$6.95 JUN/09 v.54 n.06
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13 Salle de Spectacle DolbeauMistassini
Nick Nelson
Ben Rahn
Marc Gibert
Contents
9 News
P aul Laurendeau and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte designed this dramatic performing arts centre, creating a coherent new focal point for a small Quebec community. TEXT Thomas Strickland
In Study Model Wonderland from Halifax to Vancouver at Montreal’s Galerie MONOPOLI; winners of the AIBC Architectural Awards.
24 Practice
18 Agnico-Eagle Mines and Torys LLP The interior renovations to the headquarters of both a mining company and a leading law firm move far beyond standard corporate office design, courtesy of Taylor Smyth Architects and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects. TEXT Leslie Jen
Robert Billard and KMBR Architects Planners Inc. have developed a workflow management process called the Holistic Project Delivery method, a clear enhancement to the Integrated Design Process.
26 Review
Dennis Evans
The recent Carrot City exhibition at the Design Exchange promotes valuable ideas of urban agriculture and local food production, asserts Sanam Samanian.
29 Calendar
Speed Limits at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal; Twenty and Change in Toronto.
30 Backpage
Dennis Evans reports on how the Straw Bale Observatory in Saskatchewan facili tates the appreciation of the ethereal and sublime qualities of light, sky and the prairie landscape. The reflective exterior of the Salle de Spectacle Dolbeau-Mistassini | Des jardins | Maria-Chapdelaine in Quebec by Paul Laurendeau | Jodoin Lamarre Pratte | architects in consortium. Photograph by Marc Gibert.
COVER JUNE 2009, v.54 n.06
The National Review of Design and Practice/ The Journal of Record of the RAIC
06/09 canadian architect
canadian architect
Viewpoint
Arthur Erickson (right) gives Pierre Trudeau (middle) a tour of the UBC Museum of Anthropology—one of Erickson’s most important Vancouver buildings.
above
On May 20th, Canada lost one of its greatest architects. By the time of his passing at 84 years of age, Arthur Erickson had built a career that spanned several decades, providing us with a number of significant buildings that defined an emerging nation through an architecture that acknowledges its geography and expresses the vitality of its citizens: the venerable Roy Thompson Hall, the groundbreaking Simon Fraser University, the landscape-inspired University of Lethbridge, and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, a post-andbeam concrete masterpiece that places First Nations art and culture on par with the great cultures of Ancient Greece and Persia. In addition to his innumerable contributions to residential design, he directly influenced the evolution of several important Canadian cultural, educational, corporate and governmental institutions. Internationally, Erickson positioned Canada as a place that could stand proud amongst the great nations of the world. Few of us were able to see his Canada Pavilion at the 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka, but many of us have heard him eruditely describe how his architecture came to be an ambassador for our country by confidently displaying our cultural and creative spirit within a wooden teepeeinspired building. The Canadian Chancery in Washington, DC, an oft-misunderstood building largely due to its postmodern inclinations, is another strong example of Erickson’s interpretation of Canadian architecture as emissary abroad. Located in a precinct of Washington dominated by canadian architect 06/09
Federalist buildings, Erickson’s Chancery references the porticos, columns and entablatures of its neighbours—but is expressed through a vocabulary of exposed concrete elements integrated with ample greenery and a publicly accessible landscaped courtyard. But most importantly, Erickson’s architectural intentions and aspirations transcend formal geometries, exuding values that reflect contemporary Canadian culture and democracy. Erickson’s reputation as an architect entered our collective imagination long before Gehry, Libeskind or Koolhaas were considered household names. This became apparent to us at the magazine, as we have had in the past weeks the privilege of hearing from many readers wanting to share their personal experiences of either Erickson the man or an Erickson building—from those who knew him well as far back as the 1950s, to the aspiring architecture student who, recently having toured an Erickson structure, discovered the importance of his chosen field of study. Erickson was an architect who could inspire us with his bravado and humanism as much as he could provide us with lessons about the plasticity of concrete, the expansiveness of glass, and the elegance of steel. Arthur Erickson taught us about leading with substance over style: culture, history and humanity are the true foundations of good architecture, and these aspirations can be realized through programmatic invention. At Simon Fraser University, for example, he responded to the challenge of building a new educational facility by breaking down social and academic barriers so that university students from a variety of disciplines could debate and interact freely within a new space-age superstructure. When designing the Vancouver Law Courts, he redefined our expectations of a democratic city by placing accessible rooftop gardens on top of a legislative facility, and by encasing both the public hall and courthouse within a large transparent glass envelope. Just as former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once defined a nation through his political leadership during the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s, Arthur Erickson’s buildings of that era represent an equally sophisticated confidence and vision for Canada. Without a doubt, Erickson’s contributions helped define a period of Canadian architecture that exudes an unprecedented connection to the particularities of site and landscape, and to First Nations heritage. He remains an inspiration to us all. Ian Chodikoff
ichodikoff@canadianarchitect.com
Editor Ian Chodikoff, OAA, MRAIC 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 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 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 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). Price per single copy: $6.95. Students (prepaid with student I.D., includes taxes): $32.50 for one year. USA: $101.95 U.S. for one year. All other foreign: $103.95 U.S. per year. US office of publication: 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY 143045709. Periodicals Postage Paid at Niagara Falls, NY. USPS #009-192. US postmaster: Send address changes to Canadian Architect, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Dept., Canadian Architect, 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800, Toronto, ON Canada M3C 4J2. 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 0008-2872
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Exhibitions
Competitions
In Study Model Wonderland from Halifax to Vancouver.
Winners of FormShift Vancouver ideas competition selected.
This exhibition at Maison de l’architecture du Qué bec—MONOPOLI in Montreal begins with a ques tion: in this day and age of AutoCAD and digital design, is the study model still playing a role in the architect’s creative process? The answer proves to be resoundingly affirmative, from a vast crossCanada investigation conducted by the MONO POLI team with the help of three researchers under the direction of chief curator Sophie Giron nay. Forty study models have been selected for the exhibition in a variety of scales and representing a vastly divergent assemblage of projects, each pos sessing a unique quality of expression and beauty. They are housed within a setting courtesy of archi tectural firm Atelier in situ, the exhibition’s guest designers. Along with the models, photos of the finished buildings and quotes from their archi tects express the creatively complex process of de signing a building. Accompanying the exhibition is a 56-page catalogue titled 1:26, the result of a creative collaboration—graphic design by Uniform, image direction by Alain Laforest, photographs by Marc Gibert, and a colour pamphlet by Émilie Graves. The exhibition ends October 10, 2009. www.galeriemonopoli.com/?cat=22&lang=en
The winners of the first-ever FormShift Vancou ver have been selected. In the Vancouver Primary category, honours go to a submission from Cal gary-based Sturgess Architecture. The Vancouver Secondary choice is Romses Architects (Scott Romses) of Vancouver. In the third and final cat egory—Vancouver Wildcard—the nod goes to Go Design Collaborative (Jennifer Uegama and Paul ine Thimm) of Vancouver. This unique competi tion, co-hosted by the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, chal lenged architects, designers and others with crea tive flair to submit innovative, built-form ideas that will guide Vancouver’s future growth. Competi tors were encouraged to draw inspiration from sev eral key initiatives developed by the city, including the Climate Change Action Plan, the EcoDensity Charter, and the Greenest City Action Team. Jurors were impressed with the integration of wide-ranging ideas for sustainable development, including many that incorporated components of renewable energy on a community level, Vancou ver’s back lane conditions, urban agriculture, land parcellization and tenure, and various designs for green-roof technologies. Many submissions also strongly addressed affordability and livability in the design. The winning submissions thoughtfully put forth multiple innovations and approaches. www.formshiftvancouver.com
Awards Winners of the AIBC Architectural Awards.
At this year’s annual AIBC Architectural Awards, eight awards were bestowed upon British Colum bia’s architectural leaders. Recipients of the Lieu tenant-Governor of British Columbia Award in Architecture Medal for 2009 are: the Arts & Social Sciences 1 and Blusson Hall complex at the Simon Fraser University Burnaby Campus by Busby Perkins+Will Architects Co; and Kensington Park, Robert Burnaby Park and Swalwell Park Wash rooms by Bruce Carscadden Architect Inc. Three projects received Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Merit Awards: the Chimo Aquatic and Fitness Centre by Hughes Condon Marler Archi tects; the North Vancouver City Library by Dia mond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated and CEI Architecture Planning Interiors; and Whistler Public Library by Hughes Condon Marler Archi tects. The 2009 AIBC Innovation Award went to the “22” series of electrical accessories by Omer Arbel for Bocci, and the 2009 AIBC Special Jury Award was granted to Dockside Green—Synergy by Busby Perkins+Will Architects Co. And finally, the first-ever AIBC Emerging Firm Award recog nizes Bowen Island-based JWT Architecture and Planning, led by James Tuer. www.aibc.ca
What’s New Landmarks, Monuments & Built Heritage of the West.
The University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, along with its partners, the Ukrain ian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Archives, the Canadian Architectural Archives, and the Archives of Manitoba, have created a website de voted to Western Canada’s architectural history and the effects it has had on Canadian society. The 7,000 textual documents, photographs, blue prints, films, and sound clips that comprise Land marks, Monuments & Built Heritage of the West document this rich historical legacy. http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/archives/digital/ built_heritage/
Obituary Legendary Canadian architect Arthur Erickson dead at 84.
Arthur Erickson, the Vancouver-born architect known for his groundbreaking designs in concrete and glass, passed away in a Vancouver hospital at
Alain Laforest
News
the latest exhibition organized by Montreal’s galerie monopoli explores the use of the maquette by architects from across the country.
ABOVE
age 84 on May 20, 2009. Born in 1924, he graduat ed from Montreal’s McGill University in 1950 and worked as an associate professor at the University of British Columbia from 1957 to 1963. He first achieved international acclaim soon after for his award-winning design for Simon Fraser Univer sity in Burnaby, British Columbia. Later, he de signed many significant buildings that make up the urban landscape of Vancouver, including the Vancouver Law Courts, Robson Square and UBC’s Museum of Anthropology. Erickson’s success in Vancouver soon spread around the globe. His noted designs include Roy Thomson Hall in To ronto, the Canadian Embassy in Washington, Cali fornia Plaza in Los Angeles, Napp Laboratories in Cambridge, England, Kuwait Oil Sector Complex in Kuwait City, and the Kunlun Apartment Hotel development in Beijing. Architecture critic Trevor Boddy said the distinctive stamp Erickson left on the young West Coast city would be his most en during legacy, as he was the first to believe Van couver could be a world-class city. Boddy stated, “The way that he prodded and primed and hoped that Vancouver would become a better place, more diverse, more dense, more visually engaging, more beautiful, the notion that this geographically iso lated city could be a global contender.” Abridged from the CBC News website. For the full story, please visit www.cbc.ca/canada/story/ 2009/05/20/erickson-obit.html. 06/09 canadian architect
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up date ISSUE 31.2 SUMMER 2009
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The leading voice of architecture in Canada
NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! Second Edition of the Canadian Handbook of Practice for Architects – 2009 The Second Edition of the “CHOP” can be downloaded in a PDF format from the RAIC website as of May 22. Architecture students, intern architects, and licensed or registered architects can purchase the new document for $75 from the RAIC. This new edition contains over 50 checklists, many of them new, updated references and current practice advice. This summer a CD-ROM version and a printed paper copy will also be available for sale.
A Guide to Determining Appropriate Fees for Architectural Services The RAIC has just completed a national fee guideline which includes updated recommendations for percentage-based fees. The guidelines are intended for both clients and architects alike and supports existing provincial fee guidelines and assists architects when negotiating fees with clients. The document is free to download for RAIC members. Printed copies to send to clients will be available for $25 each.
Veronafiere 2009 Another fabulous opportunity offered to Canadian Architects through RAIC membership RAIC members are once again eligible to become one of six lucky architects for a terrific professional development opportunity to attend the trade show Marmomacc held in Italy Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2009. Scholarships cover tui tion, meals, accommodations and local transportation and photo: Philip O’Sullivan, MRAIC the administration fee. Those selected will be responsible for travel costs to and from Verona. Participants earn 20 hours of CORE continuing education credits. The class is limited to 30 architects, 16 from the U.S., six from Canada, and the others from the U.K., South Africa, India and Australia. Interested RAIC members should submit a résumé to Jon Hobbs, FRAIC (jhobbs@raic.org) before June 12, 2009.
2008-2009 RAIC Board Members President Paule Boutin, FIRAC 1st Vice-President and President-Elect Ranjit (Randy) K. Dhar, FRAIC 2nd Vice-President and Treasurer Stuart Howard, FRAIC Immediate Past President Kiyoshi Matsuzaki, PP/FRAIC Regional Directors Stuart Howard, FRAIC (British Columbia/Yukon)
Have you renewed your membership? Use the RAIC online payment system Along with the traditional member ship categories – Architects, Interns or Intern Architects, Graduates, Faculty and Fellows – the RAIC offers opportunities to become a Life Member, Student Associate and Affiliate. With the exception of Affiliates and Student Associates, all these categories allow members to attach the MRAIC (Member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada) and FRAIC (Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada) designations following their name – a recognized symbol of professionalism. To reinforce the numerous roles held by qualified architects in society, the RAIC strongly encourages all licensed (or registered) architects to also use the title “Architect” after their name as well as the appropriate designation MRAIC or FRAIC. Help the RAIC continue to be the voice of architects in Canada by encouraging colleagues to become members.
Wayne Guy, FRAIC (Alberta/NWT) Charles Olfert, MRAIC (Saskatchewan/Manitoba) David Craddock, MRAIC (Ontario Southwest) Ralph Wiesbrock, FRAIC (Ontario North and East/Nunavut) Claude Hamelin Lalonde, FIRAC (Quebec) Paul E. Frank, FRAIC (Atlantic) Chancellor of College of Fellows Alexander Rankin, FRAIC Council of Canadian University Schools of Architecture (CCUSA) Eric Haldenby, FRAIC Editorial Liaison Ralph Wiesbrock, FRAIC Executive Director Jon Hobbs, FRAIC Editor Sylvie Powell The national office of the RAIC is located at: 330-55 Murray St. Ottawa ON K1N 5M3 Tel.: (613) 241-3600 Fax: (613) 241-5750 E-mail: info@raic.org
www.raic.org photo: Philip O’Sullivan, MRAIC
photo: Pierlucio Pellissier, MIRAC
en NUMÉRO 31.2 ÉTÉ 2009
bref
L’Institut royal d’architecture du Canada Le principal porte-parole de l’architecture au Canada
DU NOUVEAU ! Conseil d’administration de l’IRAC de 2008-2009 Présidente Paule Boutin, FIRAC Premier vice-président et président élu Ranjit (Randy) K. Dhar, FRAIC Deuxième vice-président et trésorier Stuart Howard, FRAIC Président sortant de charge Kiyoshi Matsuzaki, PP/FRAIC Directeurs régionaux Stuart Howard, FRAIC (Colombie-Britannique/Yukon) Wayne Guy, FRAIC (Alberta/T.N.-O.)
Deuxième édition du Manuel canadien de pratique de l’architecture – 2009 La deuxième édition du Manuel canadien de pratique de l’architecture pourra être téléchargée en format PDF à partir du site Web de l’IRAC à compter du 22 mai. Les étudiants en architecture, les stagiaires et les archi tectes peuvent se procurer le nouveau document au coût de 75 $. Cette nouvelle édition comporte plus de 50 aide-mémoire dont plusieurs nouveaux, des biblio graphies à jour et des conseils adaptés à la pratique d’aujourd’hui. Dès l’été, il sera également possible de se procurer le Manuel sur CD-Rom ou en version imprimée.
Charles Olfert, MRAIC (Saskatchewan/Manitoba) David Craddock, MRAIC (Sud et Ouest de l’Ontario) Ralph Wiesbrock, FRAIC (Est et Nord de l’Ontario/ Nunavut) Claude Hamelin Lalonde, FIRAC (Québec) Paul E. Frank, FRAIC (Atlantique) Chancelier du Collège des fellows Alexander Rankin, FRAIC Conseil canadien des écoles universitaires d’architecture (CCÉUA) Eric Haldenby, FRAIC Conseiller à la rédaction Ralph Wiesbrock, FRAIC Directeur général Jon Hobbs, FRAIC Rédactrice en chef Sylvie Powell Le siège social de l’IRAC est situé au,: 55, rue Murray, bureau 330 Ottawa ON K1N 5M3 Tél.,: (613) 241-3600 Télec.,: (613) 241-5750 Courriel,: info@raic.org
Un guide aidant à déterminer les honoraires appropriés pour les services d’un architecte L’IRAC vient tout juste de pu blier un guide national sur les honoraires qui comprend notam ment des recommandations à jour concernant les honoraires à pourcentage. Ce guide s’adres se autant aux clients qu’aux architectes et aide les architec tes à négocier leurs honoraires avec leurs clients. Il se veut également un complément aux tarifs d’honoraires existants de certaines provinces. Les membres de l’IRAC peuvent télécharger le docu ment gratuitement. Des copies imprimées pouvant être transmises aux clients seront en vente au coût de 25 $ chacune.
Veronafiere 2009 Avez-vous renouvelé votre adhésion? Si non, vous pouvez le faire dès maintenant en utilisant le système de paiement en ligne de l’IRAC. En plus des catégories de membres usuelles – architectes, stagiaires, diplômés en architecture, universitaires et fellows – l’IRAC offre maintenant la possibilité de devenir membre à vie, membre étudiant associé ou membre affilié. À l’exception des membres affiliés et des étudiants associés, tous les autres membres ont droit d’inscrire les initiales MIRAC (membre de l’Insti tut royal d’architecture du Canada) ou FIRAC (fellow de l’Institut royal d’architecture du Canada) après leur nom – un symbole de profession nalisme reconnu.
Une autre fabuleuse occasion offerte aux architectes canadiens membres de l’IRAC À nouveau cette année, les membres de l’IRAC ont la chance de devenir l’un des six architectes qui recevront une bourse pour suivre un cours sur la pierre et le marbre et assister au salon professionnel Marmomacc en Italie, du 28 septembre au 2 octobre 2009. Les bourses couvrent les frais de cours, les repas, l’hébergement et photo : Philip O’Sullivan, MRAIC le transport sur place, de même que les frais d’administration. Les architectes choisis doivent toutefois assu mer leurs frais de transport en direction et en provenance de Vérone. La participation au cours est reconnue et représente 20 heures de formation continue dans le volet formation DIRIGÉE. Le nombre de participants est limité à 30 architectes dont 16 proviennent des ÉtatsUnis, 6 du Canada et les autres du Royaume-Uni, de l’Afrique du Sud, de l’Inde et de l’Australie. Les membres de l’IRAC qui désirent poser leur candidature doivent faire parvenir un curriculum vitae à Jon Hobbs, FRAIC (jhobbs@raic.org), avant le 12 juin 2009.
Pour mieux faire connaître les nom breux rôles des architectes dans la société, l’IRAC invite aussi fermement tous les architectes à utiliser leur titre « d’architecte » avec la désignation MIRAC ou FIRAC. Encouragez vos collègues à devenir membres de l’IRAC et renforcez ainsi l’IRAC dans son rôle de porte-parole des architectes du Canada.
www.raic.org photo : Lee Gavel, FRAIC
photo : Philip O’Sullivan, MRAIC
Substance and Spectacle
The architecture of this new regional theatre is as dramatic as the performances held within its carefully proportioned interiors. PROJECT Salle de Spectacle DOLBEAU-MISTASSINI | DESJARDINS | MARIACHAPDELAINE, Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec ARCHITECTS Paul Laurendeau | JODOIN LAMARRE PRATTE | architects in consortium TEXT Thomas Strickland PHOTOS Marc Gibert
The combination of architecture and the performing arts has often featured significantly in projects of civic reorganization and unification, both literally and symbolically. One public works project, L’Opéra Paris (Palais Garnier) instigated by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann and designed by architect Charles Garnier in 1861, was planned to unify not only the new formal order of the city but the people as well; it was to be the public face of new Paris. In the 20th century, the white sails of Sydney’s Opera House, designed by Jørn Utzon in 1957, have come to symbolize the emergence of Australia as a cultural and economic force in the international arena. At a smaller scale but with as much ambition, Dolbeau-Mistassini in Quebec hopes a recently completed performing arts centre, designed by Paul Laurendeau Architecte in consortium with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte et associés architectes, will concentrate its diverse and prolific arts scene in one place and represent the continuity of the recent amalgamation of two distinct cities under one governing body.
ABOVE The front entrance to the performing arts centre gracefully reflects the existing buildings along Avenue de l’Église.
In the 1980s, the City of Dolbeau, located 300 kilometres north of Quebec City in the regional municipality of Maria-Chapdelaine, began planning a hall to concentrate the area’s extant community of folk and opera singers, musicians and graphic artists. Yet it was the 1997 merger of Dolbeau with Mistassini, a neighbouring city, and growing support from broadcasters, producers and municipal politicians that crystallized the idea into a project. In 2005, following a thorough study, a site was chosen in the former city of Mistassini and a competition call was issued for a theatre that would pro mote “a new coherence in spite of the heterogeneous character of the neigh bourhood.” (Salle de spectacles de Dolbeau-Mistassini, Concours d’architecture, 2005). Out of roughly 30 submissions, Laurendeau was initially selected as one of four finalists for Phase I of the project’s design competition. Before continuing on to Phase II, and after a change in provincial policy regarding design competitions, he was “encouraged” to form a collaboration with a more experienced firm that was familiar with buildings of similar scale to the performing arts centre. Forming a consortium with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte, Laurendeau’s design went on to win the commission. He is accus tomed to working with the arts and design community, honing his design approach on projects such as Fashionlab (a clothing design agency) in 2001 and DESERT for the collective Champ Libre in 2004 (see CA, November 2004). While the Dolbeau-Mistassini Salle de Spectacle represents a shift in complexity and the architect’s first foray into theatre architecture, the design shows a confident merging of the client’s program requirements and 06/09 canadian architect
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The glazing along the foyer’s second level creates an illusory reflection at night—one that defines a dramatic horizontal element to the architecture. LEFT The simple landscape reinforces the austerity of this building in rural Quebec. BOTTOM LEFT This image of the exterior of the facility illustrates how its stoic volumes provide a radical contrast to the dynamic interior of the building. ABOVE
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former st-michel school (1948 section) theatre supermarket storage orpheon cinema arena
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The gloriously proportioned verticality of the theatre space, which is dramatically dressed in red and gold. ABOVE
institutional agenda with Laurendeau’s design approach. Laurendeau believes that the principles of geometry and proportion are fundamental to the design of a building. “Symmetry,” he explains, “induces a relationship with others; it becomes a shared language.” Beginning with the golden section, a ratio of purportedly divine proportions connected to Vitruvius and found in Le Corbusier’s Modular Man, Laurendeau executed an extensive study of significant 19th-century architectural treatises
combined with a geometric analysis of the Dolbeau-Mistassini program brief. Such historical allusions aside, the building, according to Lauren deau, is not revivalist. The formal geometric arrangements also accommo date programmatic and operational requirements while providing a prin ciple around which contractors can coordinate. Laurendeau’s successful proposal was in plan and volume a close match to the Management Committee’s organigramme—the functional require ments of the proposed theatre. The procession follows a symmetrically arranged central axis beginning with the entrance on Avenue de l’Église, passing through the foyer, lobby, auditorium and ending on the stage. While
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The green room provides a spacious and open environment in which performers may congregate before and after the show; The austere qualities of the dressing rooms are evident.
ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT
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lateral section through the foyer
lateral section through the auditorium
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A bare-bulb light fixture was custom-designed using inexpensive and second-hand parts; A cost-efficient lighting strategy illuminates the well-balanced circular theatre space; The dark walls and ceiling provide a deeply absorptive backdrop for the round black columns in the lobby space that appear to float above the polished concrete floor.
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE
this arrangement might seem obvious and even simple in plan, it is a con sidered solution to the community’s requirement for a significant amount of space in the centre of the building to be used as a meeting hall for clubs and events. Importantly, the foyer’s multi-purpose role is established through movement in and out of the space, which occurs on all four sides. On one side is a grove of trees concealed from Avenue de l’Église by an early 20th-century section of Saint-Michel School; later additions were demol ished to create space for the theatre. When fully grown, the green grove of trees will starkly contrast the spare and polished foyer offering a themed scene, enticing writers and composers to reflect upon the space. Laurendeau has used contrast to effect in the Salle de Spectacle. In the auditorium, which also corresponds to the golden section, the seating is ar ranged in the shape of a drum, the only round form in the building. Taking full advantage of this shape to emphasize the height of the auditorium space, Laurendeau explains that he has structured the balconies to “provoke verti cality and vertigo.” This impetus combined with the seats’ bright red fabric and gold balcony façades defines a palpable distinction between this room and the rest of the building. Occupying the drum’s cardinal point is an enormous circular chandelier, carrying hundreds of lights, which ignite the rich colours. Before a performance begins, the lights are dimmed and the elaborate fixture rises to the ceiling to consolidate the transformative po tential of the theatre, signalling the drift from ordinary to imaginary. On the street, the simple boxy form of the metal-clad theatre sits innocuously behind the elevation. Recalling the golden age of the music hall, the marquee-like façade offers the promise of a revitalized commercial district, and speaks to Dolbeau-Mistassini’s hope for a collective identity. Laurendeau explains that, “as an icon the building has to sustain its function.” For the designer, however, it is not the role of architecture to provide meaning; it is the community, he believes, that will bring significance to the building. Laurendeau’s approach concentrates on the object itself, bringing together principles of geometric order and a history of building typology that create a stage for community identification and articulation. After all, he notes, “It is their building.” CA After a period of time working as an architect, Thomas Strickland is undertaking a doctorate in the history of medical architecture, considering in particular the influence of pop culture in the 1960s and ’70s on innovative, space-age hospital design. He is an occasional art curator and published critic.
CLIENT CITY OF DOLBEAU-MISTASSINI ARCHITECT TEAM PAUL LAURENDEAU, MARC LAURENDEAU, DENIS GAUDREAULT STRUCTURAL DESSAU SOPRIN MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL ROCHE LTÉE LANDSCAPE PAUL LAURENDEAU | JODOIN LAMARRE PRATTE | ARCHITECTS iN CONSORTIUM INTERIORS PAUL LAURENDEAU | JODOIN LAMARRE PRATTE | ARCHITECTS iN CONSORTIUM CONTRACTOR UNIBEC INC. THEATRE CONSULTANT GO MULTIMÉDIA ACOUSTICS LEGAULT & DAVIDSON SIGNAGE/GRAPHICS UNIFORM AREA 2,630 M2 BUDGET $9.2 M COMPLETION OCTOBER 2008
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Core Identity
Two corporate offices in downtown Toronto reassert their respective identities through newly redesigned interior spaces.
PROJECT
Agnico-Eagle Mines Offices, Toronto, Ontario Taylor Smyth Architects
ARCHITECT
PROJECT
Torys LLP Law Offices, Toronto, Ontario Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
ARCHITECT
TEXT
Leslie Jen
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Ben Rahn, A-Frame
Ben Rahn, A-Frame Ben Rahn, A-Frame
In recent years, there has been an increasing level of sophistication apparent in the creation of a public image that positively reflects the values and interests of businesses in the corporate and commercial sector. Integral to this exercise in corporate identity and branding is the physical design of a company’s office space, and the message it delivers to its employees, clients, and the population at large. Here, two businesses—an international mining company and a large corporate law firm—have undertaken major redesigns of their office spaces to accommodate current functions but also to communicate and clarify not only who they are, but what they do and how they do it. In this era of heightened environmental awareness, mining is frequently viewed as a nasty, ugly business dedicated to the extraction and depletion of the earth’s resources. However, Taylor Smyth Architects have attempted to mitigate that reputation through the creation of a subtly elegant head office for Agnico-Eagle Mines in Toronto. Gold and gold-mining operations are the focus of the company, with exploration and development concentrated in Quebec, Finland, Mexico and the US. The Toronto headquarters occupies the top two floors of a five-storey building located just east of the financial core of downtown Toronto, enjoying privileged views of St. James Cathedral and the
Variegated colours and patterns characterize these split stone cores—remnants of the mining extraction process—which are put to good use in this expressive feature wall. TOP Defining one wall of the reception area, horizontally grained travertine slabs are interspersed with the occasional strip of gold-coloured aluminum, evoking stratified geological layers of the earth. The frosted glass behind the display case permits shadowy glimpses of employees in the corridor behind. ABOVE Contained within a wood-framed transparent acrylic screen, striking photographic images of miners at work are featured prominently in the fourth-floor lunchroom. OPPOSITE
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Ben Rahn, A-Frame
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Client Agnico-Eagle Mines Architect Team Michael Taylor, Brian Harmer, Pochi Lu, Joanne Pukier Structural Read Jones Christoffersen Mechanical Toews Engineering Inc. Electrical Ianuzziello & Associates Inc. Interiors Taylor Smyth Architects Art Consultant Darren Alexander AV Consultant AVW-TELAV Contractor Marant Construction Ground Floor Area 1,500 m2 Budget $1.74 M Completion December 2007
The boardroom door is adorned by a floor-to-ceiling luminous backlit panel of translucent stone. ABOVE A display case is set into the striking travertine wall in the reception area, showcasing raw samples of gold ore. TOP
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peaceful park surrounding it. The design of the space concentrates the primary offices and a huge boardroom on the penthouse level, and offices on both floors enjoy generous amounts of outdoor terrace space. Both literal and metaphorical allusions to mining and geological exploration are everpresent. As such, material selections include plenty of stone: travertine sheathes entire walls and limestone is used for flooring. Accented by strips of gold-coloured aluminum, a massive travertine wall rises two storeys from the fourthfloor reception area to the fifth floor, wrapping around an open stair. Contained within this wall is a display case that showcases raw samples of gold ore, the focus of Agnico-Eagleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business. Literal imagery is also incorporated into the office design. In the fourth-floor lunchroom, a seating area is separated from the corridor by a cherry wood-framed screen, into which clear acrylic screens are placed. Transferred onto these
Tom Arban Tom Arban
screens is an enlarged black-and-white photo graphic image of miners at work, discovered in Agnico-Eagle’s archives. The transparency allows views of movement and activity behind the screens, and the effect is striking. But most compelling is the incorporation of actual byproducts from the mining process into the design of the office. Core samples of beauti fully patterned and textured stone have been used to create a feature wall in the reception area. Extracted from bore holes drilled during mining investigations, these split stone cores would otherwise be disposed of, but were meticulously arranged in a vertical sequence of slender columns by the architectural team, who also re tained the hand-drawn chalk marks on the stone as a record of the mining industry process. Visu ally arresting, this wall offers one of the most poetic memories of the office. The Toronto-Dominion Centre has long been established as the financial heart of the country and one of Canada’s architectural icons. Com prised of six office towers and a low-rise banking pavilion, the TD complex is best known for its Mies van der Rohe design, the commission of which we are forever indebted to Phyllis Lam bert. Though Mies (along with Bregman + Hamann and John B. Parkin Associates) was responsible only for the design of the plaza, the banking pavilion, the original TD Bank Tower (1967) and the Royal Trust Tower (1969), over the next two decades, the remaining four build
The vast and spacious reception area of the Torys office on the 33rd floor, where compelling artwork competes with spectacular views of Lake Ontario. ABOVE Pascal Grandmaison’s competition-winning photographic study of an androgynous model covers an entire wall in the north multi-conference room. TOP
ings were designed to be harmoniously consis tent with their older siblings. Within this prestigious complex, Torys LLP occupies 10 floors in the 36-storey TD Water house Tower (1985) on the south side of Wellington Street across the road from Mies’
original TD Bank Tower. Torys is a massive business and commercial law firm with offices in Toronto and New York, and with an impending lease expiration, debated on whether to move entirely or to conduct a substantial renovation to its existing space to better meet the firm’s spatial 06/09 canadian architect
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Tom Arban
Tom Arban
requirements—and, more importantly, to refresh its identity and reputation for contemporary leadership and innovative spirit. After an extensive study was conducted with selected firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), the choice was ultimately made to stay put and renovate. The scope of the project was more or less confined to a complete overhaul of the 32nd and 33rd floors, each ringing in at 30,000 square feet. Revealing the characteristically understated good taste of KPMB, the redesign is in keeping with the generally staid conservatism of a law firm and also the gorgeously ascetic restraint of Mies' original vision. A neutral colour and material palette of dark walnut floors and mill work, fumed oak, marble slab, bronze accents, glass, and matte white walls provides the perfect backdrop for an impressive art collection, and to better accept magnificent views of the lake and the city along with abundant natural daylight. By consolidating all client functions on the 33rd floor and one-third of the 32nd floor, the firm was able to eliminate redundancies and “demonstrate its commitment to providing a high level of client service.” Two impressively scaled conference spaces occupy prime real estate on the 33rd floor. A north-facing multi-conference “room” can be divided into as many as five separate spaces through articulated partition walls that fold up into the ceiling. Moreover, this space enjoys views of Mies’ darkly austere TD Tower across the street. Divisible into four separate spaces, the opposite conference suite occupies the southwest corner of the 33rd floor, capturing glorious views of Lake Ontario. The conventional image of a law firm as an old boys’ club of tufted leather sofas, stinky cigars, 16-hour workdays and an insatiable appetite for billable hours is blown away here, for one could mistake the 33rd floor for a cool, contemporary art gallery. Torys has a long history of collecting art which began in the 1970s, but which really accelerated in the mid-’90s when they retained the services of art consultant Fela Grunwald. The firm communicates its progressive culture and creatively innovative approach to the practice of law through the acquisition and display of art and through its support of artists. Consequently, the firm now owns over 400 pieces of cutting-edge contemporary Canadian The corridor terminates in a spectacular floor-to-ceiling view of the first building completed in the TorontoDominion Centre complex—the Mies van der Rohe-designed TD Bank Tower (1967). The provision of seating offers lawyers a poetic place of respite for reflection or informal meetings. LEFT The sculptural solidity of the staircase forms a focal point in the secondary reception area on the 32nd floor.
TOP LEFT
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art, much of which hangs on the walls of the lengthy corridors which form deliberately con tinuous loops of circulation. These white-walled corridors were designed extra-wide to provide the requisite distance from which to view the art, which further amplifies the gallery feel. Compris ing all scales and types, the pieces hang at con tinuous intervals down the corridors, forming a pleasing rhythm as one moves through the space. Capitalizing upon the role of art in the firm’s identity, the renovation project presented an opportunity to commission fresh contemporary Canadian artwork to help define and embellish the folding partition walls in the aforementioned conference spaces. From submissions by five invited artists, pieces by Montreal-based Pascal Grandmaison and Toronto resident Robert Fones were selected. Grandmaison’s massively scaled close-up photographs of an androgynous face are utterly captivating in the north conference area, and one doesn’t know where to look: the photos or the fabulous view of the Mies tower to the north? In the south-facing conference zone, Fones adapts text from Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote and renders it in barely legible script, superimposing it over photographic images of a blue, blue Lake Ontario, echoing the exhilarating views of the same lake at the city’s edge below. Clearly, it is no longer sufficient to hire an
Tom Arban
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Staircases link the main client-focused floor to the more utilitarian PRACTICE floors below on which lawyers’ offices are located. ABOVE Eroding the sharp corner of the client dining room, sliding doors easily disappear into wall pockets, enabling a greater appreciation of the art lining the corridor walls. TOP
architect to just design a nice office. The de mands being made on design firms require a clear understanding and articulation of what the client represents and what that client chooses to communicate. The design for Agnico-Eagle Mines is very clear about tangibly referencing what the company’s business is all about. In the Torys office, while the design is less literal, it does an excellent job of conveying the ideology of the firm, its process, and its identity. CA
Client Torys LLP Architect Team Marianne McKenna, Steven Casey, George Bizios, Rita Kiriakis, Gary Yen, Thom Seto, Jose Emilia, Lilly Liaukus, Jill Greaves Structural Halcrow Yolles Mechanical Andronowski & Associates Electrical Stantec Engineering Inc. Cost Consultant Curran McCabe Ravindran Ross Acoustical Consultant Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. AV Consultant Westbury Art Consultant Fela Grunwald Fine Arts Lighting Suzanne Powadiuk Design Contractor Rae Brothers Limited Ground Floor Area 180,000 ft2 Budget withheld Completion August 2008
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Practice
A Holistic Approach Holistic Project Delivery
Pre-Design
Roundtable Session Week 1&2
Roundtable Session Week 5&7
Roundtable Session Week 9&11
Session 1&2
Session 3&4
Session 5&6
Approval
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Week 2&4 Problem-Solving Questions BIM
Week 6&8 Problem-Solving Questions BIM
A Vancouver-based architect is helping to develop a streamlined project management process known as the Holistic Project Delivery method.
TEXT
Robert Billard
In recent years, there has been a push for sustain able initiatives through measurement tools such as Green Globes and LEED. However, using a version of the Integrated Design Process (IDP) has reduced many of these strategies to mere buzzwords and marketing tools. To some, current approaches to the IDP-inten sive process can have a single-minded focus on LEED or other green initiatives. Unfortunately, it is incorrect to suggest that IDP emerged as a res ponse to programs like LEED. The IDP approach has been around for much longer and has at least partly contributed to many successful non-com petitive design-build projects, especially in the private sector. Being green is only one part of the goal of a successful project. The evolution in thinking about ecological and sociological issues as a neces sary component to the health of our built environ ment has developers and designers needing to increasingly address a Triple Bottom Line (i.e., measuring economic, ecological and social suc cess) approach. In and of itself, focusing solely on LEED or other green measurement tools is neither an in tegrated nor a holistic approach to a client’s 24 canadian architect 06/09
Working Drawings
Approval
Using a holistic project delivery method, problem-solving questions are defined at the outset, making discussions with planning and permitting authorities more efficient. Additionally, there is a more equitable negotiation process just prior to the approvals and working drawings stages. ABOVE
needs. Alternatively, the IDP promotional mate rials infrequently deal with issues of schedules and budgets. Certainly, being sustainable has a far broader definition than simply being green. What appears to be missing from many IDP in itiatives is an actual plan—a strong set of objec tives and a firm schedule. Each version of the IDP offers either highly complex or overly simplistic bubble diagrams in an attempt to fit within the traditional phases of a project, but rarely a sched ule and a process flow. To address these issues, KMBR Architects Planners Inc. have developed the Holistic Project Delivery (HPD) method. At the root of our con cern, we noticed that processes developed for IDP could benefit from the the application of a workflow management process originally devel oped by Toyota that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful. Known as the “Lean” process, its methodology was de signed to distill the essence of management deci sions and reduce ineffective time management. Its implementation focuses on getting the right things to the right place at the right time in the right quantity to achieve optimum workflow while minimizing waste and maximizing both flexibility and adaptability. In architecture, a
wasteful expenditure of resources often amounts to time lost in circuitous and elaborate lines of communication where internal teams are too large, meetings are ineffective, and there is a lack of strict control over the outcomes and schedul ing of these meetings. Using Lean principles with HPD seeks to streamline these things and get people to focus on their goals. What is HPD?
With HPD, many basic concepts of IDP are in cluded; however, the key is the provision of a “how” along with a clearer vision for the design workflow process. It is founded in a strict objec tive-based process led by the project schedule and physical deliverables. It incorporates green initiatives such as LEED but is not led solely by them. The intent is to approach the project from as many sides with as many minds as possible to ensure as holistic an outcome as possible. HPD can be adapted to any project but used in its pur est form, it results in a significant departure from the traditional schedule and phased project delivery method. How HPD Works
Traditionally, the design of a project is broken down into distinct phases: Schematic Design,
Why HPD Works
By continuously moving back and forth from the micro to the macro in what would normally be the schematic design phase helps to limit the number of unresolved issues which contribute to errors or omissions that can be costly in the grandest phase of all—construction. HPD provides a crystallization of the design prior to assembling the construction documentation in the same way as the traditional schedule allows, but in a faster and more fluid manner while maintaining a strict adherence to the process laid out at the beginning of the project. The time between sessions is used to develop solutions to the next set or layer of program requirements. The Objective-Based Design Groups (OBDGs) are charged with the responsibility to return with solutions to the project’s goals and deliverables. These solutions will range from how to obtain a particular LEED point to meeting a client’s budget constraints to what type of structure to employ. Through strong skills in the areas of project management and organization, the HPD Coordinator is tasked with ensuring that these solutions, and possibly divergent interest groups such as the client and the community, are coordinated and brought to the session table. HPD sessions are similar to the wrap-up sections of a typical design charrette. At the session, information from the Objective-Based Design Groups is presented and the preferred option is selected. This is accomplished through the facilitation of an experienced HPD Coordinator. Emphasis is placed on using the sessions to make decisions. Minutes of these sessions are predominantly documentation of these design decisions, and written acceptance of the minutes is strictly required. Including the client’s groups and authorities in the OBDGs and the sessions serves to negate the traditional phases, where typically there are a series of periodic owner’s reviews and official approvals that break the step of the project and
distort the logical continuity of the developing design. In HPD, the approvals process happens at the sessions. Buy-in by all relevant parties is integrated, immediate and informed.
DESIGN OBJECTIVE PROCESS FLOW
HPD Session
When HPD Works
HPD fosters a more fluid way of conducting the design meetings. The issues and goals are brought forth and tackled by all, regardless of discipline, but held in check by the HPD Coordi nator. For example, the choice of glazing will affect not only the energy efficiency of the HVAC system but the aesthetics, daylighting, glare, secu rity, orientation, landscaping and user scheduling. The HPD Coordinator must keep his finger on the pulse of the project at all times. We have found that a strictly coordinated and focused team can deliver a complex project in roughly six to nine sessions over a period of 12 to 18 weeks and at that point move seamlessly into construction documentation. Having team members at the sessions with approval authority is crucial in compressing the schedule in this manner. For example, a recent school project benefited from having a member of the British Columbia Ministry of Education at the sessions and the schedule was dramatically compressed. Having been a part of the design process, the Minis try was able to approve the project much faster to avoid significant delays based upon traditional review periods. The use of a Building Information Modelling (BIM) tool, such as Revit, is also integral to HPD. Using a three-dimensional design tool to its fullest potential provides a fundamental change in the way the design team functions. BIM offers the client a fast and dynamic means to understand the project rather than otherwise complicated and static two-dimensional drawings. BIM also provides an integrated and swift ability to change, quantify and coordinate various building components. In addition, in the old model of project delivery, senior members with a wealth of experience rely on junior members to implement ideas, creating a “delay” in the realization of a solution. Using BIM brings the tools back into the hands of senior designers and offers earlier results. Concepts are input into the design in real time, cutting out the inefficiency of “middle-men” communication such as between the senior architect and the junior architect/designer and then the architectural technologist. For architects, there is a significant amount of time and money spent on meetings and drawing coordination, to name two
Individual Design Objective
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Design Development, and Working Drawings. Through a pre-determined, strictly scheduled and coordinated number of sessions, along with well-directed Objective-Based Design Groups (OBDG) between the sessions, the HPD method seeks to blur and compress these phases by work ing at the micro and macro levels of design simul taneously. For example, issues such as orientation, programming and massing are intrinsically linked to choices in image, traffic flow, material, planting, energy use, and systems.
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examples. While the HPD members’ individual hourly rates increase, the effectiveness of their input and the reduction in implementation time results in a net gain. There are many other aspects of HPD that serve to provide the client and the project with tangible benefits in areas such as program, sustainability, operations and maintenance. However, at the heart of every project are the simple matters of schedule and budget. Approaching the solution holistically from all angles simultaneously and with a strict process not only provides the best solution for the client but also works to meet the goals of time and cost. As the economy continues to challenge the industry, clients are becoming savvy in their under standing of the architectural process. Providing a clear plan and method that addresses their goals on a holistic level—and not simply providing lip service to an integrated design process or essential sustainable design strategy—will benefit every one. In architecture, it is obvious why we need an integrated design approach. With the HPD method, we also have the how. CA Robert Billard is an architect specializing in educational and sustainable projects across Canada. He developed the HPD method with KMBR Architects Planners Inc. in Vancouver. 06/09 canadian architect
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Review
Graeme Stewart
Carrot City
A recent exhibition at Toronto’s Design Exchange presented a cross-section of current ideas associated with urban agriculture.
TEXT
Sanam Samanian
A recent visit to the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto convinced me that the ideas and theories pertaining to sustainable design in the urban context are continuing to be realized. This former Don Valley industrial site is currently transforming into an extraordinary place where gardening and food production is being put into practice, right in the middle of the city. Could the future of architecture actually see effective strategies for enabling food production incorporated into mainstream design proposals? Based on current population growth estimates, our planet’s human population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2040. The recognition of environmental degradation within our cities has motivated many researchers, environmentalists and designers to consider relocating food-producing entities to serve our urban populations more effectively. With the constant influx of people into urban areas, the need for fresh, accessible and safe food supplies has never been more critical. These concerns have inspired the implementation of innovative ideas relating to urban agriculture across both the developed and developing world. The desire to locate food production within the city comes from the simple need to access nutritious products easily while mitigating costs associated with transporting the food we eat. Unfortunately, farming in cities—or “urban agriculture”—is often viewed as a problem for municipalities rather than as a solution to making them more self-reliant in sourcing food. These problems include limited space devoted to agriculture, resistance by some landowners or businesses in the community, and a general lack of infrastructure and financing to support local food production and distribution. How can architecture help? Carrot City, an exhibition held at Toronto’s Design Exchange this past spring, was devoted entirely to the subject of urban agriculture and how design professionals might play a role in improving the local production of food in urban areas while examining its impact on the design of urban spaces and buildings. Included in the exhibition were numerous projects from cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Inuvik, New York, London and Syd26 canadian architect 06/09
ney. One of the curatorial directors of the exhibition, June Komisar, describes the process as a collaborative journey in which students, designers and architects explored ideas from Canada and around the world that promote the practical adoption of current urban agricultural best practices and thinking. The curators behind Carrot City—Mark Gorgolewski, Joe Nasr and Komisar—have collaborated with their students at Ryerson University to develop an exhibition that addressed possible solutions on four different scales: City, Community, Home, and Products. Carrot City imagines a future where fruit, vegetables and livestock are raised and distributed in urban areas by utilizing greenhouse-growing methods and recycled resources year-round to provide greater food security for urban dwellers. The exhibition proposed a number of architectural concepts that incorporate food-growing techniques, such as new water management technologies and effectively orienting a building on its site. The following discussion provides a brief explanation of some of the ideas contained in the exhibition’s four scales. City
Cities depend on a continuously operating transportation infrastructure to deliver a constant food supply. If this infrastructure shuts down, the city will run out of food in a matter of days. Therefore, it is essential to implement urban agriculture programs into planning, architecture and landscape design early in the development process and over a long period of time. The transformation of our urban spaces into green and fertile environments can also mean new urban design possibilities. Underused spaces such as high-rise towers, public parks, schoolyards, and even laneways can become locations where food is locally produced. Strategies that introduce agriculture on the vertical surfaces of residential and commercial towers are but one example of improving a building’s thermal properties and increasing the potential for greater local food production. An example of bringing urban agriculture to existing high-rise towers comprises part of the Tower Renewal Project, an initiative led by Graeme Stewart of the Toronto-based firm of E.R.A. Architects that hopes to reduce the ecological footprint of aging concrete residential towers by recladding them with more energy-efficient building materials. Introducing urban agricul-
Graeme Stewart OPPOSITE As part of the Mayor’s Tower Renewal proposal, underutilized open space surrounding suburban residential towers could be transformed into farmland. ABOVE Also included in the Mayor’s Tower Renewal initiative, creating farmers’ markets at the base of apartment towers is an effective and accessible way to bring affordable fresh fruit and vegetables to local residents. BOTTOM, LEFT and MIDDLE Work Architecture Company’s Public Farm 1 has transformed sections of cardboard tubes into planters for vegetables, herbs and fruit. BOTTOM RIGHT Under the guidance of Edible Estates, a non-profit devoted to promoting local food production, tenants of this apartment complex are able to grow some of their own vegetables.
ture into the reskinning of existing concrete towers further enhances their sustainability quotient.
is what the Artscape Wychwood Barns project in Toronto has done to strengthen its local community. Combining arts and environmental organizations into a single creative space supporting community engagement through education and food production, the success of Wychwood Barns relies upon the collaboration between Artscape and the Stop Community Food Centre—two non-profit organizations with a vision for sustainable regeneration. The project embraces sustainable design by responding to the issues of water conservation, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and brownfield redevelopment. This is largely being achieved through educational programs centred on environmental issues as well as through the creation of a food centre and community greenhouses where residents are able to grow their own food. Home and Work
Community
Local food production also has the potential to strengthen community. Carrot City clearly illustrates that spaces such as barns or schoolyards can also be used as local community food centres, not just as facilities to improve the social dynamism amongst neighbours. Facilitated through a grassroots community education program, locally grown food can enhance our social and economic lifestyle while having a positive impact on our health and environment. For example, community-building educational initiatives and back-to-work programs using urban agriculture as an economic generator
Dan Wood/Work Architecture Group
Turning lawns, roofs and backyards into a productive landscape of vegetables, fruits and herbs will allow hotels, restaurants and individuals direct access to fresh produce. By applying these ideas to the design of these restaurants, hotels, condos, and residential neighbourhoods, a direct relationship can be established between food production and consumption. An example of this approach is Fritz Haeg’s Edible Estates food education program in North America, which has managed to highlight the strong connection between the sources of our food and the natural environment. In Southwark, London, Haeg went so far as to fertilize the ornamental
Dan Wood/Work Architecture Group
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Megan Torza
Megan Torza
Megan Torza
Products
artisanal baked goods are sold in a local fresh food market. TOP RIGHT Toronto’s Wychwood Barns has brought a farmers’ market to an area of Toronto that previously had none. ABOVE RIGHT The popularity of neighbourhood baking ovens was one of the inspirational legacies of Jane Jacobs that increased the community’s connection to food production. ABOVE
but impractical front lawn of a social-housing estate, transforming it into productive working gardens where residents have established a food-growing cooperative. This simple farming idea has the potential to be implemented for single-family residences, roof gardens, schoolyards, parks, and public spaces—in just about any city imaginable.
Throughout the exhibition, several objects, technologies, systems and components were exhibited to illustrate the potential to increase local food production in urban locations and buildings. Often involving small-scale solutions, many ideas and schemes appear to foster urban agriculture, such as Public Farm 1, designed by WORK Architecture and Elodie Blanchard. Here, folded planes made from cardboard tubes become planters for vegetables, herbs and fruit. This system can also be compartmentalized into small sections to facilitate its transport, which also enables rapid assembly and usage on various sites. Carrot City promises the landscape of our future cities to be a productive one, offering a possible solution to the challenge of increasing urban agricultural production. Now is the time for architects and designers to consciously address these issues and incorporate them into their designs to ensure a healthier and more sustainable future. CA A graduate architect from Ryerson University, Sanam Samanian has been participating in a variety of architectural research projects. She has worked for several architecture firms and is currently working with the Black Pen Group Inc.
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Calendar EXTENSIONS
May 15-June 26, 2009 This exhibition at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre examines the relationships between a family, the physical con struction of a home and the pastoral landscape of Ontario. The exhibition is composed of a 1:1 installation of the Knoxville House in Port Hope, Ontario, designed by Toronto intern architect Haji Nakamura, and in cludes notebooks, models and proto types. Speed Limits
May 20-October 12, 2009 This exhib ition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal addresses the pivotal role played by speed in modern life: from art to architecture and urbanism to graphics and de sign to economics to the material culture of the eras of industry and information. It marks the centenary of the foundation of the Italian Futurist movement, whose inaugural manifesto famously proclaimed “that the world’s magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed.” www.cca.qc.ca Eric Owen Moss Architects: If Not Now, When?
May 29-September 13, 2009 This ex hibition at the SCI-Arc Gallery in Los Angeles features an installation by Eric Owen Moss Architects, which is comprised of an aluminum structure hanging from the gallery ceiling, wrapped variously with ser pentining aluminum ribbons. www.sciarc.edu Twenty and Change
June 3-July 5, 2009 This biennial exhi bition series is dedicated to profil ing emerging designers working in architecture, landscape and urban design who have yet to receive wide spread public and media attention for their speculative or completed work. Canada has a rich community of young designers who are redefin ing the limits of their discipline, setting a new agenda for our social and physical environment. Working in a wide range of scales and across diverse interests, the collection of
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Making Modern
June 13-July 25, 2009 Showcasing de sign from the School of the Art Insti tute of Chicago’s (SAIC) department of Architecture, Interior Architec ture, and Designed Objects (AIADO), this exhibition brings together work by recent AIADO graduate students in the department’s inaugural mas ter’s thesis exhibition. Making Modern will showcase buildings, objects, and systems where humans are part of the globe’s many entwined layers. www.saic.edu
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Future of Canada’s Infra structure Summit
June 24-25, 2009 Taking place at the Holiday Inn Select in Toronto, this conference will enable attendees to capitalize on infrastructure spend ing, stimulate economic recovery, en hance environmental sustainability, assure accountability and transpar ency, manage risk, attain greener energy, build strategic partnerships, and measure the performance of suppliers and vendors. www.strategyinstitute.com
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BOMA International Conference and the Office Building Show
June 28-30, 2009 Commercial real estate professionals need the strat egies and solutions to prosper in a down economy, attract and retain tenants, reduce operating expenses, negotiate more profitable leases, achieve sustainability, keep build ings and tenants safe, and make sound financial decisions that create value. This dual event is the place to learn the strategies and build the relationships needed to achieve operational excellence and sustain business through this challenging market cycle. www.boma.org For more information about these, and additional listings of Canadian and international events, please visit www.canadianarchitect.com
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CUBIC EQUATION windows and cutouts provide privi leged views of the expansive prairie land scape of Saskatchewan. BELOW LEFT The stucco-clad straw bale observatory. LEFT
Atop a hill overlooking Flying Creek Valley, the straw bale observatory provides a spec tacular experiential retreat.
TEXT + PHOTOS
Dennis Evans
The Saskatchewan Prairies’ low, flat horizon encourages one to pay attention to the enormous blue sky. Because of its vastness, one cannot escape the clear intense light. This recognition is 30 canadian architect 06/09
the impetus for building the observatory and using it for image-based investigations. Located at Flying Creek Valley near Craven, the Straw Bale Observatory provides a platform for the documentation of light quality, movement and reflection. As a site-specific work, the structure facilitates the recording of light phenomena. The exterior dimensions of the blocky structure are roughly 12 feet cubed, but the considerable thickness of the walls means that the inter-
ior dimensions are approximately nine feet cubed. The exterior is clad in stucco while the interior is detailed with hand-finished plastered walls and ceiling. The floor is wood. The four walls have two-foot square openings with cardinal direction alignment. These openings, along with an additional elliptical cutout in the ceiling, allow for the passage of light, sound, air and weather. They also serve as viewfinders for making photographs of the landscape. Observatories for the practice of measuring light movement are universal and ancient. The Kogi, native to the Northern Columbian Highlands, are but one of many cultures that still embrace direct observation of the natural environment to inform their codes for meaningful and responsible living. As part of their nature-based aesthetics, the Kogi build temples to watch the sun “weave” its pattern of time across the ground. These rituals of observation and reading light ensure continued contact with their life source and provide a means for expanding the perception of reality. For them, light is the medium. Creating the Straw Bale Observatory brings these ancient Kogi principles into a dialogue with the Prairie landscape and lifeworld—a place resonant with its own history of First Nations’ cultures and their articulation of the connections between art, nature, spirituality, and healing practices. By using ancient models of observation and contemplation, the intent is to add a con temporary dimension to this profound cultural practice. As a means to construct order around us, this project is a system of inquiry linking ancient principles and practices with present dialogue to facilitate new modes of perception, communication, and social interaction for a contemporary audience. CA Dennis Evans is Professor Emeritus at the University of Regina. The Straw Bale Observatory project has stimulated sky/light investigations in Tibet, Mongolia and Ladakh. Flying Creek Valley was documented as part of the television series Landscape As Muse and was featured on the SCN and Bravo television networks.
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