Portfolio 2023

sheelah tolton PORTFOLIO 2023

SHEELAH TOLTON BAS

architectural & interior design

contact:

sheelah.tolton@gmail.com

HEBB THEATRE

interior renovation, seismic & acoustic upgrades

firm: Urban Arts Architecture

location: UBC, Vancouver, BC

client: UBC

date: January-April 2015

Hebb Theatre is a sciences lecture hall at UBC, originally designed and constructed in a period of high modernism. It had sadly fallen into a state of disrepair, while also needing to be upgraded seismically and acousitically.

I was tasked with creating a cohesive plan to update the interior throughout, including documentation of the existing space, opening and brightening the lobby, selecting new surface finishes for the desk seating areas, and to work with the acoustic engineer to create a solution to the echoey main hall that was both visually appealing and more durable than the existing wall treatments.

We decided that the sunken lobby area, originally intended as a coat room and washroom access, and barred from the doors and glazing by a beautiful wood screen, should become a collaborative study lounge. The screen was cut in two and relocated to both prevent views into the washrooms and frame the new backlit whiteboard and tv screen.

The stepped area and two side nooks received new wood millwork seating while an acoustically backed metal ceiling slat system was installed at the upper level. The blue colour and wood theme was extended into the lecture hall itself, where a protective and decorative perforated ply panel was installed over a new, more extensive, fabric acoustic panel system. The design on these panels was created with consultation with staff in the science department to choose imagery that both resonated with the excitement of the atomic age while also staying "timeless" in a field known for debunking it's past truths. In the end, a stylized pattern reminiscent of magnetic fields was chosen and adapted to ensure the ideal opening percentage identified by the acoustic consultant and coordinated for efficiency of production by the CNC shop.

UBC HEBB THEATRE RENOVATION

CENTRE SCOLAiRE SECONdAiRE COmmuNAuTAiRE PAuL-ÉmiLE mERCiER

21st century learning

firm: kobayashi+zedda

architects

location: Whitehorse, YT

client: Yukon Government

date: 2017-2020

KZA prepared the indicative design drawings and project statement of requirements for the new $28 million design-build CSSC Paul-Émile Mercier facility in Whitehorse. I prepared extensive conceptual and preliminary design material for this school and community centre project which is based on a 21st century learning model. Since this is an unfamiliar format of education for many, diagrams explaining the philosophy and the resulting architectural spaces were created. I also mapped site constraints and environmental influences such as prevailing winds, solar exposure, and transportation access as part of the concept design phase.

Francophone Secondary School Functional Programme Completion - Process

PRINCIPES D’APPRENTISSAGE DU 21E SIÈCLE APPLY 21st

During schematic design, I created and revised 3D models, conducted daylighting studies, produced exploded axonometrics, material boards, room data sheets and preliminary FF&E schedules to reflect not only design changes, but also budgetary changes, client feedback and engineering requirements.

Francophone Secondary School

Functional Programme Completion - Process Overview

STUDIOS D’APPRENTISSAGE LEARNING STUDIOS A

∙ les adultes contrôlent et enseignent aux élèves avec des cours magistraux adult control of students through lecture

∙ classe définies de ned learning classrooms

∙ corridors supervisés supervised corridors aires d’éducation prédéfinies et centrales central xed areas of education

PRINCIPES D’APPRENTISSAGE DU 21E SIÈCLE

APPLY 21st CENTURY LEARNING PRINCIPLES

1 9 7 3

∙ indépendance de l’élève dans son apprentissage⁄ independent student study

∙ collaboration entre élèves, travail d’équipe⁄ team collaboration

∙ apprentissage du travail d’équipe et apprentissage grâce au travail d’équipe⁄ team teaching + learning

∙ appprentissage basé sur l’élaboration de projets / project-based learning

classe/ classroom corridor classe de science/ science room vue et lumière naturelle views + natural light

∙ les adultes aux élèves adult control

∙ classe définies classrooms

PRINCIPES D’APPRENTISSAGE DU 21E SIÈCLE APPLY 21st CENTURY LEARNING PRINCIPLES 1

∙ corridors aires d’éducation central

PRINCIPES D’APPRENTISSAGE DU 21E SIÈCLE

APPLY 21st CENTURY LEARNING PRINCIPLES 1

21st C EN TURY LEARN I N G

Ecole Em ilie Trem b lay Mod el

MODÈLE D’ÉDUCATION PROPOSÉ DU 21E SIÈCLE/ PROPOSED 21st CENTURY MODEL

1 9 7 3

aires communes extérieures outdoor commons

201 6

espaces accessoires support spaces (w/c, storage/ IT/ kitchenette) studios d’apprentissage/ learning studios

aires communes commons

∙ indépendance apprentissage⁄ student

∙ collaboration d’équipe⁄

∙ apprentissage apprentissage team teaching

∙ appprentissage de projets lumière naturelle, apprentissage extérieur, connexion avec la nature

natural light, outdoor learning, + connection to nature

OLd CROW COmmuNiTY CENTRE recreation

and community building

firm: kobayashi+zedda

location: Old Crow, YT

client: Vuntut Gwitchin

First Nation Government

date: completion- fall 2021

KZA was retained to design a replacement community centre for the fly-in community of Old Crow. It is a small village of approximately 220, located at 67.5 ° N. Traditionally, the local people are reliant on the migratory caribou herds which roam through the region for clothing, sustenance and shelter. One method of hunting includes using a fence structure, which inspired the exterior cladding.

The existing hall is a wooden building in a circular shape, both aspects which the community requested be replicated in the new facility to reflect the egalitarian and community focused ideals of the culture. The design team took the cue of the circle and developed an NLT, steel and glulam tension structure reminicent of a wheel or an object woven in the round to support the clear span of the main hall. My role in the project started with site analysis, programming and parti drawings, and progressed through to interior and exterior design, modelling, rendering and selection of finishes.

The preliminary design of the community centre included a reception in front of the admin offices and meeting room. I prepared a design for this area which included a Corian topped and caribou hide fronted desk with an accessible height section. This desk was proposed to be located in a lower height wedge of space off of the central entry hall. The dark finishes would would provide a contrasting backdrop to the desk and an instalation of caribou antlers, piles of which can be found throughout the village.

BOREAL COmmONS

87 unit affordable housing complex

firm: kobayashi+zedda

location: Whtiehorse, YT

client: Sammy Hatchem

date: 2019-2021

Boreal Commons is an affordable housing complex of 3 buildings (87 units total), located in the newest and soon to be largest subdivision of Whitehorse. The project is a recipient of funding from Yukon Housing which came with the requirement of 20% of all units to be barrier free to a CSA B651-2018 standard. I worked within the funding, site, code and zoning limitations and with civil, electrical and mechanical engineers, to create a site plan and repeatable building design which would maximize units on site without triggering an expensive sprinkler requirement or require an elevator. A new electrical pedestal and two new hydrants were required, and all interior roads have 12m corner radii to allow for firetruck access.

The building design uses a butterfly roof to minimize visual impact, and is clad in low maintenance corrugated steel and cementitious lap siding. The units themselves are designed to be highly efficient, maximizing living and storage space and minimizing corridors. Large windows are a must in apartments in the North since time outdoors is so limited by climate; fully glazed exterior doors and 5’-9” window units are used throughout.

CHALLENGE CORNERSTONE

six storey mixed use building

firm: kobayashi+zedda

location: Whtiehorse, YT

client: Challenge Disability Resource Group date: 2019-2022

The client, Challenge Disability Resource Group, came to KZA with the goal of creating a building that would house not only their growing office, but also provide a cafe as part of their work trainging program, and supportive housing for their clients. To help them financially make this happen, the project also gained a large commercial lease space on the ground level, and penthouse market housing.

My contributions to this project started from programming and conceptual design, all the way to interior finish drawings and material selection, all embodying the fun and geometric theme of the design.

Exterior render

Millwork: Wilsonart Dove Geo (bottom cabinets), and Phantom Charcoal (countertop), Frosty White (uppers) Pulls: Richileu Contemporary Metal Pull - 5632

Interior & Exterior HPL Accents: Gentas UV+ 3145

Lounge room with gradient install of Shaw Hexagon in Brilliant and Proportion colour ways.

Corridor carpet: Shaw Colour at Work II, Saturate Pink and Brown, with pink tiles at unit doors

Unit Entry Doors: Clear finish quarter sawn Douglas Fir veneer

Unit Floors: Karndean, Van Gogh, French Oak

PERSONAL WORK

material art and design

I am a life long learner who is continually learning more about different materials, processes and techniques. Out of the wide range of media and work I make, I have two recent projects I am most proud of currently. The first is the work I created as part of the Chu Níikwän Artist Residency. I used the birdhouse, a structure we often create in mimicry of the exterior of our fantasy of home when given freedom from typical constraints like budget and site, and despite this having no known benefit to the avian inhabitants. A Platonic house, if you will. This format gives a unique opportunity to delve into the question of why we make the decisions we do around housing, and what is reflective of our nature in a similar way to the natural home of a bird. In one I contrast the reality of a single condo unit to what we often imagine in the abstract of the home by taking a single unit and hanging alone in suspense, torn from the structure we usually see around it. What about our supposed future off planet? In a period of widespread housing and climate crisis, the question of what we need and imagine as home is more relevant to address than ever before.

The second project consists of a line of Canadian made and Yukon inspired recyclable wrapping paper. Most commonly found wrapping papers are not recyclable and tend to lean heavily on iconography related to gender, regligon, or commercial industry. I wanted to make a more eco friendly and universal product that aesthetically connects to nature and reflects the unique Yukon beauty and culture.

thanK YoU.