, awarded to the most innovative work in the field of energy-saving and renewable technologies. The opening date for receiving registrations and entries is April 9, 2009, and the closing date for receiving entries is June 30, 2009. www.barbaracappochinfoundation.net

cOMPetitiOns Foresight: 2009 young architects Forum call for entries.

Young architects and designers are invited to submit work to the annual Young Architects Competition. Projects of all types, either theoretical or real and executed in any medium, are welcome. The jury will select work for presentation in public forums, an online installation, and an exhibition at the Architectural League beginning in May 2009. Winners will receive a cash prize of $1,000.

The Young Architects Forum is an annual competition, series of lectures, and exhibition organized by the Architectural League and its Young Architects Committee. The Forum was established to recognize specific works of high quality and to encourage the exchange of ideas among young people who might otherwise not have a forum. The theme of this year’s competition is foresight. Our daily life is inundated by predictions and forecasts: about the world climate, the economy, socio-political trends, the housing market’s rise and fall, and all kinds of bubbles bursting. Submissions should indicate some reliance on mobilizing elements of that intelligence—thinking ahead, forecasting possible outcomes and opportunities, and as a result, imagining an effective role for architecture in the future. Entrants may submit work done independently, as an employee

Navigating Sustainable Design The InTegraTIve DesIgn guIDe To green BuIlDIng: reDefInIng The PracTIce of susTaInaBIlITy

Issues related to the environmental impacts that result from designing and constructing buildings are currently being explored by an increasing number of building owners, architects, engineers, facility managers and all people related to shelter. These issues include questions about whether or not green buildings perform as well as intended or predicted, why many green building projects begin with great enthusiasm and end in frustration and why sustainable architecture seems to cost more than conventional buildings. Written for architects and the design and construction team, The Integrative Design Guide to Green Building is a comprehensive guide to the integrated design process used to create more sustainable buildings.

The book also features multiple case studies to provide concrete examples of successful integrated design implementation. s #LOTH s PP s s -ARCH

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For more titles and information, please visit www.wiley.ca/architecture circLe rePLy card 17 01/09 canadian architect

11

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or as a teacher. Entrants must be ten years or less out of graduate or undergraduate school; students are not eligible for this competition. Work completed for fulfillment of course requirements at academic institutions is not eligible. Past Young Architects Forum winners are not eligible. Work undertaken as an employee must be accompanied by a letter from a principal in the firm stating that the entrant can be given sole credit for the work submitted. The competition is open to current residents of the United States, Canada, and Mexico only. The competition theme is given as a basis for young architects and designers to reflect upon and re-evaluate their work. A written statement not to exceed 250 words is requested, which defines and considers the work. A single portfolio, which may include several projects, must be bound in a format no larger than 11” x 14”. The competition deadline is February 11, 2009. Entries must be received at the League office by 5:00 pm or postmarked by this date, and each entrant must submit an entry fee of $20. The jury is comprised of Paola Antonelli, Teddy Cruz, Nader Tehrani and Calvin Tsao. http://archleague.org/index-dynamic. php?show=844

Federation of Institutes of Architects (FIKA), along with participating UIA Member Sections.

The Korean office Space Group will undertake the management of CC3. The theme chosen for CC3 is: MAXMIX Cities: activities, built elements and spaces may all be mingled or mixed to allow cities to attain the maximum quality of life. MAXMIX Cities is a response to the multiple contradictions of contemporary cities: high density and anonymity; man’s distance from nature and his desire to reclaim it; opposition between the urban world and the rural world; and between the past and the present. How can we mix the elements of this urban reality to improve the quality of life in cities today and respond to the aspirations of citizens? A grand prize of X5,000 will be awarded in each category (students and professionals). In addition, the jury will award a prize of X1,000 per category in each of the five UIA Regions. Registration and online submissions open on May 5, 2009. Registration closes and the deadline for submissions is May 15, 2009. www.celebcities3.org

MaXMiX cities: celebration of cities 3.

Public Spirit: Philip johnson’s lost Ontario

what’s new

This ideas competition is open to architects and town. students of architecture throughout the world.

Terence Gower’s project Public Spirit grew out of soprema_canadian_architect.pdf 10/1/08 3:34:57 PM CC3 is organized by the UIA Korean Section, the his research into the history of Washington,

DC’s Hirshhorn Museum during his 2007 artist fellowship with the Smithsonian. Running until March 22, 2009, the exhibition tells the story of the original proposal for the Hirshhorn Museum, which founder Joseph Hirshhorn envisioned as the centrepiece of a utopian “town of culture” planned for the wilderness of western Ontario in Canada. In the mid-1950s, Hirshhorn enlisted architect Phillip Johnson to design the town, and although the project was never realized, photographic documentation of his architectural model still exists. Gower uses these photos along with other documentation of the plans for the town and Ezra Stoller’s photographs of the Gordon Bunshaft-designed Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for his material. Public Spirit includes a digitally animated video projection, which takes visitors on a tour of the proposed town (including the museum where Gower has hung an imagined exhibition) and the surrounding landscape. The project also contains a large-scale sculptural model of two buildings within Johnson’s plan and a series of posters incorporating imagery and text related to the history of the Hirshhorn Museum. http://hirshhorn.si.edu/exhibitions/view. asp?key=19&subkey=200

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GREENER PASTURES A SURVEY OF GREEN ROOFS IN SEVERAL NORDIC COUNTRIES DEBUNKS SOME OF THE MYTHS ABOUT SUCCESSFULLY ADOPTING SUCH TECHNOLOGY FOR A WIDE RANGE OF PROJECTS IN CANADA. TEXT

KERRY ROSS KERRY ROSS, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

PHOTOS

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THE AWARD-WINNING HRUNAMANNAHREPPUR SUMMER HOUSE BY THE REYKJAVĂ?K ARCHITECTURE FIRM OF ASK ARKITEKTAR IS DELIGHTFULLY SITED IN A RURAL LANDSCAPE AND SUCCESSFULLY INCORPORATES A GREEN ROOF INTO ITS ARCHITECTURE.

oc\o bm``i mjjan rjiĂ?o rjmf) Oc`m` rdgg \gr\tn ]` m`ndno\i^` oj i`r o`^c( ijgjbt' ]po di ^jg_`m >\i\_d\i ^gdh\o`n oc`m` \kk`\m oj ]` hjm` htocn \i_ a`\mn \]jpo bm``i mjjan oc\i di joc`m ^jpiomd`n) Ijo jigt \m` kjo`iod\g ^gd`ion rjmmd`_ \]jpo g`\ft mjjan' didod\g pk(amjio ^jnon \i_ gjib(o`mh h\dio`i( \i^`' ]po joc`mn lp`nodji oc`dm m`g`q\i^t' bdq`i jpm gjib' ^jg_ rdio`mn) Ji` ja <g]`mo\Ă?n kdji``mdib bm``i(mjja kmje`^on #rdoc \kjgjbd`n oj oc` nj_ mjjan oc\o

r`m` ^jhhjikg\^` \hjib n`oog`mn$ ^\i ]` ajpi_ ji ojk ja oc` =dnji >jpmot\m_ di =\iaa) Didod\o`_ di -+++' oc` hds`_(pn` ^jhh`m^d\g \i_ m`nd_`iod\g kmje`^o r\n g`_ ]t bm``i(mjja bpmp' Rdggd\h H^?jijpbc #rdoc oc` U`d_g`m K\moi`mncdk ja >\gb\mt$) H^?jijpbc c\n gjib `nkjpn`_ oc` ]`i`adon ja bm``i mjjanĂ&#x2039;npk`mdjm nojmhr\o`m h\i\b`h`io' ^g`\i`m \dm' dh( kmjq`_ `i`mbt `aad^d`i^t \i_ j^^pk\io ^jh( ajmo' \i_ oc` kmjqdndji ja c\]do\o ajm pm]\i nk`^d`n)

14 CANADIAN ARCHITECT 01/09

GUNNAR SVERRISSON

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=po hpid^dk\g \pocjmdod`n di =\iaa r`m` pi( ^jiqdi^`_) Di \i `aajmo oj `skg\di oc` qdndji ja diqdodib i\opm` dioj oc` ]pdg_dibn \i_ `hpg\odib oc` hjpio\di `sk`md`i^`' K`o`m Kjjg` ja <m^ojn ! =dm_ @io`mkmdn`n ]pdgo \ _`hjinom\odji kgjo ji oc` mjja ja oc` `sdnodib ]pdg_dib ji =`\m Nom``o \i_ b\oc`m`_ `q`mtji` oj n`` oc` kjr`m ja ]g`i_( dib `^jgjbt \i_ \`noc`od^n) Oc` ojri jaad^d\gn dhh`_d\o`gt pi_`mnojj_ rc\o Kjjg` r\n \ao`m' \i_ oc` =dnji >jpmot\m_ r`io \c`\_' ^jhkg`o` rdoc bm``i mjjan) @q`mt b\m_`i`m ji oc` Km\dmd`n fijrn oc\o do o\f`n \ gjo ja `aajmo oj h\f` ocdibn bmjr) Oc` rdio`mn \m` gjib \i_ ^jg_' oc` bmjrdib n`\nji dn ]md`a \i_ oc`m` dn gdoog` km`^dkdo\odji) <i \__d( odji\g ^c\gg`ib` di Njpoc`mi <g]`mo\ dn oc` >cd( ijjf rdi_) Pi_`mno\i_\]gt' rc`i km`n`io`_ rdoc oc` ^ji^`ko ja \ bm``i mjja' ^gd`ion \m` m`gp^o\io oj `h]m\^` oc` o`^cijgjbt ajm a`\m oc\o do dn dhkm\^od^\g \o rjmno' _daad^pgo \o ]`no) Oc`t r\io oj n`` kmjja ]`ajm`c\i_) @io`m ht Ijm_d^ `sk`md`i^`) Ijmoc`mi @pmjk` c\n ]``i nkmjpodib bm``i mjjan ajm _`^\_`n) Npm`gt' g`\midib admno(c\i_ amjh oc`dm `sk`md`i( ^`n rjpg_ c`gk jq`m^jh` njh` ja oc` j]no\^g`n oj kg\iidib' _`ndbidib' \i_ ]pdg_dib \ bm``i mjja ji oc` >\i\_d\i km\dmd` \i_ joc`m ^jg_ ^gdh\o`n) Amjh ht didod\g `skjnpm` oj bm``i mjjan ji ojk ja oc` =dnji >jpmot\m_ kmje`^o' D r\n \isdjpn oj g`\mi hjm`) Oj ]`i`ado amjh oc` @pmjk`\i di_pn( omt oc\o dn \o g`\no .+ t`\mn \c`\_ ja oc` >\i\_d\i ji`' di <pbpno -++2 D ]`b\i ht nop_t' ojpmdib jq`m .0 bm``i mjjan \^mjnn D^`g\i_' ?`ih\mf' Ijmr\t \i_ Nr`_`i) Oc` `sk`md`i^` \ggjr`_ h` oj ^jhk\m` oc` h\it j]e`^odq`n \i_ h`ocj_jgj( bd`n ja Ijm_d^ q`mnpn >\i\_d\i bm``i mjjan) Oc` kctnd^\g b`jbm\kct a`go a\hdgd\m' \n _d_ oc` n`in` ja ]`dib k\mo ja \ m`g\odq`gt nh\gg kjkpg\( odji gdqdib ji oc` ijmoc`mi amdib` ja g\mb`m' hjm` kjr`mapg i`dbc]jpmn gdf` Mpnnd\) Cjr`q`m' oc` ^pgopm\g b`jbm\kct ja jpm orj m`bdjin dn hp^c _daa`m`io) Hjno qdnd]g`' amjh ht k`mnk`^odq`' r\n oc` ]mj\_gt c`g_ m`q`m`i^` ajm \i_ fijrg`_b` ja RIGHT, TOP AND MIDDLE THE AUGUSTENBORG BOTANICAL GARDENS IN MALMÃ&#x2013;, SWEDEN IS A LEADING-EDGE LARGE-SCALE PROJECT INCORPORATING RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION GREEN ROOFS. IT RECEIVES THOUSANDS OF VISITORS ANNUALLY. RIGHT FORMERLY A SCHOOL SITUATED IN CENTRAL COPENHAGEN, THE 16-UNIT HELGOLANDSGADE 6 HOUSING RENOVATION INCLUDES A LOWMAINTENANCE GREEN ROOF ON ITS ROOFTOP AMENITY SPACE.

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veg Tech

design, craft and architecture shared by all four Nordic countries. This is hardly surprising, given that early on in their formal education, young people in many of the Nordic countries receive schooling with a strong emphasis on art and design. These countries are also being guided by a strong ecological imperative, having adopted and advanced the United Nations’ Agenda 21—a blueprint for sustainable development. It was, after all, a Norwegian, Dr. Gro Harlem Brund­ tand, who led the UN commission that defined the term “sustainable development” in 1987.

At about the same time, pioneers in the sustaina­ bility movement such as the Natural Step and Greenspace Factor began operating in Sweden.

Denmark—with only limited natural resources, save abundant wind energy—has shown the world how resourceful thinking and good design can power a country and energize an economy. Ice­ land has also become a world renewable energy leader, using its abundant geothermal resource to power and heat its homes as well as developing an extensive greenhouse­based agriculture.

Clearly, there was much I could learn from this Nordic brand of forward thinking and, as I toured these countries over the course of a month, three clear themes seemed to emerge: the green roof as building amenity; the green roof as building ecology; and the green roof as building culture.

These trends seemed to be underpinned by the following broad concepts: adaptation and resilience

While the regions I visited are considerably milder than Alberta, they have their own climate challen­ ges. Iceland, for example, does not suffer the extreme cold temperatures we do but their average temperature over the year is much cooler. Build­ ings are often set into the site to shelter against the elements. Historical ones frequently have turf walls and roofs for added insulating value. context and continuity

In Iceland and Norway, green roofs, with the exception of those using modern waterproof membranes, have continuity with the turf roofs of the past. In Denmark, green roofs are driven by a pragmatic need to make density more attractive and are included as part of the design­ er’s tool palette. In Sweden, green roofs are driv­ The holisTic ApproAch To greenroof Technology is deMonsTrATed on The roofTop of veg Tech Ab’s heAdquArTers in The villAge of vislAndA, in souThern sweden. middle left coMpleTed in 2007, The bellA cenTre in copenhAgen is A MulTi-building coMplex conTAining 63 renTAl ApArTMenTs. left reykjAvík ciTy hAll, designed by sTudio grAndA, hAs A living wAll on iTs norTh fAce ThAT grows ATop A blAck lAvA surfAce.

kerry ross/r. ThornTon

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en by formally adopted ecological benchmarks and are acknowledged as a significant green space or low­impact development strategy. cost

In Iceland and Norway, traditional grass or “turf” roofs are considered to be one of the most eco­ nomical roofing choices. One reason they are less expensive choices is that they use locally available material. Conversely, Denmark and Sweden are closer to a diversity of green­roof suppliers in Scandinavia as well as elsewhere in Europe.

Overall, green­roof projects in Europe enjoy significant cost advantages over Canadian ones.

Because Europe is a far more mature industry, there is more competition and infrastructure, and therefore lower costs. In Alberta, a green roof can still cost twice as much as a conventional membrane roof, which is a major concern for owners and developers. Transportation costs of systems and materials in Canada can add up to 25 percent or more to the cost of a new green roof.

But over time and as the industry grows, these costs will come down and the longer­term cost benefits of green roofs will become even more attractive.

This cost reduction has already occurred in the European industry over the last three decades.

I saw first­hand evidence of many successful green­roof applications, allowing me to return to Canada armed with more than a few details about how to emulate that success here.

One of my most significant experiences occurred as I was standing atop Bella Hus by schmidt hammer lassen architects in the new Ørestad district of Copenhagen. I was awestruck by the panorama around me, and the meadow beneath my feet. The rich foliage was from a sedum-ört-gräsvegetation or a “sedum­herb­ grass” mat that uses a mix of perennial grasses and flowering forbs with sedums. The mat pro­ vides immediate coverage, excellent cold and drought tolerance, and great biodiversity. It is a product that is not yet available in North Amer­ ica. The knowledge contained in seed plantings can be found in other projects around Scandi­ navia as well. One stormy afternoon in Vislanda, Sweden at the Veg Tech AB production field and head office of Scandinavia’s largest green­roof provider, I was introduced to a blend of hardy species of seed that had been harvested in Siberia and nurtured to create a pre­cultivated mat that excels in northern climes. In general, there is a Scandinavian sensibility, especially in Iceland and Norway, to let things be without too much concern over maintaining the landscape. Unlike Canadians, they are not concerned about making a green roof manicured. They just want to make it natural.

During my research, I felt as though the green­ ing of Europe’s roofs was part of a quiet revolu­

augustenborg botanical gardens

The Augustenborg Botanical Gardens, situated in Malmö, Sweden, is home to the Scandina­ vian Green Roof Association and provides nearly 90,00 square metres of research and demonstration green­roof projects. Extensive systems are employed along with pre­grown and in­situ applications. An interpretive centre has been built to accommodate the abundant number of tour groups that go through the facility.

wall on its north­facing exterior. The lush, green vegetation grows on a dark black, lava­ clad wall, creating a stark contrast. This stunning vertical surface is reflected in an adjacent shallow pool. Much of Iceland is covered in lava fields and the wall replicates the moss and lichen that grow over these fields and cover much of the island. An auto­ mated irrigation system keeps the lava surface constantly moist, promoting the growth of mosses, ferns and lichens.

helgolandsgade 6 housing renovation

solheimer eco-village

Designed by b19 architekten of Germany, the Helgolandsgade Housing Renovation converted a decommissioned school into 16 housing units in the gentrified neighbourhood of Vesterbro, located in central Copenhagen. The upper roof was converted into a 140­square­metre com­ mon amenity space, which includes an outdoor kitchen, dining and lounging areas. The project incorporates a series of sedum mats along the length of the west side of the roof which was installed in a matter of hours. The mats create a landscaped edge to the common roof deck. The lower sloped roofs of the service building are also covered in sedum mats.

Craft and building are evident in the totems carved with Icelandic runes (characters from the alphabet) which are displayed in the grassy meadow leading up to Sesseljuhus.

veg tech ab

Veg Tech AB is the leading green­roof manu­ facturer in Scandinavia with over 40,000 square metres installed in various projects. Lo­ cated in the village of Vislanda in Southern Sweden, the company headquarters are divi­ ded into field production operations, head offices and a nursery. While sedum mats are their best­selling products, Veg Tech also produces systems for stream­bed rehabilita­ tion, stormwater mitigation and green­screen hedging material.

Árbær outdoor museum

The Icelandic turf roof has evolved over 11 centuries where numerous examples of these and other historical green or turf roofs are present at various open­air folk museums in the Nordic countries. A scarcity of building materials combined with Iceland’s isolation from Europe and other markets meant turf became the principal building material in Iceland. It was local to the area and in ready supply. Iceland has unique settlements of rural turf farmsteads comprising several one­ storey, one­room buildings in a row with a central adjoining corridor and gabled façades enclosing walls of turf or stone. The turf roofs were often constructed with a birch­bark layer for water shedding and two to three layers of turf dug from the adjacent surround­ ings with specialized hand tools. They would often be weighted down with stones to prevent the turf from lifting off with the wind. kastrup peak load plant

bella hus

Designed by schmidt hammer lassen architects near the centre of Copenhagen, the Bella Centre is a four­ to seven­storey complex of 63 rental apartments. Completed in 2007, there is a common roof deck with a barbeque and loung­ ing area atop the seventh floor. An herb and sedum mat, consisting of a mixture of peren­ nial grasses and flowering forbs, was installed to provide coverage that resembles a meadow.

This green­roof system provides excellent im­ mediate coverage, excellent cold and drought tolerance as well as greater biodiversity. reykjavík city hall

Designed by Studio Granda, Reykjavík City Hall consists of two three­storey structures at the north end of Lake Tjornin. The building, which opened in 1992, has a living iridescent

Designed by the Danish architecture firm of Gottlieb Paludan a/s, this earth­sheltered half­dome building is situated near Copen­ hagen International Airport. At 1,135 square metres, it’s one of the largest green­roof applications in Scandinavia. The building houses a system of pumps, pipelines and heat exchangers as well as a peak load and backup heating plant to supply power to the nearby airport and surrounding districts. The green roof consists of moss and sedum mats placed on top of a felt drainage layer and waterproof membrane. The mats were delivered in 10­ metre­long rolls held off the boom of a crane and installed one next to another with an overlapping flap. Opened in 2006, the project has won numerous design awards and demon­ strates that an industrial building need not be an unsightly structure.

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tion. My hunch was confirmed by a report recently presented at the World Green Roof Con­ gress in London. Tobias Emilsen of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences completed a comprehensive inventory of green roofs in Malmö, Sweden—from those found on top of gar­ den sheds to large­scale projects like the 9,000­ square­metre, mainly residential redevelopment of the Augustenborg district. Emilsen concluded that there are many more green roofs being built than people realize.

While there have always been turf roofs at higher latitudes (and elevations), a few contem­ porary green roofs have begun to appear in the far North. For example, there is a green roof just 25 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle and min­ utes away from Norway’s second­largest glacier in the town of Mo i Rana. There are also new green roofs on the facilities surrounding the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden (67°50’ N).

And currently under construction in Hamaröy, Norway (at 68°06’11” N) is the highly anticipated Knut Hamsun Museum, designed by Steven Holl Architects. It too will be capped with a “Nor­ wegian sod roof in a modern way.”1 It is exactly the awareness—or lack thereof— that has been an obstacle to the greening of Can­ adian cold­climate roofs. Anyone trying to get a green roof built in Canada has experienced first hand the resistance to “new” technology. But there is the demonstrated benefit and success of green roofs near the Arctic Circle and elsewhere in Nordic countries. These efforts in establishing green roofs in colder climates can only help fos­ ter and nurture our own green­roof movement so that it too can thrive in rather than merely sur­ vive our long Canadian winters. ca

The AugusTenborg boTAnicAl gArdens in MAlMö conTAin TrAdiTionAl lAndscApes on MAny of iTs roofTop gArdens in AddiTion To More conTeMporAry insTAllATions; AT The Árbær ouTdoor MuseuM, 19­Th-cenTury sod roofs wiTh eMbellished wooden end beAMs greeT visiTors; sesseljuhus, locATed in The eco-villAge of solheiMer, icelAnd, is devoTed To increAsing AwAreness in susTAinAble design. middle row, left to right An AncienT ToTeM cArved wiTh icelAndic runes is displAyed AT sesseljuhus, esTAblishing The link beTween nATure And ArchiTecTure; The sTeep incline of The seduM MATs covering The roof of The kAsTrup peAk loAd plAnT in copenhAgen. above The eArThshelTered hAlf-doMe kAsTrup peAk loAd plAnT is one of The lArgesT green-roof ApplicATions in scAndinAviA. top row, left to right

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Kerry Ross toured Nordic green roofs in August 2007 with the assistance of the Burwell Coon Travel Scholarship from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and a leave of absence from her employer, IBI Group in Calgary. She is a cofounder of the Alberta Ecoroof Initiative.

Arctic Circle Project by Steven Holl Architects. For more information, please visit www.e­architect.co.uk/norway/ knut_hamsun_center.htm 1

CirCle reply Card 20

scraping for oil the vast reconfigured landscape of alberta’s athabasca oil sands is largely hidden from view, remaining a mystery to designers. text

kelly doran

The Province of Alberta is selling off its natural resources. Increasingly, the provincial govern­ ment is ceding enormous tracts of Crown lands over to the interests of the oil industry. Since 1997, Alberta has leased over 26,000 square kilometres of boreal forest for oil sands development, an area measuring over five times that of Prince Edward Island. This has spurred an enormous amount of economic investment, infrastructural construction and internal migration to provide labour for an industrial expansion that has radically shifted the focus of Canada’s resource economy to the Athabasca oil sands. Oil companies—initially dependent on the town of Fort McMurray for labour, housing, civic services and logistics— have begun to distance themselves from the much­publicized negative effects associated with the boomtown atmosphere in this northern Albertan community. This, coupled

with the ever­expanding geographical extents of the region’s resource­extraction activities, has created the perfect conditions for developing privately run industrial enclaves.

Situated far from Fort McMurray, the increas­ ingly outlying oil companies have effectively adopted their own private urban­planning regimes, constructing their own housing, recreational facilities, field hospitals and private airstrips to service themselves. Ex­ tremely remote, secure, and often behind concrete Jersey barriers built at the end of isolated gravel roads, multinational oil com­ panies are increasingly in complete control of vast expanses of the Canadian landscape.

But arguably, companies have always been in control. Canada can be understood as a corpo­ rate construct—where land exploration and settlement has largely been dependent upon the activities of industrial interests. Histori­

cally, our federal government has ceded its jurisdiction and landscape to private com­ panies (e.g., Hudson’s Bay Company, Canadian Pacific, INCO, Imperial Oil) in exchange for modern infrastructure (e.g., charted rivers, railways, reliable gravel roads, secure pipe­ lines) and urbanization (e.g., forts, towns, ports, elevators, bases). Understanding the wholesale leasing of the oil sands as an exten­ sion of this continued exchange, we should begin asking more about the artifacts that these companies will inevitably leave behind. What form will the residual landscape emerging from the excavation and terra­forming of an entire region take? How will infrastructures, associated with the extraction and transport of a finite resource, transition themselves for a post­oil economy? What forms of urbanization will the industrialization of the oil sands region generate?

Many workers are lured to Fort McMurray by high-paying jobs, only to Find theMselves in situations like this: parking a $40,000 huMMer next to a $400,000 trailer hoMe. this page

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george gilkS

An AeriAl photo tAken in 2007 of the Suncor VoyAgeur upgrAder And leASed tAr SAndS in the AthAbAScA oil fieldS. right A regionAl mAp of the AthA­ bAScA oil SAndS illuStrAteS the originS of the thouSAndS of migrAnt workerS employed by the oil compAnieS. mAny workerS fly directly into fort mcmurrAy ViA chArtered AircrAft from plAceS like indiA, chinA And AfricA. leASed lAndS cur­ rently in operAtion Are indicAted in dArk red, while thoSe leASed lAndS indicAted in pink hAVe AlreAdy hAd their oil rightS purchASed by petroleum compAnieS. above

To begin addressing these questions, it is nec­ essary to understand the operational activities of the industrial process itself. Oil sands com­panies have developed an orchestrated process of activi­ ties on their landscape based on em­erging hydro­ logical, logistical, technological and legal param­­ eters. Initially, while constructing the m­assive upgrading facilities required to separate bitum­en from­ sand, the prim­arily forested land is gridded off; its land deforested and cleared; its soil drenched, drained and dried; and its roughly 10­ m­etre­thick layer of overburden is rem­oved and stockpiled before any m­ining can occur. Sim­ul­ taneously, m­assive holding and tailings pond em­­ bankm­ents are located adjacent to the future m­ines to provide the necessary fluid to lubricate the transportation of the crushed sand, which will then have steam­ pum­ped into it to separate the oil.

Any unfortunate byproducts of the process will be stored in these ponds indefinitely. It is im­portant to understand that all of the leaseable land can be m­ined and any particular parcel of land will eventually m­orph from­ a holding pond to an 80­ 01/09­ canadian architect

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pickup truckS Are pArked outSide the p.t.i. work cAmp, one of the mAny reSidentiAl fAcilitieS built SpecificAlly for oil workerS. the lAck of windowS doeSn’t Seem to bother mAny of the workerS, who put in 12­hour dAyS, often returning to their Sleeping quArterS when it’S dArk. above At the Syncrude mine, A giAnt dump truck cAr­ rieS itS cArgo off for refinement. A mountAin of Sulfur cAn be Seen in the diStAnce, A byproduct of the refinement proceSS. AlbertA produceS 2 million tonS of Sulfur per yeAr from oil SAndS deVelopment. right A SerieS of diAgrAmS indicAte the future proS­ pectS of keArl lAke, A current oil SAndS deVelopment expected to yield AS much AS 300,000 bArrelS of oil per dAy.

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m­etre­deep surface m­ine to a tailings pond, which will potentially be replanted/reclaim­ed when it is no longer spatially required. The orchestration of this process responds to adjacencies: holding ponds are located near water sources, tailings ponds and stockpiles are built near upgrading locations, and surface m­ining constantly follows the clearcutting of trees toward the extending 22 canadian architect 01/09­

edges of developm­ent, with landscape reclam­ation in its wake. As evidenced in ExxonMobil’s Kearl Lake lease evolution plan, m­ining m­arches across the lease by outflanking the original watershed to create a landscape of total hydrological control.

Initially a landscape of creeks, rivers and a solitary lake, the lease is program­m­ed to m­orph into a quarantined landscape of “water m­anagem­ent

A photogrAph of A tAilingS pond; three AeriAl photogrAphS equAte the AreA of lAndmArk pArkS in toronto And new york with the AreA of A toxic tAilingS pond in AlbertA. right column, top to bottom cleArcutting thouSAndS of AcreS of foreSt before the oil SAndS explorAtion beginS; three colour SAtellite imAgeS illuStrAte the compArAble Size of the wood buffAlo oil SAndS Site with the greAter toronto And new york city AreAS. left column, top to bottom

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areas,” and the loosely defined “reclaim­ed areas” are expected to som­ehow regain the ecological characteristics they initially contained. The basic principles of the process are thus clear; oil sands com­panies will com­pletely transform­ the ecologic, topologic and hydrologic character of their entire lease holdings.

Multiply this transform­ation by the num­ber of lease holdings and it becom­es clear the entire region surrounding Fort McMurray is undergoing an irreversible transform­ation. Unfortunately, the breadth of this long­term­ reality is seldom­ discussed as m­ore im­m­ediate and readily visible ecological, social, infrastructural and govern­ m­ental issues are at the forefront of the current discourse on the region. Well­founded ecological concerns about the long­term­ effects of industrial water consum­ption and contam­i­ nation, wildlife habitat protection, greenhouse gas em­issions and suspect reclam­ation practices are beginning to inform­ and organize the dirty realities of the oil sands industry. The com­plex socio­econom­ic problem­s associated with the obscenely high wages, rental rates and costs of living resulting in a rapid influx of labour are only just beginning to be addressed by an overwhelm­ed m­unicipality’s civil services and oil com­pany protocols. Infrastructurally, the region is com­pletely dependent upon the narrow banding of Highway 63, a pipeline right­of­way and the Athabasca River for the transportation of all heavy equipm­ent, construction supplies, hazardous goods and labour to an expanding archipelago of upgraders. Finally, the failure of below whAt wAS once boreAl foreSt iS now A giAnt lAndScApe being deStroy­ ed in the nAme of refining AlbertA’S oil SAndS.

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the federal and provincial governm­ents to effectively coordinate their m­anagem­ent of the region has perm­itted a rate of expansion that has exacerbated all of the previously m­entioned issues. Som­ehow the region needs to begin addressing its short­ and long­term­ futures sim­ultaneously.

A system­ic reluctance to adopt or enforce an effective planning fram­ework, particularly of the top­down variety, has perm­itted this collection of self­interested com­panies to set the term­s and pace of developm­ent to the Alberta provincial governm­ent. Furtherm­ore, the province’s Regional Sustainable Developm­ent Strategy and Cum­ulative Environm­ental Managem­ent Association have failed to protect Alberta’s environm­ent from­ rapidly expanding oil sands.

Fortunately, oil sands com­panies are structured to enable decisions free from­ four­year term­s; they plan on digging in for another 60 years.

Given the fact that they’ll be around m­uch longer than any sitting governm­ent, it's about tim­e the province transfers the burden of planning back into industrial hands. Albertans should begin dem­anding m­uch m­ore support from­ politicians, not from­ the com­panies that occupy and profit from­ their public holdings. Moreover, the historical relationship—where industries acting in their own self interest to invest in the con­ struction of public landscapes, infrastructures and architectures—needs to be reconstructed.

Finally, a public that is increasingly conscious of the brevity and econom­y of this developm­ent needs to begin dem­anding m­ore than watered­ down royalties to ensure a sustained future for their lands. Likewise, com­panies in the business of energy ought to begin viewing their current activities as an opportunity to situate future alternative productions. The perception of the oil

sand industry’s enorm­ous abilities to m­anu­ facture the landscape, rapidly lay infrastructure, and erect architecture m­ust transition from­ destruction and catastrophe towards that of construction and creation. Both the public and private spheres need to begin recognizing the im­m­ense potential im­plicit in the industrializa­ tion of this landscape.

The ways in which oil com­panies operate need to be revised. The petroleum­ industry has increas­ ingly begun to recognize the need to co­coordi­ nate m­ine planning, tailings storage, surface water m­odelling, watershed m­anagem­ent, land­ scape design, land reclam­ation, and end land uses across their various lease boundaries. In the case of Kearl Lake, the evolution of its lease will require m­ultiple m­odifications to adapt evolving neighbouring activities as well as ecological and legal requirem­ents. The current retreat and volatility of m­arket forces can actually help create the conditions necessary to allow the question­ ing, recalibration and m­odification of ongoing operations. The illustrated fluidity of the m­ine’s orchestral process allows for the adaptation and augm­entation of their operations to easily occur while m­aintaining constant production. A co­ ordinated control over an entire region could produce a self­sustained, infrastructural land­ scape capable of supporting post­oil econom­ies.

Considering this region as an archipelago of com­m­on interests m­ay also help redistribute Fort McMurray’s population m­ore evenly. Inevitably, the Athabasca oil sands will be dug up but how ecological stewardship of this kind of petroleum­ extraction will be conducted dem­ands bigger questions and considerations. ca Kelly Doran is an intern architect currently working at WILLIAMSONWILLIAMSON Inc. in Toronto.

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green cheese

PrinciPles of sustainability and enlightenment are interwoven into the design of a new cheese factory.

FiFth town ArtisAn Cheese FACtory, PrinCe edwArd County, ontArio LAPointe ArChiteCts teXt LesLie Jen Photos Ben rAhn unLess otherwise noted ProJect

architect

In recent years, Ontario’s Prince Edward County has become the undisputed destination of choice for urbanites fed up with the frantic pace of city life. Fertile soil and the obvious appeal of the idyllic pastoral landscape has made it a foodie paradise and one of the province’s fastest-growing agritourism regions. Wineries, fine restaurants, and bed-and-breakfasts have sprouted across the county like mushrooms after a heavy rain.

And as so many others have done, Petra Cooper decided to switch streams and abandon a busy executive career in Toronto, seeking the autonomy and satisfaction derived from being a small-

business owner. Cooper and her husband Shawn acquired property in Prince Edward County, and in 2003, commissioned Francis Lapointe to design not only a house on that land for themselves and their young daughter, but also an artisanal cheese factory. The business was eventually named Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company, referencing the historic name of that particular region of the county, as it was the fifth town to be settled in the newly formed Upper Canada.

An easy two-hour drive from Toronto, the factory lies on a 20-acre site on the southeastern shores of the county, overlooking a small creek

sited in the BuCoLiC PrinCe edwArd County LAndsCAPe, the eAst eLevAtion oF the Cheese FACtory inCLudes the tunneL entrAnCe to the viewing AreA into the “Buried” Aging CAves. above

and pond. Orthogonal volumes are rendered in a Modernist vocabulary of corrugated steel, concrete block and wood, and contain zones dedicated to production and delivery, aging, retail and administration, and other ancillary functions.

Interior finishes are simple and complementary: rough concrete-block walls contrast pleasingly with the exposed timber roof and courtyard pergola, while the production area possesses a suitably austere hygienically driven ambiance of crisp white walls and stainless steel. Designed for future expansion, the structure integrates well with its agrarian landscape, part of a strategy that 01/09­ canadian architect

27

deFining the exterior CourtyArd, the teCtoniCALLy detAiLed CAnoPy drAws visitors into the retAiL sPACe inside the BuiLding; three smALL imAges desCriBe the LoCAtion And quALity oF the BuiLding’s site; A CoLoured “PeoPLe-And-ProduCt-FLow” diAgrAm Provides reAssurAnCe thAt Food sAFety And hygiene Are not ComPromised. left, toP to bottom

emphasizes a harmonious relationship with the environment in both the traditional cheesemaking process and in the building itself.

Following the model of a winery, the facility and grounds are open to the public not only for retail sales and tasting, but for educational purposes as well. The beauty of Fifth Town is that it effectively educates the public on how artisanal cheese is made, but equally, it teaches people about sustainable architecture and what it entails.

The factory is thus a didactic building, and tours given by Lapointe himself are popular, drawing 12 tour groups of about 30 people each at Fifth Town’s opening weekend in the summer of 2008.

Making cheese is highly meticulous business, and demands strict standards. As such, an unrelentingly linear production process is conventionally employed to avoid the contamination of pasteurized milk by raw milk. But to fulfill the educational mandate of ensuring that all aspects of cheesemaking are visible to the public, significant alterations to the traditionally linear process (and thus plan) were made by “folding over” many stages in the production process into one contained area, separated from the retail/tasting room only by a large, transparent triple-glazed wall. Consequently, the manufacturing process enjoys a high degree of visibility by the public at all times while eliminating the risk of contamination by a non-hygienically attired public. And to assuage the fears of skeptical governmental authorities concerned that such a bold departure would result in health and safety standards being compromised, Lapointe created an extremely detailed colour-coded “people-and-product-flow diagram” to graphically illustrate that no crosscontamination would occur and that the strictest standards of food safety would be maintained.

A critical part of the cheesemaking process is the aging of the precious wheels in a climate- and humidity-controlled environment. The sight of the carefully stacked pungent rounds in the two underground aging caves is perhaps one of the most compelling sights at Fifth Town. Recognizing the importance of communicating this stage of the production process to visitors, Lapointe

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CAve viewing wrAP room wALk-in reFrigerAtor dry storAge shiPPing & reCeiving JAnitor utiLity BuLk miLk storAge tAnk trAiLer wAsh BAy ConCrete PArking PAd reFuse enCLosure

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workers deAL with BAgs oF goAt And sheeP miLk in the ProduCtion AreA oF the BuiLding. above right A rendering gives A ComPrehensive overview oF the BuiLding in its entirety, And the toPogrAPhiC quALities oF its immediAte site. above

designed a window looking into one of the caves, accessible through a tunnel leading from the exterior of the building. Using only fresh, locally produced goat and sheep milk, the factory currently makes 12 different cheeses, and the aging period ranges from 24 hours to 90 days for the hardest cheeses.

Lapointe eagerly accepted Cooper’s challenge of designing a fully sustainable building in keeping with her ethos of making eco-friendly cheese from locally produced milk—from which their term “wholly green cheese” arises. Since cheese production is a rather energy-intensive enterprise, Lapointe spent countless hours researching the ways in which sustainable materials and technologies could be employed to reduce both energy use and operating costs, and to safely treat waste on site.

Perhaps the most significant element is the extensive geothermal network in which big black slinky coils are laid five feet underground in a massive geothermal field. Ground-source geothermal heat pumps both heat and cool the structure; radiant in-floor heating and cooling is redistributed around the building according to demand. Producing cheese requires a great deal of refrigeration, and the geothermal system successfully mitigates the amount of energy consumed in this regard. One fine example is seen in the aging caves which are “buried underground” in a hill to guarantee consistent temperature and humidity levels, which, along with cooling obtained from the chilled water running through the pipes via the geothermal heat pump, elimin-

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Durisol is more expensive than traditional woodframe or concrete-block construction, its benefits are obvious. The blocks are hydroscopic and are resistant to mold and mildew, a critical factor in the humid environment of a cheese factory.

They are lightweight and porous with a high R value, and when filled with a 50% slag concrete mixture, become an excellent durable and energy-efficient wall system.

Further renewable energy measures include the collection of rainwater, which is stored in an underground cistern to be used for low-flow and dual-flush toilets. An on-site wind turbine and

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wheeLs oF Cheese rest on rACks in one oF the Aging CAves. below, left to right huge geothermAL CoiLs Are LAid Five Feet underground in A mAssive geothermAL FieLd; BLoCks oF durisoL—mAnuFACtured From reCyCLed wAste wood And FiLLed with 50% sLAg ConCrete—Are AssemBLed on site; the “underground” tunneL And Aging CAves during ConstruCtion.

above

photovoltaic panels produce 10% of the building’s electrical needs; Bullfrog Power, a producer of “green” power, supplies the rest. Consequently, Fifth Town has reduced its annual CO2 emissions LAPointe ArChiteCts

LAPointe ArChiteCts

LAPointe ArChiteCts

ates the need for expensive and energy-intensive refrigeration equipment.

Cooper’s adherence to the concepts of reduce, reuse and recycle meant that Lapointe had to find further means of incorporating sustainable elements into the building. One such element was the employment of Durisol as the principal construction material for both load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls above and below grade.

Durisol is essentially a type of concrete block, a stay-in-place wall-forming system manufactured from post-industrial waste wood chips mixed with cement slurry. Though the cost of using

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vArious Cheese ProduCts Are soLd to the PuBLiC in the retAiL AreA. BeCAuse oF FiFth town’s PoPuLArity, the sPACe ALreAdy Begs For exPAnsion.

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by an estimated 29 tons. In fact, the building uses 67% less energy than a similarly sized facility, saving nearly $10,000 per year in energy costs.

One critical element in the cheesemaking process is what to do with the liquid waste whey byproduct. After a significant amount of research into sustainable solutions to this very issue, Lapointe developed a constructed wetland into which excess whey, sanitary waste and production wash water are disposed. Biochemically, each waste stream’s nutrients work to break down the other to form a neutral end product that is not harmful to the environment. The waste products are thus effectively treated directly on site, and save Cooper nearly $5,000 per year in disposal fees.

In fulfilling the project’s educational mandate, one additional feature will offer valuable information to visitors and staff alike. Currently, interactive digital screens are being programmed and installed in the facility to provide information about the cheesemaking process and about the environmental features of the building itself. As such, constant updates on Fifth Town’s functions and energy consumption/production will be available in real time, sourced from 120 separate controls located at different points throughout the factory.

The project has earned a sufficient number of points to achieve LEED Gold status, but both client and architect are currently awaiting word on whether or not it meets the standard for LEED Platinum certification. There is a good chance that it will. Certainly, the highest possible standards of sustainability have been applied to the Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Factory, and these

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0 efforts have been rewarded with positive reception from the public as well as the design and construction industry. In the past few months, the building has received three awards: the WoodWORKS! Green Building Wood Design Award, the Design Exchange Staff Choice Award, and the Ontario Concrete Architectural Merit Award.

This is not to say that the product is overshadowed by the building. In fact, four of Fifth Town’s cheeses won awards at the recent Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Cheese Competition in Toronto—three first-prize ribbons and one Grand Champion title. The facility has established partnerships with regional wineries and restaurants, and welcome approximately 1,000 visitors per week. Clearly, the enterprise is wildly successful and sales are strong, to the point that Fifth Town can’t supply all the regional restaurants that desire their product. The present focus is on their own retail operation and on supplying an array of cheeses to specialty gourmet shops in Toronto and surrounding area.

Luckily, the building was designed with expansion in mind, and the generous site permits the extension of the factory in all directions to include more production areas, aging caves and retail space. Currently, more retail space is the

25’ most pressing issue because of the high demand for not only cheese but accessory gourmet items that are also sold in the shop, such as cookbooks and cutting boards. Cooper’s ambitions include the eventual provision of cheesemaking courses, and even extend so far as to incorporating larger spaces in the facility for weddings, banquets and other functions.

Ultimately, this project represents a labour of love, a partnership between client and architect predicated on a shared vision, commitment and dedication to the ideals of environmental and social responsibility, the promotion of traditional artisanal methods and regional practices, and the enlightenment of the public. The fruits of their labours are unequivocally satisfying. ca

client FiFth town ArtisAn Cheese Co. architect team FrAnCis LAPointe, PAuL doLiCk, kAthy kurtz, miChAeL deL Puerto structural BLACkweLL BowiCk PArtnershiP Ltd. mechanical/electrical enermodAL engineering landscaPe roger todhunter AssoCiAtes interiors LAPointe ArChiteCts constructed wetland AquA treAtment teChnoLogies inC. contractor k. knudsen ConstruCtion Ltd. ground floor area 430 m2 budget $2 m comPletion JuLy 2008

01/09­ canadian architect

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tHinkinG in adVance

A diviSion of one of the world’S lArgeSt Architecture firmS, hok AdvAnce StrAtegieS workS with clientS to Align their BuSineSS StrAtegieS with their workplAce And reAl-eStAte requirementS to increASe efficiency And competitiveneSS.

teXt

iAn chodikoff

Being able to master change is as important for architecture firms as it is for the business world, but it requires a certain degree of foresight and patience.

Results don’t happen overnight. HOK is one architecture firm that recog­ nizes the need to proactively evolve its business to remain competitive.

Founded in 1955, HOK is one of the largest architectural firms in the world, with over 2,500 staff and a network of 25 offices. The firm certainly prides itself on being a leader in fostering a learning and collaborative working environment for its members. To capitalize on its knowledge base and colla­ borative spirit, HOK has developed its own consulting group. Known as Advance Strategies, this specialized multidisciplinary group was launched in 1988 and operates in several of their offices. Advance Strategies begins its relationship with the client at the front end of the project’s life cycle, hence the term “advance strategies.” The consultancy is comprised of professionals who specialize in areas ranging from business and organizational strategy to facilities planning, and from workplace solutions to real­estate portfolio management and financial analysis. Not surprisingly, the core group is made up of architects who work with their clients’ complex business challenges.

Advance Strategies typically works with larger organizations such as major financial and high­tech companies, but they also work with clients like municipalities, health­care facilities, and smaller creative enterprises.

Canadian Architect recently held a discussion with three members of the Advance Strategies group—Bill Mitchell, Rob Sannella and Beverly Horii—

AdvAnce StrAtegieS’ workplAce AnAlySiS creAted the ciSco BuSineSS communicAtionS innovAtion centre in toronto where clientS Are provided with hAndS-on, interActive experienceS thAt highlight the AdvAntAgeS of converging voice, video And dAtA onto A Single ip network; At the ciSco toronto touchdown SpAce, the mAin wAiting AreA in the field SAleS office And client Briefing centre provideS SeAting And AcceSS to pArt of ciSco’S it network, while diSplAying current mediA cAmpAignS. aBOVe, LeFt tO riGHt

who provided insight into the rationale behind the kind of specialized services that Advance Strategies provides. Based in Ottawa, Bill Mitchell is President and Practice Leader for the Canadian office of Advance Strategies.

Both Rob Sannella and Beverly Horii are from the Toronto office of Advance Strategies. Sannella is Senior Strategic Planning Consultant and Horii is Vice President, Specialist and Practice Leader. Horii leads major facilities programming, strategic planning, and workplace projects for corporate, public and institutional clients. Her diverse background includes interior design, architecture, furniture design and sustainable design. Prior to joining HOK this past summer, she held senior positions with B+H Archi­ tects, Teknion, and the CIBC Development Corporation.

Advance Strategies has developed some specialized processes beyond what many large architectural firms in North America are capable of achieving. Part of its success in offering such specialized services is due to HOK’s vast re­ sources which enable it to create a sophisticated network considered by many of its employees to be an invaluable learning opportunity and knowledge­ sharing platform. The internal HOK network helps them counter a systemic problem in the design industry—traditional architectural services are increas­ ingly viewed as a commodity, limiting the premium that can be charged. Con­ sequently, firms are unable to reinvest sufficient capital into ongoing staff education. Sannella admits that clients who appreciate his firm’s abilities to invest in lectures, conferences, and classes often hire HOK because they 01/09­ canadian arcHitect

33

recognize the firm’s active learning environment.

But it still takes a certain amount of strategic thinking to leverage the high degree of knowledge and specialization found inside the HOK network, and to translate what goes on inside the organiza­ tion to attract the interest of new clients. Since joining Advance Strategies last July, Horii has been focused on business development for the Canadian market, convincing new and potential clients to work with her firm to save them money on their real­estate portfolios. At HOK, Horii believes that she is now in a position to operate more strategi­ cally in the Canadian market, whereas before, even the most successful of the large locally based firms could only respond to clients and conditions in a tactical way and one project at a time—with limited sharing of information between design profession­ als within the organization.

Advance Strategies is, in some ways, an evolu­ tionary offshoot of HOK’s long­established problem­seeking design methodology. Since the firm’s inception in 1955, HOK has distinguished itself in its programming acumen. The firm's book, Problem Seeking: An Architectural Program­ ming Primer, is used to systematically organize project­related information into a five­step process. Most HOK employees swear by Problem Seeking and use the famous index card­sized “snow cards” to collect data from their clients and build consensus. The problem­seeking process is divided into five steps: 1) what are your goals?

2) what are your facts? 3) what are the givens in every project? 4) how do we test these concepts? and 5) how do we develop the needs of the client?

This process was created to solve a design prob­ lem, whether it relates to a lack of space or to the client's dilemma of owning rather than leasing a building. According to Sannella, “It is a great tool to get the project kicked off, ensuring that we’ve been asking the right questions and documenting all the information to move on to the next step.”

As for the breakdown of HOK Advance Stra­ tegies’ scope of services, it is comprised of five main areas: 1) real estate, 2) workplace solutions, 3) facility planning, 4) tools and technology, and 5) change management.

Real­estate strategy helps define the broader goals of a portfolio, making sure that it aligns with the client’s business strategies. Real­estate strategy includes building condition assessments, site conditions, and capital improvements. It can also include the ramifications of mergers and acquisitions or corporations who want to better manage their exposure to risk, thereby adding value to their real­estate holdings.

The workplace solutions approach will re­ search and determine how space is allocated. It might examine new concepts and strategies associated with staffing and management, or create a work environment that can move an organization from a hierarchy­based structure to 34 canadian arcHitect 01/09­

aBOVe hok AdvAnce StrAtegieS workS with clientS to help Align their BuSineSS StrAtegieS with their reAl eStAte, fAcilitieS, And workplAceS to effectively mASter chAnge. theSe diAgrAmS illuStrAte Some of AdvAnce StrAtegieS’ methodS of AnAlySiS And conSenSuS-Building.

one that’s more performance­focused. An example of how HOK Advance Strategies under­ takes workplace solution strategy assessment was when they conducted a benchmarking study of workplace standards across various sectors in North America. Through their research, it was discovered that European and Asian workplace standards are tiny—basically comprised of 5’ x 5’ workstations. Workplace strategy is important.

“We know that the workplace is 50% empty all of the time. The reality is that everyone needs to leverage and take advantage of their space. They can’t afford to leave their space empty,” notes Mitchell. With the economy in a recession, combined with an increasing number of people working remotely or at home, this means that the ability to think holistically about staffing and real estate is essential. “The mobile workforce is leading to an increasing amount of real estate that is sitting empty, costing our clients a lot of money,” notes Sannella. Retaining staff, along with promoting an effective work/life balance is not just an economic challenge, but an architec­ tural one as well.

The third type of service offered at Advance Strategies focuses on facility planning, which might include assessments of existing buildings, or site analyses for new buildings. Advance Strategies has used its experience in program­ ming and data analysis to engage in early vision­ ing and scenario­planning sessions right through to occupancy planning, and post­occupancy evaluations. “Sometimes we don’t want architects on our project team because they will want to jump to the solution. We want to make sure that we know what the problems are before we look at the solutions,” remarks Sannella. Mitchell makes another important point: “For many designers, the passion is in the design, so they want to get to the design stage and may not be as diligent in the programming stage because for them, design is the focus.” Because interior projects have rela­ tively quick turnaround times, the actual amount of time devoted to programming is limited. As a result, Mitchell and his firm have a group of specialists that work on programming issues all the time. His priority is to ensure that his clients are able to make the right real­estate decisions

that align with their long­term strategies, and reminds us that “whatever you do up front relates to what you will do in future.”

The next step in the Advance Strategies deliv­ ery process comprises the implementation of various tools and technology solutions. Some of these tools are quite extensive and are especially useful to HOK’s larger clients who may already have a fairly extensive IT infrastructure with ana­ lytical tools such as portfolio development and implementation software. The last component of Advance Strategies’ service includes change management, which helps clients increase their effectiveness in computational analyses relating to their organization.

The work for the City of Ottawa provides a good example of where Advance Strategies was brought aboard early on in the client’s planning process.

Mitchell’s initial work for the City began with a benchmarking study to compare the City’s work­ stations with other municipalities and corpora­ tions. Then, his group assessed the 13 municipal buildings, establishing a strategy to see whether or not the City could shift its municipal functions from the suburbs into more urban areas. Finan­ cial analysis was then conducted to determine other cost­saving areas. Mitchell looked at the design guidelines for the three sites, reinventing the client's portfolio and saving $3 to 4 million per year on lease costs alone. When the entire life

cycle of the project was completed, the client was ready to procure design services from several design firms. Currently, the City of Ottawa is going back to Mitchell to find new ways of improv­ ing its sustainability quotient and to further reduce its costs.

If Advance Strategies conducts a facilities assessment or develops a real­estate strategy to determine whether a new building is necessary for the client to maximize efficiency or a real­ estate portfolio, they might recommend that their client either build or do nothing. “We’re trying to act as the impartial assessor and then offer multiple solutions,” says Horii. Having provided the client with the necessary information to put out a request for proposal, the client is then free to take that information and procure services from a variety of architectural companies. But Advance Strategies doesn't always expect an architectural commission from their consultation services. Sannella points out that there is a mutual benefit in hiring the firm for the design phase, if one is needed. “We understand the client’s business and so going into design imple­ mentation means that there is no learning curve,” he says. Obviously, they would like to be hired for “follow­up implementation” (i.e., to design a new building) but they fully realize that it is not necessary to push a client if they have already built a relationship of trust.

circLe repLy card 24

Architects might ask themselves what makes HOK Advance Strategies so unique. Doesn’t every firm undertake some form of planning and needs assessment? And don’t several brokerage firms undertake their own real­estate analyses? While various components of the Advance Strategies service are currently being offered by other firms in areas such as architecture, facilities planning, insurance and real estate, Mitchell feels that clients simply don’t want to deal with multiple consultants. There are benefits to operating under one service umbrella, and clients appreci­ ate the seamless process of working with Advance Strategies from initial workplace strategy to the design of a new building. Horii adds that it is going to be difficult for an 80­100 person office to develop a robust multi­pronged business model like that of Advance Strategies. While it is conceivable that some of the larger firms in Canada might specialize in workplace solutions, being an expert in all five services would demand a considerable ramping­up of resources. As Mitchell reminds us, “You have to be committed to becoming an expert and to knowing that your service has a value attached to it. It is not a front­ end throwaway service.” Learning from Advance Strategies, architects can perhaps think about how to better value and monetize the services they provide to their clients, at all stages in the consultation process. ca

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A new publication on copper and Green Building titled Copper...The Green Choice is now available. It includes information on architectural, electrical and plumbing systems, as well as LEED™ credits. Also available are three new Green Case Studies on major construction projects.

To receive your copies, contact: Canadian Copper & Brass Development Association. 1-877-640-0946. www.coppercanada.ca. coppercanada@onramp.ca.

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Request for Pre-Qualifications Architectural Services: Design Work Toronto Community Housing, Canada’s largest provider of social housing, and one of Toronto’s largest residential developers is pleased to invite architectural firms to submit general prequalification information to be used for selection of design teams to undertake the various housing and city-building initiatives on our agenda.

Environmentally sustainable design, architectural excellence, and building great neighbourhoods are hallmarks of Toronto Community Housing’s development projects.

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Pre-qualifications are requested in three types of assignments: • Large-site residential complex including master plan and/or buildings over 100,000 sqft • Small residential buildings, townhouses and full building renovations under 100,000 sqft, including infill projects • Non-residential institutional/recreational facilities

Noise, Vibration and Acoustics

Interested firms should download the Request for PreQualifications from Toronto Community Housing’s website:

•

Architectural Acoustics

•

Building Noise and Vibration Control

http://www.torontohousing.ca and click on ‘Business Opportunities’

Deadline for submissions: January 29, 2009

Consulting Engineers

Mississauga, Ontario P: 905-826-4044 F: 905-826-4940 HOWE GASTMEIER CHAPNIK LIMITED

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www.hgcengineering.com

calendar Actions: What You Can Do With the City

November 26, 2008-April 19, 2009 This exhibition at the CCA in Mon­ treal is comprised of 97 actions that instigate positive change in con­ temporary cities around the world.

The show features international contemporary architectural pro­ jects, design concepts, and research conveyed through architectural drawings, photographs, videos, publications, artifacts and websites. www.cca-actions.org NOXON: Court Noxon, Architect and Industrial Designer

December 3, 2008-January 31, 2009 This exhibition takes place at the Dominion Modern Gallery in Toron­ to. The show celebrates Canadian architect and industrial designer Court Noxon and the immense cata­ logue of work he produced for his company Metalsmiths from 1954 to 1982. Noxon not only worked among people like Jan Kuypers and Leif Jacobsen, he made components for major furniture houses including Knoll and Laverne, while selling furniture of his own design across the country and abroad. www.dominionmodern.ca

money matters, sales and service, and general business. www.theroofingexpo.com 2009 interior design Show

February 5-8, 2009 Canada’s largest contemporary design event features keynote speakers such as Belgian designers/artists Studio Job, Parisian designer Christophe Delcourt and Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of UNstudio. The annual Concept Spaces feature presents a range of diverse de­ sign disciplines in 5X5: 5 designers, 5 inspired spaces. Six innovative Cana­ dian designers including Munge// Leung and Giannone Petricone Asso­ ciates present installations utiliz­ing Swarovski crystals, and a number of insightful and educational seminars will be offered as well as the newest in design from 300 Canadian and inter­ national exhibitors. www.interiordesignshow.com Laboratory of Architecture/ Fernando Romero

January 19-25, 2009 This event fea­ tures top exhibitors, international design stars, creative newcomers and a glittering array of unique events. imm cologne, the world’s leading furnishing fair, brings together the whole range of inter­ national design under one roof. www.imm-cologne.com

February 28-May 31, 2009 The first monographic exhibition dedicated to the work of Fernando Romero and his Mexico City­based practice, LAR (Laboratory of Architecture), will be on view in the Heinz­ Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. In the show, inno­ vative designs for two doz­en projects will be presented together with large­scale photographs and an analysis of Mexico City that will help to situate the work in context. Rom­ ero will deliver a lecture on February 27, 2009 at 6:00pm, which will be followed by a reception. www.cmoa.org

international roofing expo

Surface image

February 3-5, 2009 Taking place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, this event fea­ tures 500 exhibiting companies filling 1,100 booths with the latest innovative styles, trends and cutting­edge technologies. The educational conference features a multi­track educational program, including technical, green and workplace safety classes, as well as business­related sessions such as leadership/management, legal/HR,

March 2, 2009 Torben Berns, Planet­ ary Society Visiting Professor in Architecture presents this lecture at 6:00pm in Room G10 of McGill Uni­ versity’s Macdonald­Harrington Building in Montreal. www.mcgill.ca/architecture/lectures/

imm cologne

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

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clearly inVisible

montreal-born artist penelope stewart’s photography and installation work exposes the contradictions in both art and architecture.

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andrew king penelope stewart

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The point of convergence between architecture and the visual arts is sometimes a very muddy place, with misunderstanding, misappropriation and misinterpretation occurring in both directions, and often simultaneously.

It is refreshing, then, to find a body of work that engages architecture in all its nuanced depth while remaining firmly embedded in its own art-making milieu. Penelope Stewart has been immersed in an admirably transdisciplined, critically recognized art practice for over two decades. In her words, she is “fixated on invisible architecture.” She is concerned with the simultaneity of what is usually seen as binary tensions: architecture and ornament, nature and culture, real and imaginary, visible and invisible, absence and presence. These tensions are what collectively give architecture its power.

Much of Stewart’s work is photography-based. The photographs themselves are powerful and evocative, usually concerned with the articulated ornamental detail or composition. Once created, they are generally not left to themselves. They are manipulated through inversion, projection, printing and installation, and usually operate within in a much larger “in situ” work that also engages space, materiality, the body and most importantly, the senses.

Stewart’s work is most interesting when the fragmented photographic details are magnified and transposed onto scrim-like material and inserted into a gallery or installation setting. These pieces reconfigure existing spaces through the creation of temporary, mobile architectural interventions, superimposing ephemeral structures within existing conditions. The works implicitly question normative architectural ideas about scale, sequence and tectonic composition while embedding themselves into meaningful space that a nuanced architecture can rarely achieve.

A poetic iteration of this work is Terminal (2006), installed on a derelict train platform in Buffalo, New York. The work weaves a nine-foot-high piece of photo-printed cloth through the columns of the platform for over 500 feet. It is loosely attached and engages with the prevailing winds to complete its form. The tension between materials (the silk organza scrim and the found and corroding iron) placed in the context of a moribund architecture project presents a surprising optimism through recalibrated perceptions and expectations.

A more ambitious work altogether is Stewart’s Genius Loci. This is a large 38 canadian architect 01/09

House of Promises (2008) is an 84” x 28” lambda print abstracting a 19th-century conservatory. bOttOm completed in 2006 and installed on a derelict train platform, Terminal is a 9’ x 500’ photoscreen-on-organza installation that billows in the wind, accentuating the abandoned industrial architecture. abOVe

body of photo-based inquiry, spanning several years and several distinct projects. The work implicates the glasshouses and conservatories of the 19th and 20th centuries. Stewart refers to them as “Barthesian sites of loss and desire,” which basically explains the complex tension between the utopian and modernist intentions, and the explicit and implicit ornamentality they often exhibit. This is fertile ground for an artist interested in contradiction in both art and architecture.

The dialogue between art and architecture is increasingly complex. It is a worthwhile endeavour when each discipline is mutually understood and the relationship mutually beneficial. It is at its best when both art and architecture are fascinated with each other, thereby bringing about gentle and nuanced lessons. Penelope Stewart offers us such lessons. ca Penelope Stewart has upcoming exhibitions at CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, NY; Musée de Joliette in Joliette, Quebec; CraftACT Design Museum in Canberra, Australia; and the York Quay Gallery at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Stewart is represented by Edward Day Gallery in Toronto. Andrew King is a practitioner and educator currently teaching at McGill University’s School of Architecture and Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism.

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