Sudbury Art Gallery Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive Reuse Art Gallery

Situated on the edge of Downtown Sudbury, the Northern Breweries building was constructed in the early 1900’s and has now become abandoned. The site analysis and research uncovered the conceptual intentions of the gallery which emphasize the industrial processes of the building, celebrating its history and typology through moments of discovery and transparency. With the use of adaptive reuse strategies, the history of the building is embedded in the design to create a community microcosm with the use of public programming. Due to the inherent grandness of the building, there was opportunity to reveal moments from one gallery to the next, using the horizontal and vertical attributes of the building. From the gathering space on the ground floor, visitors will get a glimpse of the temporary installation located on the second floor. As visitors circulate up to second floor from the experimental gallery, the permanent galleries reveal themselves and lead to the temporary gallery. The use of light choregraphs the movements between the gallery spaces by adjusting the conditions from direct to diffuse light. To further develop the notion of a community microcosm within the design, the temporary gallery’s and its location on the ground floor activates the other public programming such as the workshop space, cafe, retail, and library.

Year | winter 2019 - undergraduate Team | individual Location | Downtown Sudbury, ON

Ground floor plan and site design within the context of Downtown Sudbury.

Second floor plan of the permanent and temporary gallery spaces.

The north-south elevation along Lorne Street.

The north-south section is cut through the threshold between public and semi-public space where visitors ascend to the large scaled permanent gallery displaying Maskull Lasserre’s sculptures. 47

The section model is cut through a series of galleries to capture the essence of light and circulation through the design.

The 1:50 massing model, made of 3mm birch ply, ash wood, and resin, illustrates the buildings scale within its context.

The series of vignettes explores light, circulation, scale, and moments of transparency within various galleries and public spaces.