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contents

12/08 canadian architect �

26 the Winners Profiles of the 2008 award reciPients.

66 List of entrants

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

deceMBer 2008, v.53 n.12coVer a ProPosal for an aBandoned oil rig in the casPian sea, Part of the Con­ver­gen­t SpeCieS suBMission By university of toronto architecture student vivian chin.

56 vivian chin, university of toronto

22 aWards of exceLLence froM a record nuMBer of suBMissions, only four Profes­

sional Projects distinguished theMselves this year as suPer­lative exaMPles of architecture, while graduating archi­tecture students iMPressed with their Poetic aPProaches to real­life issues.

30 stantec architecture/KuwaBara Payne McKenna BluMBerg architects 34 rdh architects inc.

40 PatKau architects inc.

44 PatKau architects inc.

48 Michael Barton, university of British coluMBia

52 Kevin jaMes, dalhousie university

59 Marie­gil Blanchette, Mcgill university

10 canadian architect 12/08

viewpoint

International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture which takes place every second year, challenging students to explore themes of sun­light and daylight in their broadest sense. With no specific categories or requirements, submis­sions include everything from building design to the rethinking of daylight in urban living con­texts. The jury—comprised of Hani Rashid (USA), Enrique Browne (Chile), Huat Lim (Malaysia), Francis Nordemann and Michel Langrand (France), and Eva Jiricna (UK)—examined 686 projects from 244 schools in 46 countries, there­by sampling the current zeitgeist in global archi­tectural education.

The winner of this year’s VELUX Award is Reilly O’Neil Hogan, a recent graduate from Cor­nell who examined the changing light qualities of a commuter station in Lower Manhattan. Adriana Ross, a student from Carleton University, re­ceived an honourable mention and was the only Canadian finalist. Largely inspired by the way a spider’s web catches natural sunlight, Ross’s pro­ject addresses how an apartment tower can incorporate either direct or diffuse natural day­light into its design. Her metaphorically infused solution is enhanced by other physical interven­tions such as double­skin façades and cross­ventilation, along with patterned cutouts in con­crete slabs.

Receiving an all­expenses­paid trip to Venice to collect their awards, the three winners and eight honourable­mention recipients gained a tremendous sense of confidence and validation for their work. Accustomed to being browbeaten by their architecture professors and criticized for failing to presciently address design problems challenging our profession, the students were emotionally overwhelmed by the ceremonies that honoured them. It is not every day that students are given an open platform on which to confi­dently display and discuss their ideas. The joy in recognizing our young talent is perhaps a good way to end 2008, providing us with a sense of hope and optimism as the architectural profes­sion enters a period of economic uncertainty.

For every jury there is a reason. This year, the jury for the Canadian Architect Awards of Excel­lence decided to give an unprecedented number of awards to architecture students, while select­ing fewer than usual submissions from architec­tural firms. Readers will note that many of the jury’s comments relate to research in practice, or a lack thereof. However, upon reviewing the stu­dent projects, the jury’s disappointment turned into optimism. And students couldn’t be happier with the jury’s declaration that they have emerged as the real winners in this year’s Awards of Excellence.

Are we experiencing an unprecedented shift in the way we value the innovation emerging from architecture schools? Undoubtedly, the profes­sion will continue to grumble about the lack of real working­world preparedness in recent graduates, but what about the many offices that neglect to include architectural design research as part of their business plan? While principals of design firms complain about the naïveté of our young graduates, the building and construction industry has embraced the burgeoning leader­ship and innovation demonstrated by architec­ture students around the world.

There are a few recent examples of organiza­tions—many of them led by the building indus­try—that support the work of today’s architecture students. Two notable competitions include the Holcim Awards and the International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture.

Developed by the Holcim Foundation for Sus­tainable Construction, the Holcim Awards pro­gram is an extensive multi­regional and inter­national competition that celebrates innovative and tangible sustainable projects. During every three­year competition cycle, the Holcim Awards includes a “Next Generation” category in which many of the 2008 recipients were students. Examples of the student projects include an eco­system revitalization proposal for Suzhou Creek in China by a Taiwanese student, and the Dharavi redevelopment in Mumbai, India by two archi­tecture students from Germany.

Another important awards program is the

aBove There are many forums in which The work of archiTecTure sTudenTs is held in very high regard amongsT The global archiTecTural communiTy, and The inTernaTional veluX award for sTudenTs of archiTecTure provides a good eXample. The laTesT selecTion of winning projecTs for This awards program was celebraTed in venice in november.

ian chodikoff ichodikoff@canadianarchitect.com

editorian chodikoff, OAA, MRAIC

associate editorleslie jen, MRAIC

editorial advisorsjohn mcminn, AADIpl.marco polo, OAA, MRAICcharles waldheim, OAlA(HOn.), FAAR

contriButing editorsgavin affleck, OAQ, MRAICherberT enns, MAA, MRAICdouglas macleod, nCARb

regional correspondentsHalifax chrisTine macy, OAAMontreal david TheodoreWinnipeg herberT enns, MAAregina bernard flaman, SAACalgary david a. down, AAAedMonton brian allsopp, AAA

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Veronafiere: Participants rock out in Italy

Each year RAIC awards five RAIC members scholarships to attend Veronafiere’s continuing education courses and MARMOMACC, the world’s leading trade fair for the marble and stone industry.This year’s RAIC member recipients offer commen-tary and testimonials on this opportunity.

First let me thank the RAIC for maintaining this opportunity for Canadian Architects in Verona, Italy. The experience was unlike any trip I have ever taken. The perfect balance of vacation activities combined with educational seminars. The event could not have been any better prepared... Top to bottom I enjoyed my time in Italy with my colleagues from all over the world. I enjoyed myself so much I am planning to attend the AIA conference in San Francisco in May to reunite with many of them.

– Philip O’Sullivan, MRAIC

Wow, did you see him halve that piece of rock; incredible. And now, there they go on their tractor after a job well done. It must be very rewarding. They must be thinking what’s all the fuss? After all, they are the star attraction, handling all those beautiful rocks. One could say that they are the “original rock stars”!

– Liza Medek, MRAIC

It was a very comprehensive continuing education opportunity with theoretical courses, practical experi-ences and site visits. Marmomacc was a mind bog-gling trade show – the largest I have seen...

The site visits were informative and inspiring... The site visit to the Cave di Falcovia quarry, from which Michelangelo obtained his marble was particularly awe inspiring. The tour to the Henraux plant in the Village of Querceta in Tuscany province was a high-

light, providing insights into the cut-ting, polishing and finishing aspects of cut-to-size stone... Overall, it was a great learning experience, a great architectural experience and a great social experience with 30 architectural colleagues from around the world.

– Robert B. Guthrie, MRAIC

I must thank you again because it was a great and interesting experience, great guys, very interesting tours of the quarries and really exceptional hosting by the Italians. I enjoyed it a lot.

Of course we Canadians were at the heart of the action (until 2 in the mor-ning every night!) beating the Amer-icans, South Africans, Irish, English

and Aussies with flying colors, well not so flying the morning after.

– Pierlucio Pellissier, MRAIC

Lee Gavel, FRAIC also attended.

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2008-2009 RAIC Board Members

PresidentPaule Boutin, FIRAC

1st Vice-President and President-ElectRanjit (Randy) K. Dhar, FRAIC

2nd Vice-President and TreasurerStuart Howard, FRAIC

Immediate Past PresidentKiyoshi Matsuzaki, PP/FRAIC

Regional Directors

Stuart Howard, FRAIC(British Columbia/Yukon)

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 FellowsAlexander Rankin, FRAIC

Council of Canadian University Schools of Architecture (CCUSA)Eric Haldenby, FRAIC

Editorial LiaisonRalph Wiesbrock, FRAIC

Executive DirectorJon Hobbs, FRAIC

EditorDenise MacDonald

The national office of the RAIC is located at:

330-55 Murray St.Ottawa ON K1N 5M3

Tel.: (613) 241-3600Fax: (613) 241-5750

E-mail: info@raic.org

www.raic.org

updateISSUE 30.4 WINTER 2008

The Royal Architectural Institute of CanadaThe leading voice of architecture in Canada

The RAIC has launched their new hybrid online re-cruitment system. Archi-Staff.ca delivers effective recruitment solutions to both employers and employees in the architec-tural profession. This system sits between, and offers an alternative to, full-service recruitment consultants and press-based advertising. Search for candidates or jobs at www.archistaff.ca today!

ArchiStaff site launched

Liza

Med

ek,

MR

AIC

Be sure to submit your application next year to participate in

this great learning experience.

Art Matters Public Forum webcastOn October 15, over 125 people joined Their Excellencies for a discussion on the theme How do we sustain buildings? How do buildings sustain us? with panelists David Hughes, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada; Jean-Claude Marsan, O.C. Hon. FIRAC, architect and urban planner; and Sheryl Boyle, MRAIC, assistant professor, Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism of Carleton University. View the webcast and add your thoughts www.architecture.gg.ca. RAIC hosts another Provincial Roundtable

A Roundtable with representatives from all the Provincial and Territorial Architecture Associations, the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, and RAIC took place at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Highlights included:

• General agreement on changes proposed to the Canadian Educa-tion Standard;

• An update on RAIC Syllabus Renewal and its approval process through Athabasca University Governing Council and the Alberta Government – the proposed name will be the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University;

• General agreement to prepare and complete documentation for implementation by all licensing authorities on the Broadly Experi-enced Foreign Architect (BEFA) licensing process.

photo: Thérèse LeBlanc, MRAIC

Governor General Medals of Architecture: Ceremony at Rideau HallOn October 17, the Governor General Medals in Architecture were presented to representatives of the twelve winning projects by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean at Rideau Hall. Pictures of the event are available at www.gg.ca.

photo: MCpl Jean-François Néron

Upcoming RAIC Festivals of Architecture• June 17-20, 2009: Montreal• 2010: Saskatoon• 2011: Vancouver

Architecture students: beyond the studio“For many students, the school of archi-tecture is the only practice of architec-ture we know. Deadlines. All-nighters. Papers piled high on the drafting board and taped or pinned to every surface. Last minute model

repairs. Crashing computers. The final crit. We often need to be reminded that archi-tecture does extend beyond drawings and models on your studio desk, and that good architecture is more than just a good crit. At the same time, I think it might be just as important to remind the profession what architecture is when it is about a strong

concept and design, a well-drawn drawing, and a well-crafted model.

I have been a student associate and mem-ber of the RAIC for several years. I enjoy flipping through the pages of Canadian Architect every month. I have made many productive contacts and appreciate being informed of events and various opportun-ities through the newsletters.

However, I believe that the true value of my membership is in being able to contribute to the discussion and development of Can-adian architecture. It is our future profes-sion and we are the profession’s future. I admit that is a bit of an idealistic comment but it is also a practical one. The architec-tural community and environment being promoted and advocated in large part by the RAIC is the one that we will someday

be practicing in. It should reflect our val-ues. It should reflect what we believe archi-tecture is and should be.

The RAIC represents architecture in Can-ada. The schools of architecture and their students need to be part of that.”

Sarah Gelbard, MArch, MRAIC2008 RAIC Student MedalistCarleton University School of Architecture

Students in a full-time graduate-level pro-fessional degree program in architecture can become RAIC members for free. To find out more, visit the Becoming a Mem-ber page of the Membership section of the RAIC’s website: www.raic.org.

RAIC Board meeting and Strategic PlanningThe RAIC Board of Directors met in Ottawa for their regular meeting and strategic planning session on October 16 and 18.

Last year’s strategic plan has been reviewed and updated. The revised plan will provide direction on governance, the role of regional directors, communications, and chapter development. In addition, the RAIC Foundation’s new strategic plan was also presented and approved in principle.

RAIC Practice Support work continues The RAIC has the following projects underway:

• A complete update to the Cana-dian Handbook of Practice for Architects (CHOP) with the incor-poration of all four Supplements, revised links and bibliographies, and an full electronic version – completion is expected to be Janu-ary 2009;

• The development of a national Guide for Negotiating Appropriate Fees for the Services of an Architect – the launch is expected to be at the 2009 Festival of Architecture in Montréal;

• Housekeeping changes to Document Six and the Architectural Competitions website.

dans le village de Querceta en Toscane a été un grand moment et nous a permis d’observer les méthodes de coupe, de polissage et de finition de la pierre aux dimensions voulues ..Ce voyage fut une grande expérience sur les plans éducatif, architectural et social, que j’ai eu le plaisir de partager avec 30 collègues architectes de diverses régions du monde.

– Robert B. Guthrie, MRAIC

Je tiens à vous remercier encore, car ce fut une expérience hors du commun; personnes extraordinaires, visites de carrières très intéres-santes et accueil vraiment exceptionnel des Italiens. J’ai beaucoup aimé mon voyage.

Les Canadiens sont restés au cœur de l’action tous les soirs jusqu’à 2 heures du matin, plus tard que les Américains, les Sud-Africains, les Irlandais, les Anglais et les Australiens, mais

force est d’admettre qu’ils étaient un peu moins « le haut du pavé » le lendemain matin.

– Pierlucio Pellissier, MRAIC

Lee Gavel, FRAIC a également fait partie du voyage.

Conseil d’administration de l’IRAC de 2008-2009

PrésidentePaule Boutin, FIRAC

Premier vice-président et président éluRanjit (Randy) K. Dhar, FRAIC

Deuxième vice-président et trésorierStuart Howard, FRAIC

Président sortant de chargeKiyoshi Matsuzaki, PP/FRAIC

Directeurs régionaux

Stuart Howard, FRAIC(Colombie-Britannique/Yukon)

Wayne Guy, FRAIC(Alberta/T.N.-O.)

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 fellowsAlexander Rankin, FRAIC

Conseil canadien des écoles universitaires d’architecture (CCÉUA)Eric Haldenby, FRAIC

Conseiller à la rédactionRalph Wiesbrock, FRAIC

Directeur généralJon Hobbs, FRAIC

Rédactrice en chefDenise MacDonald

Le siège social de l’IRAC est situé au,:

55, rue Murray, bureau 330Ottawa ON K1N 5M3

Tél.,: (613) 241-3600Télec.,: (613) 241-5750

Courriel,: info@raic.org

www.raic.org

Veronafiere : les participants sont impressionnés de leur voyage en Italie

Tous les ans, l’IRAC remet une bourse à cinq de ses membres pour participer aux cours de formation conti-nue de Veronafiere et à l’exposition MARMOMACC, le principal salon commercial au monde sur l’industrie du marbre et de la pierre.

Voici les commentaires transmis par les récipiendaires de cette année.

Permettez-moi tout d’abord de remercier l’IRAC d’offrir à des architectes canadiens une telle possibilité d’aller à Vérone, en Italie. L’expérience s’est révélée tout à fait différente de tous les voyages que j’ai effectués jusqu’à maintenant. L’équilibre entre les activités touristiques et les séminaires éducatifs était parfait. L’événement n’aurait pu être mieux organisé...Du début à la fin, j’ai apprécié mon séjour en Italie avec des collègues des quatre coins du monde. En fait, j’ai tellement apprécié leur présence que je prévois assister au congrès de l’AIA à San Francisco en mai prochain, pour revoir plu-sieurs d’entre eux.

– Philip O’Sullivan, MRAIC

Wow! L’avez-vous vu couper en deux cette pierre? Incroyable! Et maintenant, il repart sur son tracteur avec la satisfaction du travail bien accompli. Ce doit être très gratifiant. Tous ces artisanss doivent se demander pour-quoi une telle agitation autour d’eux. C’est qu’ils sont de vraies stars et qu’il est très inhabituel de les voir mani-puler toutes ces belles pierres. On pourrait dire qu’ils sont des « rock stars »!

– Liza Medek, MRAIC

Le sujet a été traité de manière exhaustive avec des cours théoriques, des expériences pratiques et des visi-tes de différents sites. Marmomacc est un salon com-mercial époustouflant. Le plus grand que j’ai vu jusqu’à maintenant...

Les visites ont été fort instructives et inspirantes. ...La visite de la carrière Cave di Falcovia, où Michelangelo s’approvisionnait en marbre était particulièrement émou-vante. La visite des installations de la société Henraux

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ICN’oubliez pas de soumettre votre

candidature pour participer à cette grande expérience l’an prochain.

enbrefNUMÉRO 30.4 HIVER 2008

L’Institut royal d’architecture du CanadaLe principal porte-parole de l’architecture au Canada

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L’IRAC a lancé son nouveau système hybride de recrute-ment en ligne. ArchiStaff.ca offre des solutions de recru-tement efficaces aux emplo-yeurs et aux employés du milieu architectural. Ce système offre une solution de rechange à l’embauche de consultants en recrute-ment offrant une gamme complète de services et la publication d’annonces dans les journaux. Si vous avez des postes à combler ou si vous êtes à la recherche d’un emploi en architecture, consultez dès aujourd’hui le site www.archistaff.ca!

Lancement du site ArchiStaff

Webdiffusion du forum public du Point des artsLe 15 octobre dernier, plus de 125 personnes se sont jointes à Leurs Excellences pour discuter Architecture et société : conjuguer un déve-loppement durable et harmonieux. Les panélistes invités étaient David Hughes, président-directeur général d’Habitat pour l’humanité; Jean-Claude Marsan, O.C. Hon. FIRAC, architecte et urbaniste; et Sheryl Boyle, MRAIC, professeure adjointe à l’Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism de l’Université Carleton. Visionner la webdiffusion et par-ticiper au dialogue au www.architecture.gg.ca. L’IRAC est l’hôte d’une autre table ronde provinciale

Une table ronde réunissant des représentants de tous les ordres provin-ciaux et territoriaux d’architectes, du Conseil canadien de certification en architecture et de l’IRAC a eu lieu au Musée canadien de la guerre, à Ottawa.

Parmi les faits saillants de cette rencontre, mentionnons :

• Entente générale sur les modifications proposées à la Norme canadienne de formation académique;

• Présentation d’un compte-rendu sur le renouvellement du Syllabus de l’IRAC et son processus d’approba-tion par l’entremise du Con-seil de l’Université Athabas-ca et le gouvernement de l’Alberta – le nom qui est proposé pour le programme est : Centre d’architecture de l’IRAC à l’Université Atha-basca;

• Entente générale pour que toutes les autorités délivrant des permis préparent et remplissent les documents relatifs à la mise en œuvre du processus d’octroi de permis aux architectes de l’étranger possédant une vaste expérience.

photo : Thérèse LeBlanc, MRAIC

Médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture : cérémonie à Rideau Hall Le 17 octobre dernier, son Excellence la très honorable Michaëlle Jean a remis les médailles du Gouverneur général en architecture aux représentants des douze projets lauréats. L’événement a eu lieu à Rideau Hall. Des photos de la cérémonie sont affichées sur le site www.gg.ca.

photo : Cplc Jean-François Néron

Prochains festivals d’architecture de l’IRAC• 17-20 juin 2009 : Montréal• 2010 : Saskatoon• 2011 : Vancouver

Réunion du conseil d’administration de l’IRAC et planification stratégiqueLe conseil d’administration de l’IRAC a tenu sa réunion ordinaire et sa séance de planification stratégique les 16 et 18 octobre.

Il a revu et actualisé le plan stratégique de l’année dernière. Le plan révisé fournira des orientations sur la gouvernance, le rôle des admi-nistrateurs régionaux, les communications et le développement de sections régionales. Par ailleurs, le nouveau plan stratégique de la Fondation de l’IRAC a été présenté au conseil d’administration qui l’a approuvé en principe.

Étudiants en architecture : au-delà de l’atelierPour bien des étu-diants, la seule façon connue de pratiquer l’architecture est celle qu’ils adoptent à l’école d’architecture. Toujours à la dernière minute. Travail de nuit. Papiers empilés sur la table à dessin ou aide-mémoire affi-chés partout où se portent les regards.

Réparations de dernière minute aux maquet-tes. Ordinateurs qui « plantent ». Critique fina-le. Il faut souvent nous rappeler que l’archi-tecture c’est beaucoup plus que les dessins et les maquettes qui sont sur nos tables de travail et que la bonne architecture, c’est plus qu’une bonne critique. Parallèlement, je crois qu’il est tout aussi important de rappeler à la profession ce qu’est l’architecture lorsque le concept et le design sont puissants, que les

dessins sont bien exécutés et que la maquet-te est bien réalisée.

Je suis membre de l’IRAC à titre d’étudiante associée depuis plusieurs années déjà. J’ap-précie les avantages liés à mon adhésion. J’aime feuilleter le magazine Canadian Archi-tect que je reçois tous les mois. J’ai dévelop-pé plusieurs relations et je suis bien informée des activités et des diverses possibilités qui s’offrent à moi grâce aux bulletins électroni-ques.

Toutefois, je crois que la vraie valeur de mon adhésion à l’IRAC vient du fait que je peux participer à la discussion et contribuer à l’es-sor de l’architecture canadienne. L’architectu-re est la profession que nous exercerons et nous représentons l’avenir de cette profes-sion. Je suis bien consciente que ce com-mentaire est idéaliste, mais il est aussi très concret. Nous ferons un jour partie de la communauté architecturale dont l’IRAC fait la promotion et nous exercerons un jour notre

profession dans l’environnement que l’IRAC prône. Il est important que cette communauté reflète les valeurs qui sont les nôtres, qu’elle reflète notre vision de ce qu’est et de ce que devrait être l’architecture.

L’IRAC représente l’architecture au Canada. Les écoles d’architecture et leurs étudiants doivent en faire partie.

Sarah Gelbard, M. Arch., MRAICRécipiendaire d’une médaille étudiante de l’IRAC 2008École d’architecture de l’Université Carleton

Les étudiants inscrits dans un programme de grade professionnel en architecture peuvent adhérer à l’IRAC gratuitement. Pour en apprendre davantage, consultez la page Devenir membre sous la section Adhésion du site Web de l’IRAC : www.raic.org.

L’IRAC poursuit ses efforts pour soutenir la pratiqueL’IRAC travaille actuellement aux projets suivants :

• Une mise à jour complète du Manuel canadien de pratique de l’architecture (MCPA) qui intègre les quatre Supplé-ments, actualise les liens et les biblio-graphies et sera offert en version élec-tronique – on prévoit avoir terminé la mise à jour en janvier 2009;

• La préparation d’un Guide national pour la négociation des honoraires appropriés relativement aux services d’un architecte – on prévoit lancer le document dans le cadre du Festival d’architecture de 2009, à Montréal;

• Certaines modifications au Document Six et au site Web des concours d’architecture.

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12/08­ canadian architect 21

hope for the futureawards of excellence 2008

noting a paradigm shift in the way students think about the future of architecture, the jury declared them as the real winners in this year’s awards of excellence.

bing thom is the founding principal of Van­couver­based Bing Thom Architects Inc. (1980). While studying architecture at the University of British Columbia, he began working for his in­structor and mentor, Arthur Erickson. Subse­quently, he completed his Master of Architecture degree at the University of California at Berkeley, where he helped pioneer one of the first academic programs in Ethnic Studies in North America. Thom distinguished himself early on in his career with groundbreaking design work for World Fair exhibitions, and helped define Expo 86 by designing its most acclaimed pavilions. Shortly thereafter, he was awarded the commis­sion to design the Canada Pavilion for Expo 92 in Seville, Spain. Among Thom’s other successes are the master plans for the cities of Dalian and Yuxi in China, and the creation of Surrey Central City (see CA, March 2004). Other projects in­clude the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC; the Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, BC; the Pacific Canada Pavilion at the Vancouver Aquarium and Marine Science Centre; the Trinity Uptown Plan for Fort Worth, Texas; the recently completed Sunset Community Centre; and the highly anticipated Arena Stage theatre complex in Washington, DC. Thom’s talent and service has been recognized by a range of honours including the Order of Canada, the Golden Jubilee Medal, honorary degrees from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia, and an honorary professorship from Tongji University in Shanghai.

siamak hariri was educated at the University of Waterloo and Yale University, and is a founding partner of Hariri Pontarini Architects (1994), a firm that has since established a reputation for the creation of innovative architecture. Hariri is the partner­in­charge of the Progressive Architecture Award­winning Bahá’i Temple for South America in Santiago, Chile, and also leads the University of Toronto Faculty of Law project which comprises new facilities for law students, faculty and administrators. Hariri’s internationally acclaimed projects include the McKinsey Toronto Headquarters at the University of Toronto’s Victoria University Campus, which was the youngest building to ever receive heritage designation by the City of Toronto, and which became the model for all future McKinsey & Co. offices worldwide. He is also responsible for developing the Governor General’s Award­winning Schulich School of Business at York University. Currently, he is the partner­in­charge of the Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine at the University of Waterloo and the recently completed Department of Economics—Max Gluskin House at the University of Toronto. Hariri has taught at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Land­scape and Design as an adjunct professor, and he sits on the boards of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Institute of Contemporary Culture, the Toronto Community Foundation, and the Waterfront Design Review Panel.

christine macy is a professor of architectural de­sign and history at Dalhousie University. Her re­search includes the representation of cultural identity in architecture, public space design, civic infrastructure, temporary urbanism and festival architecture. She holds architectural degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1990, Macy established Filum, her partnership with Sarah Bonnemaison, a firm that specializes in lightweight structures and public space design for festivals. Design projects include Gestures Pavil­ions, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (2005); Tower to Industry, Nova Scotia Museum (2001); Hummingbird: Millennium Flags Installation, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (2000) which received the Design Exchange Merit Award; Birchtown Inter­pretive Centre, Black Loyalist Heritage Society (1998); Fuji Pavilion, Botanical Garden, Montreal (1996); Women’s Monument Competition, Van­couver (1994) which received a Special Mention; and the public plazas for General Motors Place, Vancouver (1992­4). Before joining the faculty at Dalhousie, Macy taught at UC Berkeley and the University of British Columbia. Books she has authored include Greening the City: Ecological Waste­water Treatment in Halifax (Dalhousie Architecture, 2001); Architecture and Nature: Creating the Ameri­can Landscape (Routledge, 2003) co­authored with Sarah Bonnemaison and 2005 recipient of the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award from the Society of Architectural Historians; Festival Architecture (Rout­ledge, 2007); and Dams (Norton, forthcoming).

22 canadian architect 12/08­

be surprised to learn that in most cases, less is indeed more—if in doubt, leave it out. Many submissions included drawings and renderings that severely undermined the conceptual strength of the project. Being clear and concise about design concepts is vitally important, and many project submissions failed to express key architectural ideas in a clear and convincing manner.

The following discussion illuminates some of the most salient issues preoccupying this year’s jury, and a number of noteworthy projects were isolated to illustrate the successes and shortfalls evident in the design process.

macy: The Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto by DuToit Architects/DuToit Allsopp Hillier, Dia­mond + Schmitt, ERA Architects, Claude Cormier Architectes + Paysagistes, Adams + Associates, and Ferruccio Sardella—deserves to be recog­nized on a number of levels. At the parti level, bringing that wetland terrace and accepting the difference between a landscape move and an institutional building really opens up the blocki­ness of the buildings that typical terraces don’t—that move is commendable. In this climate, to create this kind of environment is a real plus. They are really making it work, and without too many empty spaces.

hariri: The problem I have with this is that the idea of the long horizon is not that special. They didn’t take advantage of the possibilities of sculpt­ing the landscape or the use of daylighting in the interior spaces.

thom: It all comes back to the presentation. How do you make a judgement? When I make a judge­ment, it is based on the thoroughness of a pres­entation. When I see something that doesn’t look right, I get suspicious in terms of the totality of the language in the presentation.

hariri: I want to say something about the alarm­

related to a question that was raised during the jury deliberations: “Where is the experimenta­tion?” The annual Awards of Excellence program at Canadian Architect magazine has been in exist­ence since 1968, and we have taken great pride in administering an awards program that places heavy emphasis on architectural discourse and process, rather than on the brute outcome of a finished building. While many projects were formally exquisite at the conceptual stage, they often lacked a level of uniqueness or innovation that the jury was looking for. This was particu­larly evident amongst the residential projects where a quality of sameness rendered them vir­tually indistinguishable. As for projects that were more research­oriented, the jury felt that most of them didn’t go far enough in converging research activities with progressive design.

Every year, the subject of what to include in an awards submission emerges. Readers may

Without a doubt, the jury felt that it was the stu­dents who emerged as the clear winners in this year’s Awards of Excellence. Demonstrating a sophisticated awareness through the investiga­tion of non­traditional programs, this year’s stu­dents proposed thoughtful and pertinent designs intent on healing the world, thereby imbuing a tremendous amount of optimism in the jury. Judging by the student projects, the desire to intelligently respond to many of the world’s problems—from oil sands exploration to ocean pollution, outmoded industrial areas to the plight of the manatee—certainly represents hope for a future in which the architectural profession col­laborates with both clients and visionaries in evolving a more sustainable planet for future generations.

Many readers might be asking themselves why more projects were not recognized in this year’s awards selection. One answer to this might be

aboVe and opposite top The ambiTious regeneraTion of ToronTo’s Don Valley brick Works Will unDoubTeDly become a benchmark for susTainable Design anD complex program DeVelopmenT. The projecT Was commenDeD for Tackling issues affecTing The long-Term enVironmenTal healTh of our ciTies. below urban arTs archiTecTure submiTTeD a research projecT for The canaDian WooD council. DespiTe The projecT’s commiTmenT To research anD DeVelopmenT, The jury noTeD ThaT furTher proToType analysis Was neeDeD To WarranT an aWarD of excellence. opposite bottom shore Tilbe irWin & parTners’ brooklin library anD communiTy cenTre Was recognizeD for iTs approach To Design, buT The jury WoulD haVe likeD To see furTher Design resoluTion.

12/08­ canadian architect 23

ing sameness. Everybody seemed to be operating within a narrow band. For example, virtually all of the houses look the same and that makes it hard for us to pick a clear winner.

thom: So you are asking, “Where is the experi­mentation?”

hariri: If the idea of submitting something at this stage is about being able to present an un­built project, that means you are allowed to push the boundaries in the drawings and in the way you communicate, so why is the mode of rep­resentation the same? The second thing I want to talk about is that we seem to be missing the big projects. Where are the opera houses and the national galleries? It’s amazing that at this time of economic flourish, notwithstanding recent events, you’d expect that this round of submis­sions would be celebrating the greatest moments of gathering that we have in this country, and we are missing them. The most we had was a hospi­tal. There were a few university projects, but they didn’t really grab us.

macy: On the other hand, of the ones we sel­ected, all four Awards of Excellence deal with landscape. Even though their sizes range from small to quite a bit bigger, they all imply a much larger relationship to the environment. In a way, there is an aspiration for them to be more inclu­sive and bigger, even if they are small projects. Maybe it was the search for significant projects that made us much more open to thinking about a larger picture of the buildings eventually selected. I would also like to add that people should consider the drawings more carefully. You don’t have to include all four elevations or more, along with a full range of sections and plans to communicate the idea of the building. What’s really missing in many of the submissions is the key concept or the statement about what it is that they are trying to pursue. Architects should put more energy into why or how their project is something that contributes to the profession or the discipline, as opposed to wanting to describe all the facets of their building.

hariri: I want to applaud the Bridgepoint Health

project, because of all of the submissions, this project is one of the few that deals with real problems. Architecture is not just about formal exploration but problem­solving. It’s great when the two intersect, but Bridgepoint makes us aware that this is not just about formal explora­tion, but also problem­solving. It considers the experience of a patient in a hospital, and the entire scheme evolves from that. Disappointing­ly, many projects submitted were communicated as a set of models and plans that really has very little to do with the problem at hand; architec­ture is not just about a piece of sculpture in the landscape.

thom: Maybe this is a good time to bring up the submission entitled Expanding Demand for Cana­dian Wood Products by Urban Arts Architecture because, to us, it deals with a contemporary issue but it is not an award­winning design submis­sion. It is a research submission.

hariri: Or the Evergreen Brick Works, where there is a disconnect between the noble aspira­tions of the client and what was actually before us.

macy: But the Wood Products submission actu­ally takes on the myriad of problems that we deal with on a daily basis. We appreciate that it has these aspirations and we would like to encourage this group to continue to work on the problem and develop a stronger set of prototypes that might really fulfill the promise of this particular study.

hariri: The other thing I remember is the dis­cussion around low­income housing. It is a ser­ious problem and a real problem. Of the many solutions proposed, nothing really blew us away.

macy: For example, in the 1237 Howe Street social housing project by GBL Architects Group Inc., you are taking a group of people that are stigmatized, and then normalizing them. Because of the fine level of finishes and archi­tectural treatment that is clearly visible and sophisticated, you begin to blur the distinction between affordable housing and any number of condos being built on Vancouver’s peninsula, which I think is a great political strategy and very admirable. Whether we are to compliment the City of Vancouver or the housing agency for adopting that strategy, or the architect who is working within a variety of constraints in­volved—is another matter. It is basically about people living in very tight quarters. It’s a funda­mental prototype and should be taken at face value.

thom: Evergreen, 1237 Howe Street and the Wood Products submissions are all related to social issues and real research projects, and the problems have to deal with real economics. They are all trying to solve problems but none of them takes your breath away. This probably has to do

24 canadian architect 12/08­

with the reality of economics, where very few architects can afford to have a research and development wing in their practices.

hariri: But hospitals are a mundane building type as well, with all kinds of constraints, and look what they did with Bridgepoint. I think that these projects could have been simpler, and therefore stronger. If you think that you have very little money, a little bit of editing can make the project so much stronger.

thom: If there were specific categories, I think that the judging process would be easier. The lit­tle houses or smaller projects might then have more of a chance in this kind of award program.

hariri: But wouldn’t you say that we were looking for the little projects that simply weren’t there? We started out by saying we would tip towards larger projects, because we understand that big­ger projects are inherently more complicated, but there weren’t very many of these types of projects that were submitted. With regard to youCube by 5468796 Architecture, I agree with Bing that the problem with this project is the plan, but this problem can be overcome.

thom: youCube is obviously designed by a very young architect. There is an idea driving the sub­mission, but you can almost see it as a student project.

hariri: I disagree. I look at this project as a way forward. The problem with it is that they tried too hard; they have collected their intentions into one or two moves. The spaces in between—it would make for a great street.

macy: I enjoyed the investigation that this pro­ject proposes, coming out of the problem­solving mode that we saw in the student proposals. It is a great investigation. But based on a number of design flaws such as circulation systems, it makes it impossible to give it a design award. We decid­ed that ultimately it isn’t a successful design resolution, but we appreciate that the problem was posed and studied. The problem investigated is the dream of a relationship between indoor and outdoor space that comes with a suburban fantasy, but in a very tight urban context. Effect­ively it is a small, tight condo development.

hariri: With respect to the Brooklin Library & Community Centre by Shore Tilbe Irwin & Part­ners, the model doesn’t show enclosure. The problem with these heroic roofs is enclosure, so you wonder how the glass is going to notch around the beams. The minute you add glass to this, the power of the design is taken away.

macy: I appreciate a place where there is some­thing very simple in terms of the pitched roof—a classic gable roof structure. Perhaps there are a

top youcube Was seen as a refreshing approach To infill housing buT faileD To conVince The jury because of iTs un-resolVeD planning anD circulaTion consiDeraTions. aboVe The projecT locaT-eD aT 1237 hoWe sTreeT in VancouVer Was commenDeD for aDopTing a suc-cessful poliTical sTraTegy of proViDing DignifieD afforDable housing.

few too many drawings, and the project seems a little underdeveloped.

hariri: Basically, I think that the students win in this year’s Awards of Excellence.

thom: Would any of these projects be done for a client, unless it was undertaken as a research project out of an office?

hariri: But we never do work for the client. We have to invent our client. You said it right: you said that the thesis asks, “What is the problem?” At least the students are asking that question as well as reconsidering the role of architecture. They are asking the critical questions.

thom: The most enjoyable part of my two days here was looking at these student projects. I feel much more optimistic about the world. If this is what the students are looking at, then they are on the right track. The range of questions that they are asking is fantastic. It’s about peace, war, sur­vival and regeneration. These are universal themes of humanity. Architects are the last of the generalists, and this is the golden age for archi­tects to take on broader issues.

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26 canadian architect 12/08

winners

The joint venture of Stantec Architecture and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects is a strategic collaboration of creative talent and individual expertise committed to realizing Bridgepoint’s vision for a culture of excellence and wellness. The joint venture provides the

Patkau Architects is an internationally recognized architectural design studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia. There are currently three prin-cipals: John Patkau, Patricia Patkau and Michael Cunningham, and three associates: David Shone, Peter Suter and Greg Boothroyd. In over 25 years of practice, both in Canada and in the United States, Patkau Architects has been responsible for the design of a wide variety of building types for a diverse range of clients. Projects vary in scale from gallery installations to master plan-ning, from modest houses to major urban librar-ies. Many projects have involved functional pro-gramming, management of detailed public pro-cesses, and the design of complex buildings and sites. Comprehensive involvement throughout all phases of the design and construction process has consistently resulted in award-winning pro-jects.

Hadaway House team in top photo, from left to right: John Patkau, Lawrence Grigg, Stephanie Coleridge, Patricia Patkau, Peter Suter.

Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Church team in bottom photo, from left to right: John Patkau, Peter Suter, Shane O’Neill, Patricia Patkau, James Eidse.

Planning Design Compliance Team services in the AFP delivery model and is responsible for the design of the new facility, the City of Toronto site plan approval process, preparation of the output specifications, bid evaluations, and advocacy services through construction. Stantec Architec-

ture is committed to the highest level of architec-tural excellence and is recognized as an innovator and industry leader in the design of environ-ments for health and wellness. Recent awards include a City of Toronto Urban Design Award, an Ontario Association of Architects Award of Excellence, an International Academy for Design and Health Award, a Modern Health Care Design Award, a Design Exchange Award and a Green Toronto Award. KPMB was founded in 1987 by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg. The firm is rec-ognized as one of Canada’s premier architecture practices and is the recipient of over 100 awards for architectural excellence, including 10 Gov-ernor General’s Awards and 10 Canadian Architect Awards. The firm has also played a significant role in Toronto’s cultural renaissance, with pro-jects for the Gardiner Museum, Canada’s Nation-al Ballet School, and the Toronto International Film Festival, among others. Left to right: Rich Hlava, Sylvia Kim, Lilly Liaukus, Norma Angel, Deanna Brown, Ko Van Klaveren, Nic Green, Stu-art Elgie, Michael Moxam, Marian Walsh, Bruce Kuwabara, Mitchell Hall, Judy Taylor, John Peter-son, Glenn MacMullin, Kevin Thomas, Jane Wigle.

12/08 canadian architect 27

winners

Rounthwaite Dick and Hadley Architects Inc. is a consulting firm specializing in corporate, com-munity and institutional architecture. Since its inception in 1919, RDH is one of the oldest firms in Canada, with an extensive body of work stretching over an 89-year period. Throughout this time, they have been responsible for unique and complex building projects in Canada and abroad. RDH has become known for offering an engaging design process striving for architecture which balances technical innovation with sophis-ticated design solutions. Recent projects include the Bloor Gladstone Library, the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo, the Canadian Chancery in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Academic Resource Centre at the University of Toronto, and the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University.

Michael Barton began his career in the theatre, film and television industries as a director, actor and producer. He has also worked as a media consultant, business manager and social justice activist. Prior to his Master of Architecture Degree from UBC, Michael earned a BA (Honours) degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from the University of London and a Master of Science Degree in Architecture—Advanced Environment and Energy Studies from the University of East London/Centre for Alternative Technology. Michael has pre-viously called the UK, USA and Indonesia home and is currently practicing architecture in Vancouver, where he lives with his wife Mari.

Vivian Chin received her Master of Archi-tecture degree from the University of Toronto, where her research focused on the territorial boundaries of animal and human occupation. She was the recipient of the Heather M. Reisman Gold Medal in Design in 2008, and also holds a degree in Architectural Studies from the Univer-sity of Toronto. Vivian is currently work-ing in Toronto with gh3, and previously interned with WORK Architecture Com-pany and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in New York. Her professional experience has been focused on private and multi-unit residential projects in Canada, the US and Panama, and she has participated in numerous suc-cessful international competitions. Vivian has been an invited critic at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the Uni-versity of Toronto.

Marie-Gil Blanchette graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from McGill University in 2005, and her curi-osity about Swiss architecture led her to live and work in Switzerland for a year. While abroad, she visited several large European cities during which time she experienced the inspired manner in which past and contemporary architec-ture was linked. Also passionate about water and its architectural possibilities, Marie-Gil decided to pursue both sub-jects in her thesis research for Watercycle. She received her professional Master’s degree in Architecture from McGill University in 2008, and is currently working and living in Montreal.

After earning a degree in Psychology from the University of Guelph, Kevin James spent a year and a half travelling in Japan. Upon his return, he completed a degree in Architectural Science at Ryerson Uni-versity in Toronto, which was followed by a Master of Architecture degree from Dalhousie University. While studying at Dalhousie, Kevin was part of a three- person team that was awarded first place in a national social-housing competition hosted by the Université de Montréal’s LEAP group. Also during this time, Kevin—along with three other students—created an installation entitled Walking the Park, which will soon be published in a book on architectural installations, available through Princeton Architectural Press in 2009. Pre-viously, Kevin worked for award-winning Canadian design firm molo in Vancouver, and is currently employed at RDH Architects in Toronto.

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30 canadian architect 12/08

bridgepoint healtharchitectS Stantec architecture/Kuwabara Payne McKenna bluMberg architectS (architectS in Joint Venture)location toronto, ontario

award of excellence

The irony of the “success” of modern medicine is that people can now live with multiple diseases. The reality is that this has not improved the qual-ity of life, and it is taxing the health-care system, one of the building blocks of the Canadian iden-tity. This is called the third frontier of health care, and the challenge today is to enhance the quality of prolonged life while reducing operating costs.

A significant component of Bridgepoint Health’s vision to become Canada’s leading centre for the treatment, management and pre-vention of complex chronic disease and disability involves the redevelopment of its site and facili-ties. The project is as much about city-building

and engagement with the community as it is about creating an architecture of wellness. It will not only provide state-of-the-art hospital facili-ties but will enable Bridgepoint to create a “Vil-lage of Care,” a new model for health care that prioritizes connection with the community, em-powers patients to be proactive with their per-sonal health-care programs, and provides a safe, secure, stress-reducing environment to attract

top In the heart of toronto’s rIverdale neIghbourhood, brIdgepoInt health’s relatIon­shIp to the downtown core and rIverdale park Is clearly vIsIble. aboVe left takIng maxI­mum advantage of vIews, the fIfth floor was conceIved as an enclosed garden wIth terraces and shared therapy programs. aboVe right enterIng from the cIvIc plaza, patIents can apprecIate the lIfe of the cIty. daylIght and landscape are Integral com­ponents of the facIlIty.

and retain skilled health-care staff.The site, located on the natural eastern bound-

ary of Toronto, presents a range of threshold conditions which in a sense resonate the challen-ges of complex chronic disease; that is, to adapt to each one within an overall context of wellness. It is surrounded by the lush Don River Valley, Riverdale Park and the high-speed Don Valley Parkway to the west; the vitality of the Riverdale

12/08 canadian architect 31

top drawIng InspIratIon from the porch—a typIcal element of both hotel and resIden­tIal buIldIng desIgn—the ground floor Is conceIved as a publIcly accessIble “urban porch” to provIde opportunItIes for patIents to engage wIth the communIty. aboVe the entrance court, known as the cIvIc pIazza, Is desIgned for vehIcular access and all manner of gatherIng, convalescIng and observIng.

neighbourhood at Broadview and Gerrard to the southeast; and the pastoral Riverdale Park to the north.

The redevelopment concept optimizes the therapeutic benefit of nature for healing by emphasizing visual and physical access to the varied green spaces. It builds on the 2006 master plan which reorganized the existing Bridgepoint site into a nine-square grid of streets and pedes-

trian paths. The historic Don Jail occupies the centre and a new 10-storey health facility occu-pies two squares on the northwest edge of the site.

The design concept for the health facility inte-grates green spaces through the building hori-zontally and vertically. A meditative labyrinth, an ancient form of healing and reflection, is located at the north ground level blending the threshold

Integrate landscape, expand communIty connectIonsenhance vIews toward the cItydevelop cIvIc spacesextend park Into sItepreserve herItage elementsextend landscape Into buIldIngs wIth vertIcal landscape elements

block “b” developmentproposed drop­off and proposed ambulatory space behInd don JaIl

defIne corner of broadvIew and gerrard establIsh concept of communIty “porch”deIfIne future potentIal for rIverdale lIbrary and hIstorIc don JaIl

InstallatIon of new brIdgepoInt drIve and publIc streetIdentIfy place or arrIvalestablIsh connectIon to cItydefIne areas for landscape/communIty IntegratIon

32 canadian architect 12/08

top study models of varIous patIent rooms Illustrate the InclusIon of expansIve vIews of the surroundIng cIty and parkland, and the optImIzatIon of natural daylIght. Middle study model of a typIcal patIent room shows glazIng that Is desIgned for both patIent prIvacy and maxImum daylIght penetratIon. aboVe a cutaway sectIon Illustrates the restored rotunda of the hIstorIc don JaIl.

between the hospital and the park. Shared ther-apy programs are consolidated in the fifth-floor sky garden which is conceived as a light-filled studio environment with access to two outdoor terraces. On the tenth floor, a roof garden and greenhouse provide an outdoor space for patients to convalesce while enjoying expansive views of the Don Valley and the city skyline.

The mass and scale of the large 476-bed hos-pital facility is mitigated by organizing the 51,070-square-metre program into a series of stacked “neighbourhoods of care” supported on a podium which is conceived as an urban porch. The urban porch is inspired by the vernacular of domestic and resort architecture in Ontario, and manifests the concept of the integrated “Village of Care.” It accommodates a café, multipurpose auditorium, library and terrace which are organ-ized into strategic precincts that invite gathering and interaction.

The plan and fenestration patterns of the hos-pital facility are seamlessly integrated to maxi-mize views and access to natural light for all patient rooms, shared therapy and common group spaces. All patient rooms are located along the perimeter, and have horizontal windows with low sills to provide unobstructed views from prone, upright and seated positions. Vertical bay windows act as a counterpoint to the predomin-antly horizontal pattern, and add texture to the exterior expression.

The vision also calls for the adaptive reuse of the Don Jail as a centre for research, education and communication in the treatment and pre-vention of complex chronic-care disease. The design strategy focuses on transforming the dark history of Neoclassical architecture from a penal institution into an icon of Bridgepoint’s man-date. It capitalizes on the landmark status of the Don Jail and positions the jail as one of the main doors into the Bridgepoint campus. The ground floor is converted into a publicly accessible route that leads from the original entrance through the ground floor into the D-shaped rotunda, and through to the civic court to the north. The inter-ior is completely renovated with an emphasis on drawing natural light in through the solid mason-ry walls.

The sense of being connected to one’s urban

12/08 canadian architect 33

client brIdgepoInt health/mInIstry of health and long­term care (mohltc)architect teaM mIchael moxam (proJect prIncIpal), bruce kuwabara (proJect prIncIpal), Jane wIgle (health­plannIng prIncIpal), stuart elgIe (proJect archItect), mItchell hall (proJect archItect), norma angel, deanna brown, nIc green, rIch hlava, sIlvIa kIm, alexandra kIss, JaImIe lee, lIlly lIaukus, glenn macmullIn, John peterson, paulo rocha, Judy taylor, kevIn thomas, ko van klaveren, deborah wangStructural/electrical stantec consultIng ltd.Mechanical the mItchell partnershIp Inc.landScape phIllIps farevaag smallenberg landscape archItectsproject ManagerS Infrastructure ontarIoSuStainable deSign & energy efficiency stantec consultIng ltd.life Safety/code randal brown & assocIates ltd.eleVatorS soberman engIneerIngVibration/noiSe/acouSticS aercoustIcs engIneerIng ltd.coMMiSSioning cfms consultIng Inc.Municipal legal adViSor mccarthy tetraulturban planning urban strategIes Inc.heritage architectS era archItects Inc.Site SerVicing rv anderson assocIates ltd.traffic and tranSportation ba consultIng group ltd.functional prograMMing agnew peckhamenVironMental golder assocIatesarcheological archeologIcal servIcesarboriSt bruce tree expert co. ltd.area master plan sIte 41,281 m2; hospItal 51,070 m2; don JaIl 7,120 m2; block a—hospItal sIte 20,153 m2 budget wIthheldcoMpletion constructIon begIns 2009Model photography a­frame Inc.renderingS don collIns, spacecraft

tenth floor

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1 maIn entrance 2 cafeterIa 3 servery 4 study/readIng area 5 audItorIum 6 retaIl 7 porch

8 labyrInth 9 fInance offIces10 hr offIces11 brIdge connectIon12 hIstorIc don JaIl atrIum

publIc cIrculatIon

and natural environment is fundamental to how the architecture will create a healthy, supportive platform for living well at Bridgepoint Hospital.

hariri: The breakthrough here is the patient room and the beds being per-pendicular to each other rather than side by side. Big shifts, small moves. There is also the beauty of bringing back both elevations of the Don Jail. Turning Bridgepoint on its side and then placing the gardens on either side of the hospital with the whole entry sequence through the gardens is a ter-rific idea.

Macy: We appreciate the windows dropping down to the floor height as well as the windows placed higher up so that someone who is bedridden can really appreciate their relationship to the landscape, which is at the core of this project. We also appreciate the careful attention to human behaviour and inhabitation and the consistent and rigorous study in terms of how people actually experience these rooms, and then in a way the façade is the consequence of that. In this project, the award should definitely go to the client as well as the designer because it’s wonderful that both accept the recuperative powers of nature, which has a long tradition across human history. The idea where nature is used for healing is fundamental, and this

idea extends from the Islamic meditative gardens to the medieval healing gardens to present day. The project builds upon that tradition, and under-stands how the idea of landscape is important. We don’t need to look at parking lots, but parks. We can see how the design carries the idea of the landscape all the way into the bedrooms. That’s really beautiful.

thom: It’s a very carefully studied project in terms of human behaviour, which has been considered throughout the building.

ground floor 0 20M

1 nursIng statIons 2 therapy space 3 complex contInuIng care core program 4 dInIng/patIent lounge 5 staff lounge 6 brIdge connectIon below 7 hIstorIc don JaIl below 8 audItorIum 9 roof terrace10 green roof

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34 canadian architect 12/08

First Leaside securities head OFFice

interests that have had a positive effect on the design process. From the outset, the choice of locating the head office facility away from a large metropolitan area illustrates a client interest in providing a contemporary, alternative work environment expressed through architecture and its relationship to site, nature and sustainability.

hariri: This has an extraordinary ethereal qual-ity. You don’t think of it as an office building but really a building with wonderful qualities like the

The First Leaside Securities Head Office is a 40,000-square-foot sustainable office develop-ment located in the town of Uxbridge, Ontario. This project is intended to house all office func-tions associated with a burgeoning financial ser-vices firm based in a rural community.

The new building will be located at the western edge of the town’s business centre, and will replace a small complex of agricultural buildings located at a key entry point to the business and retail corridor. This location will facilitate a strong connection between the new offices and the existing commercial area. It is intended that this new facility will create a contemporary public face for the company, while helping to reinvigor-ate an existing high street in southern Ontario.

The office development is intended to achieve LEED Platinum status. As such, several environ-mental initiatives have been incorporated into the building design. These initiatives include: extensive and intensive rooftop planting; natural ventilation; thermal chimney effect; and geother-mal heating and cooling. Further to this, eco-logical redevelopment of the site offers an oppor-tunity to expand an existing valley shape to incor-porate a biologically active floodplain.

The massing of the new building makes refer-ence to the general form and configuration of pre-existing agricultural buildings found on the site.Consequently, the building is broken down into a

variety of small, integrated volumes. The overall intent is to maintain a reading of smaller building elements in keeping with the scale of low-density commercial and residential properties.

Compositionally, the building form ascends in two directions. The first ascension points toward the downtown business district, while the second ascends along the length of the existing rail cor-ridor to the southwest.

The client for this project continues to be an interesting collaborator with strong personal

architect RDH ARcHitects inc.LOcatiOn UxbRiDge, OntARiO

award OF exceLLence

12/08 canadian architect 35

way it handles light. It is both simple and com-plex. The closer you look, the more you realize that there is a richness to the project and the subtleties here are extraordinary. The richness of the geometries exists within these subtleties—the way the roofline folds back into itself is one example. At the same time, it is tightly controlled in terms of its simplicity.

Macy: It takes a common problem across the country, which is the issue of the generic office

OPPOsite tOP A pHOtOReAlistic RenDeRing Of tHe new Office bUilDing in its sUbURbAn cOn-text. OPPOsite MiddLe A seRies Of bUilDing mAssing DiAgRAms OffeRs A vARiety Of peRspectives Of tHe ROOf teRRAce. aBOVe A cOmpOsite illUstRAtiOn Of tHe mAjOR systemic elements wHicH HAve been incORpORAteD intO tHe bUilDing Design.

space, and presents a very sophisticated solution that fits in quite sympathetically to its context—which in this case is between suburban and rural. Also, it has a beautiful resonance in a natural set-ting recognizing its location next to a ravine. It really tries to integrate both a natural landscape

sOLar MediatiOn POdiuM/Base green rOOF at each LeVeL

rOOF terrace at each LeVeLtherMaL chiMney/atriaserVice inFrastrucure

and a small rural landscape into an extremely elegant resolution for quite a conventional pro-gram. The result is a really delightful office space for working. It is exemplary in how it achieves this and provides a good example for other firms to consider. It introduces a variety of rich archi-

36 canadian architect 12/08

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aBOVe tHe mAssing Of tHe pROject mAkes RefeRence tO tHe geneRAl fORm AnD cOnfigURA-tiOn Of existing AgRicUltURAl bUilDings fOUnD On tHe site. bReAking tHe bUilDing DOwn intO smAlleR vOlUmes is in keeping witH tHe scAle Of lOw-Density cOmmeRciAl AnD ResiDentiAl pROpeRties fOUnD neARby.

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tectural experiences in terms of its sequencing of space, how its heating systems work, how the air system circulates, how people flow—all in a very tight envelope.

thom: The refinement of the building’s skin is unusual, along with the ambiguity of the glass and the perforated metal. It is obviously a difficult site given its shape and configuration.

cLient fiRst leAsiDe gROUp Of cOmpAniesarchitect teaM ROb bOykO, tyleR sHARp, kevin jAmes, AmiR kAfi-fAR, scOtt wilsOn, scOtt wAUgH, mARnie williAmsstructuraL cARRUtHeRs & wAllAceMechanicaL/eLectricaL jAin & AssOciAtesciViL cOnestOgA-ROveRs & AssOciAtesLandscaPe mARtin wADe lAnDscApe ARcHitectsLeed cOnsuLtants jAin & AssOciAtesecOLOgicaL cOnsuLtants jOHn plAnck—limnOteRRA area 42,000 ft2 Budget witHHelDcOMPLetiOn spRing 2010

TM

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Abbotsford, BC – Canada Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre

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40 canadian architect 12/08

hadaway house

This snow-country house is located on a north-west slope overlooking a panoramic view of Whistler Valley in southwest British Columbia. The site is a difficult wedge shape which offers just enough room for a garage and a narrow entrance on the street side at the top of the slope.

The exterior form of the house is shaped by the intersection of two principal considera-tions: the first is the allowable building foot-print and height, and the second is the need to shed snow from the roof into appropriate stor-age areas within the site. The sculptural volume that emerges from this intersection of extruded building footprint and folding snow-shed roof is occupied in a manner that maintains the inherent plastic properties of the building form.

The main level is essentially one large space with living, dining and kitchen areas, and an outdoor deck, all of which open up to the valley view. A vertical crevice of space runs under the highest roof ridge, bisecting the warped vol-ume and bringing light into the deepest part of the section and plan. Stairs rise within this rift, and a bridge crosses it at the upper level, connecting master bedroom suite and study. Below, on the lowest level, are more intimate spaces housing guest bedrooms and a second living area, as well as a large service space. Accessible directly from the garage entrance to the house, this service space supports life in snow country—where wet clothes are hung to dry or thrown directly into the laundry, and where skiers can store all the paraphernalia of their day outside. Another stair connects this

architect Patkau architects inc.Location Whistler, British columBia

award of exceLLence

lower level to an outdoor patio below the house, the only actual access to the steep site other than that at the front entrance.

Construction is hybrid. The slabs and walls which enclose the lower floor are concrete construction, while the uppermost levels are a composite steel and heavy timber structure with wood-frame infill. The entire structure is sheathed with a monolithic screen of open-spaced 2” x 6” cedar boards over conventional roof and wall assemblies. The thermal mass of the lower concrete structure dampens temperature swings within the house in sum-mer and winter. And in the summer, the interior is naturally cooled and ventilated by drawing air from the lowest level on the north side of the house to vent at the top of the central rift.

aBoVe the delicately sited hadaWay house, Perched on a steeP hillside overlooking Whistler valley. riGht When comPleted in 2010, the house Will offer its inhaBitants a Breathtaking Panoramic vieW of Whistler valley.

40 canadian architect 12/08

12/08 canadian architect 41

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42 canadian architect 12/08

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hariri: These spaces are packed with meaning. The way the corners open up is just marvellous. I love the way the ground just folds right up and becomes the house, and then comes back down. The way the model represents the house is fan-tastic. It is not just about the folding, but it sort of sits both half in and half on top. It carves down into the site below, but it also perches and looks like it will tip over in some places.

macy: I was a bit worried about getting into some of the qualities of the spaces inside. It looks gorgeous from the outside in terms of a sculptur-al object but I was trying to imagine myself in some of the interior spaces. This is an example of a house that acts as a pavilion. It is an artful house that follows the tradition of wanting to be a sculptural object. What’s nice about this project is that it pushes the boundaries in terms of how we understand architecture because you don’t see the floor planes that you are expected to walk on, or the wall planes that you are expected to place

cLient martin and susan hadaway architect team stephanie coleridge, lawrence grigg, John mcfarlane, aileen morales, John patkau, patricia patkau, peter suter, dawson williamsstructuraL equilibrium consulting inc.contractor alta lake lumber co.area 4,500 ft2 BudGet n/acompLetion 2010

furniture against. There are a number of archi-tects, certainly in the 20th century, who have experimented with a lot of these “other” geog-raphies. It definitely pushes the edges in terms of how we can understand space and inhabit it. It is almost like an anti-gravity space. The French have a word for this which is the chef d’oeuvre, or the German meisterwerk. The idea is that you have to be very sophisticated to be able to do some-thing that is so obviously complex. As designers, it is the artfulness that we have to appreciate. A difficult thing to do, and they pulled it off.

thom: The project is a very tight resolution. The success of this building will depend on its skin. How the house will be skinned will be tricky, but it has a lot of potential.

aBoVe a series of photographs of the study model taken from different angles. the model illustrates an excep-tional level of refinement in the archi-tecture’s formal geometry, apparent in the multiple folded planes of this year-round retreat.

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44 canadian architect 12/08

award of excellence

architect Patkau architects inc.location Port coquitlam, British columBia

our lady of the assumption parish church

12/08 canadian architect 45

opposite, top to Bottom The inTerior elevaTion of The church’s fold-ed planes will conTribuTe To The building’s dynamic and exuber-anT religious experience; The reflecTed ceiling plan indicaTes a conTinuiTy of folded planes from wall To ceiling.

Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Church is a Roman Catholic Church that seats 700 people in its main space and 100 people in its chapel. The main space and chapel can be joined together to form a single larger space for special events. Sited in Port Coquitlam, a suburban city 30 kilometres east of Vancouver, the new church shares its site with an existing church (which will be converted to a parish hall) and a school.

At the request of the client, the church follows strict liturgical orientation with its main entrance facing west, placing the entrance of the church deep within the site. A landscaped walk leads pedestrians from the street to a plaza at the entrance of the church, a quiet transitional space—a threshold between secular and sacred, quotidian and spiritual. The plaza and land-scaped walkway which extend the narthex into the landscape are commodi-ous and welcoming to the communal assembly and ritual procession char-acteristic of Roman Catholic worship.

The Second Vatican Council marked a critical point in the development of the Roman Catholic liturgy. Varying architectural interpretations of these liturgical reforms have been investigated in the intervening 40 years. The plan of the church is guided by the simplest and most rigorous interpreta-tion of these liturgical texts. The result is a traditional, processional layout with a strong axial relationship from the primary entrance in the west to the sanctuary in the east. Pews are arranged symmetrically along the axis, facing towards the east.

The sanctuary, flanked by the baptistery and a devotional shrine, is raised and daylit from above. The liturgical and architectural problem of either removing the tabernacle from the sanctuary to a separate chapel or relegat-ing it to one side of the sanctuary is addressed by locating the chapel immediately behind the sanctuary, with both spaces sharing a single taber-nacle. Confessionals and sacristies are freestanding volumes on either side

of the chapel, allowing an uninterrupted perimeter ambulatory containing the Stations of the Cross. The reredos screen that separates the chapel from the church proper can open to connect the two volumes when all 800 seats are required.

As the budget is modest, the creation of an evocative space and form is dependent upon the direct expression of construction. Folded weathering steel shear walls are used to construct church identity. Each exterior face of the folded wall is sized to be fabricated from a single eight-foot sheet of weathering steel up to 50 feet long. Large-scale corrugations at the east and west ends of the nave accommodate deeper structure required by the end conditions. The roof assembly combines triangular steel tubes with the sheet folds to create a highly stable and efficient three-dimensional struc-ture. This single monolithic system affords rapid construction on site and provides a self-finishing, durable and low-maintenance exterior.

The folded geometry enlivens the exterior and interior, evoking the depth and rhythm of a traditional arcaded and columnar nave. At the main entrance, these recesses form a west-work that flanks the entry doors with a shrine and bell tower. Smaller recesses at the east elevation develop into openings that modulate daylight and provide indirect views from the street to the chapel.

Interior volumes are low at both church and chapel entrances. In the church, the volume rises slowly, releasing space into light over the sanctu-ary. In the chapel, the luminous volume above the sanctuary diminishes rapidly, establishing spatial intimacy. The interior is clad simply with dry-wall painted a luminous warm white. Light, from the skylight located over the sanctuary and secondary sources deep within the folds of the wall, gives way to shadows and dimness as it models the interior to reveal the order, space and form of the church.

hariri: It is beautiful to imagine this in COR-TEN where materiality and form work as one. The presentation was concise and clear. Each of the images added on to the next and this was very nice to see. When you look at it in section and plan, it all comes together.

46 canadian architect 12/08

client our lady of The assumpTion parisharchitect team James eidse, shane o’neill, John paTkau, paTricia paTkau, peTer suTer landscape phillips farevaag smallenbergstructural fasT + epp sTrucTural engineersmechanical cobalT engineeringelectrical/lighting rfa consulTing elecTrical engineerscivil ron beesley engineeringacoustical consultant daniel lyzun & associaTes lTd.costing consultant bTy groupcode consultant gage-babcock & associaTes lTd.Building envelope consultant spraTT emanuel engineering lTd.area 16,500 fT2 Budget n/acompletion n/a

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macy: This is a particularly nice reiteration in ecclesiastical architecture where you see the marriage between structure and form to suggest larger meanings. There are many examples of great cathedrals or religious build-ings that try to express the idea of spiritual form through structure—from the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul all the way down. This is an exquisite contem-porary expression within this tradition.

thom: I think that it is a very beautiful building. I was hoping that there would be more detail as to how the light would be brought onto the altar and how the geometry is resolved. This is really the key. It is tightly controlled; there is not a single superfluous element.

16 confessional17 balcony18 organ

Below, left to right an illusTraTion of The nave, TerminaTing wiTh a view of The Tabernacle; a rendering of The lighT-flooded sanc-Tuary wiTh The bapTisTery seen beyond; a rendering of The church’s exTerior folded planes ThaT will be clad in cor-Ten sTeel.

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48 canadian architect 12/08

enthalpy of empty SpaceStUdent aWard of eXcellence

StUdent Michael Barton, University of British colUMBialocation northern pacific ocean

Every year we produce some 60 billion tons of plastic, and much of it is intended for a single use, like packaging. Recent studies show that an enormous amount of this plastic waste ends up in the ocean. Due to the confluence of currents in the Pacific Ocean, a great deal of this plastic is drawn together into a multi-million-square-kilometre area known as the Northern Pacific Gyre.

The plastic pieces float on the ocean currents, gathering barnacles until they become too heavy to float. They then sink to the bottom of the ocean, leaving a carpet of plastic dust kilometres below. Smaller pieces are often mistaken for food by surface creatures, and the animals are unable to digest the plastic, inevitably dying from injury.

Some parts of the gyre have a plastic-to-plankton ratio as high as 48:1. This awful density of waste has led some to describe the gyre as “an island of garbage twice the size of Texas.”

This proposal intends to gather the plastic from the ocean and (following the impulse of the architect) build with it to moderate the negative effects of the current condition. Initial efforts focused around the farming of plastic, but in due course the project’s focus shifted towards the

construction of a synthetic land commodity. The site provides the peculiar condition of being an almost totally stable oasis of calm in an otherwise raging ocean. This provides conditions that can accommodate building. Using raw materials gathered from the site, a self-contained building operation is undertaken.

The construction of the building is only the beginning of the project. The manufactured land mass attracts life to its structures above and

top DiagraMs illUstrate the constrUction of islanDs that float aroUnD in the pacific ocean. aBoVe, left to riGht rainwater rUn-off froM the sUrface creates pockets of fresh water that Divers can appreciate for its UnUsUal optical effects; openings in the sUr-face of the islanDs proviDe light to the ocean Below anD access to the sea froM inlanD; a sUBMergeD strUctUral griD forMs a Barrier reef anD offshore Mini-islanDs give context anD orientation for islanD inhaBitants.

12/08 canadian architect 49

top the orange areas on this Map represent weather conDitions where the gyre is possiBle DUring a typical year. the approxiMate location of the “great pacific garBage vortex” is shown in yellow. aBoVe, left to riGht a pictUre of garBage floating on the ocean’s sUrface; a satellite photo taken off the coast of Japan illUstrates a gyre pat-tern caUseD By the ocean’s cUrrents; the area of the pacific ocean’s garBage gyre is approxiMately DoUBle the size of the state of texas.

below the surface of the water, both human and wild. The interdependent nature of the eco-systems above and below suspends the island in tension as both systems seek to flourish and grow. Over time, natural and human processes will alter the built form.

The project thus explores three core values of the architect: honour the impulse to build; recycle and reuse materials; and remediate and regenerate natural systems. However, the project

invites the possibility of absurd or contradictory outcomes—seeking to embed them in the project as stimulus for discourse, rather than pursuing the hubris of a perfect solution. In this sense, the project has a tragic rather than comic narrative trajectory, giving it a certain ability to entice crit-ics to explore the appeal and contradictions of the core themes.

At the heart of the project is a concern for the unchecked human impulse towards growth and

expansion, and the role of the architect is in part to build to accommodate that impulse for growth. The project seeks to reveal and question preva-lent assumptions about the inherent benefits of sustainability strategies in the context of that impulse.

hariri: I like the way this project completely rethinks the role of the architect and also that the whole nature of site is being challenged. I think this student is doing a marvellous job in achiev-ing a thought-provoking, interesting, and beauti-ful project. The strength of the student work begs the question of where is the daring in architec-tural practice? It is brave new thinking for a brave new world.

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macy: This is probably the most visionary pro-ject that we’ve looked at. In a way, it’s a project that has no real relationship to the real world. On the other hand, it deals with problems that are very much part of the real world, and there has always been a place for visionary architecture in architectural discussions. We are attracted to the breadth of thinking surrounding the huge prob-lem of waste in both the ocean and on land. This student thought of something from the ground up that might be improbable but which is extremely thought-provoking. A pseudo-continent out of a Polynesian archipelago. Where do I place my buildings? It’s a brownfield reclamation of the ocean. It’s fantastic.

thom: This student is asking, “Where is my site?” and has determined that it’s the whole globe. This is a huge project reduced to a very simple set of ideas.

clocKWiSe from aBoVe a DetaileD section of a strUctUral Matrix that sUpports a floating islanD; a series of DiagraMs illUstrating possiBle locations of the gyre throUghoUt the first nine Months of the year; a MeMBer of the strUctUral griD evokes an organic qUality to its Design; the constrUction process Begins with a sqUare kiloMetre of “Uniflote” Blocks anD enDs with the installation of colUMns sUpporteD By a Dense Matrix of plastic-filleD flotation Devices reseMBling a kinD of giant plankton.

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52 canadian architect 12/08

StUdent aWard OF eXceLLence

Tashme camp in Hope, BC, a delicate balance between the fundamental structures of Western and Eastern form and thought must be achieved in order to provide an architecture which addresses the hybrid culture of the community it represents. The keys to the approach are to use those shared elements of architecture which are found in both cultures, while also

tOP An entrAnce to the memoriAl drAws visitors beneAth the existing silos And into A sunken courtyArd below where there is A pAvilion contAining informAtion on the history of JApAn­ese internment in cAnAdA. MiddLe A study of kyudo, A trAdition­Al form of JApAnese Archery. aBOVe As visitors pAss through the north silo of the proJect, they enter into A sunken courtyArd spAce, indicAted by this sectionAl drAwing. OPPOSite MiddLe A long­itudinAl section of the sunken pAth leAding visitors towArds the lAndscApe element of the memoriAl.

In the West, the fundamental structures of form are abstractions understood to be outside human experience, archetypal in nature and timeless. In the East, the opposite is true. Abstraction is not something which is apart from nature, but rather, intrinsically tied to it. There are no specific archetypes because there can be no perfect forms. Each iteration is inherently imperfect because it is governed by the process with which it was made, by human hands. This, however, is not a cause for dismay as it would be in the West, but rather for celebration, for in the imperfect object resides the traces of its creation. The act of creating is thus elevated above the creation itself.

Process, then, is more than the means by which to produce; it is the primary purpose itself. The repetition of a process creates rituals, thus formalizing the value placed on process and elevating its performance thereof to a sacred act.

In the design of a memorial for the Japanese Canadians interned at the

StUdent kevin JAmes, dAlhousie university LOcatiOn hope, british columbiA

Seeking SPeciFicity in the UniVerSaL: a MeMOriaL FOr the JaPaneSe canadianS interned dUring the SecOnd WOrLd War

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0 10MSiLO and Path0 10MSiLO and Path

addressing the primary role of process in both the design of the memorial and its realization. These strategies allow for the universal comprehension of the memorial while the way in which it is placed into the landscape creates a specific link to both place and history.

Through the study of the traditional Japanese art of kyudo and the abstract art of the Japanese Canadian artist Kazuo Nakamura, an internee at the Tashme camp, a number of cultural influences both Canadian and Japanese in origin were used to develop a memorial which responds to the hybrid cultural heritage of the community interned. Rather than resorting to a pastiche of stylized cultural stereotypes, the memorial was formed around the concepts of abstraction and ritual. Through abstraction, the scale of the event is translated into a visceral experience which can be universally understood. In order to address the specifics of the site and the cultural heritage of the Japanese Canadians, a ritual of tree-planting as a major

landscape element helps tie the concept of process to the abstraction of the memorial's layout. Through the two approaches, this thesis seeks to create a memorial which is open to all Canadians in its cultural references, while addressing the specific cultural heritage of the Japanese Canadians and the crime committed against their community.

hariri: When you look at the process, you find a certain spirit. For example, the section and the ways that the photographs have been manipulated have the same spirit—a very soft spirit of a meditative architecture against an extraordinary idea of landscape and the way that the landscape is overtaken through a longer period of time.

Macy: This submission really highlights the human experience of architec-tural space and explores how people can bring their own experiences into it. It

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cLOckWiSe FrOM aBOVe A series of drAwings describes the sequence of spAces thAt visitors pAss through when they visit the memoriAl; the plAnting of cherry trees is used As A device to mArk where shAcks for the internment cAmp once stood; A topogrAphic model of tAshme; study models explore the sunken courtyArd, pAth And entry to the memoriAl.

is very respectful of Japanese-Canadian experi-ences in Canada. I particularly like the delicacy of the landscape and the four seasons, the ephemeral nature of plantings in juxtaposition with these fairly dense and troubled experiences associated with the depths of the earth.

thom: In some ways the presentation of this

project is better than any of the others. This is one person's language, which relates to what happens in offices today. In many offices, there are several voices, and the language that we speak is no longer a single artistic language. You cannot have many people write a poem; one person writes a poem. How do you keep that one idea running through the big projects when so many

are involved? A big project takes so many years to work through, and with the exception of the prin-cipals, the individuals involved in these projects have often moved on.

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56 canadian architect 12/08

convergent SpecieSStUdent ViVian Chin, UniVersity of torontoLocation VarioUs sites

StUdent award of exceLLence

The expansion of human territories has dramat-ically overlapped with animal boundaries and activities, allowing geographic, socio-economic, and cultural forces to effect mutations in behav-iour. These overlaps generate two kinds of boundaries—inadvertent, and constructive. Ani-mals that augment their habitation through sym-biotic relationships with human activities exist in inadvertent boundaries. Inadvertent boundaries are adaptative, formless, and are a byproduct of

human activities, such as environmental or phys-ical effects. Constructive boundaries are territor-ial and constructed, such as national borders. These boundaries generate habitations due to marginalization and opportunism. Animals which inhabit these boundaries should neither be considered domestic nor wild, but a new group that is defined by their contingence to both human and natural environments. This proposal seeks to respond to these inadvertent and con-

BeLow a presentation model of the riViera BeaCh power station in west palm BeaCh, florida.

structive boundaries and questions the potential of adaptation, mutualism, and cohabitation.

The project is composed of two parts; research into these boundary conditions, and a design proposal focused on one such site. Through research and analysis, 11 sites were explored which exhibit these overlapping boundaries and activities between animals and humans. These sites include: 1) the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, where the Przewalski species of wild horse has adapted and survived within the harsh sub-urban environment; 2) the abandoned Cas-pian Sea oil derricks of Baku, Azerbaijan, where cormorants have adapted natural nesting habitats from onshore forests to the vacant offshore oil infrastructure; 3) the uninhabitable landmine fields of the Falkland Islands, where nesting penguins have capitalized and flourished in the empty land; 4) the expansion and occurrences of endangered flora and fauna in the Korean Demilitarized Zone; and 5) the Riviera Beach Power Station in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the main focus of the project holds.

Every winter, there are as many as 200 mana-tees which gather around Florida’s power plant warm-water outfalls. Manatee populations have modified their migration patterns to this constant discharge of warm water. Specifically considering the Riviera Beach Power Station, this proposal focuses on the territorial bound-aries of animal and human occupation. New programs, such as hotel, spa, restaurant, and pool are inserted into the power plant infra-structure to form convergent zones where all habitants are mutually beneficial. These pro-gram insertions are based on the power plant operation, generating mutualistic relationships between the existing power plant and manatees

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with new forms and occupants.

hariri: I think that this student is an artist, and her drawings and paintings are extremely mov­ing. The drawings should be exhibited as paint­ings, as they are both artful and meaningful. A lot of artists are struggling with a narrative, but not this student.

Macy: I like the way the project notices the exist­ing condition. Often, things that are the most dangerous can often be the best spaces for habi­tat. The most famous example of this is the Rocky Mountain Conservation Region in the US which is adjacent to a large nuclear waste dump. Be­cause it is off bounds for humans, we have this amazing flora and fauna juxtaposed. The idea of wilderness and nature that is something humans have pulled out of is ironically true in the most polluted of landscapes. This student took that premise and started to explore the extreme juxta­position of sites that are the most problematic,

opposite top, LeFt to riGht At the exclusion Zone in chernobyl, rAdiAtion is Ab­sorbed by soil, vegetAtion And wAter, but is not retAined by AsphAlt, thereby mAking it A viAble building mAteriAl; Along the shores of the fAlklAnd islAnds, A rAised observAtion infrA­structure is proposed thAt Avoids the minefield­littered ground while Allow­ing humAns And penguins to coexist without disturbing eAch other; At the rivierA beAch power stAtion in west pAlm beAch, An observAtion deck And new restAurAnt looking out At A mAnAtee hAbitAt is built Above An exist­ing pArking lot. riGht vArious progrAm insertions help enliven the rivierA beAch power stAtion.

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existing manatee habitat extend manatee habitat

align with new site connectionsinsert new program

warm water discharged when sea temperature drops below 22°c

warm water captured for new program use when sea temperature is above 22°c

Section

aBove inserting new program elements at VarioUs phases will lead to the Complete rehaBilitation of the CUrrent riViera BeaCh power station site. top right the proposal Calls for new aCtiVities to Be inserted at the Base of aBandoned oil rigs in the Cas­pian sea to Create new liVing opportUnities for Both hUmans and Birds. BeLow a Cross­seCtion throUgh the florida spa shows the aCtiVation of warm­water disCharge for hot water and a newly Created manatee refUge.

and that are either industrial wastelands or polit-ical off-bound areas. It is a very experimental, provocative project that results in some nice intersections that might make us rethink the role of nature in the city. The image of the manatees around the hot-water dump off the coast of Flor-ida really impresses me. In the national park sys-tems in both Canada and the US, lookouts are a critical part in terms of where roads come in and out. Norway is doing the same thing now. This reminds me of those kinds of projects where there are routes and roads as part of the itinerary.

thom: I was taken with this project because this is such a courageous student who could have spent an entire term on any one of these issues, but instead took all of them in the context of a global view. Yet each one is so different and con-sidered so deeply that to me it was quite pro-found. Obviously, the project was done by some-one with a broad perspective, yet she achieved a remarkable depth of understanding.

Spa diagraM

hoteL diagraM

envelope of hotel rooms plug into systemextract view corridors from public space through hotel envelope

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watercycleStUdent award OF eXcellence

StUdent Marie-Gil Blanchette, McGill University lOcatiOn Montreal, QUeBec

Watercycle is a project that seeks to rethink water management specifically within the context of the city of Montreal. The architectural project attempts to create a link between the functional water treatment in the city—often invisible to the public eye—and the poetic celebration of water. This prototypical project treats snow, recycles residual grey water, and creates a new type of urban park. The spaces guide the visitor along a journey through which one discovers the process of filtration.

The site chosen for experimentation is the Craig Pumping Station located on rue Notre-Dame. Lying beneath the shadow of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, the pumping station seems like a disconnected artifact. Although abandoned for nearly 30 years, its original use, when construct-ed in 1887, was to prevent spring-time flooding. Considering that Montreal becomes flooded with melting snow every year, the newly added pro-gram to the site becomes a reinterpretation of its original use. Snow collection has been managed Site plan

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by the city since 1905. Before 1999, some of the snow was directly discharged into the St. Law-rence River, but this process has been strictly forbidden for environmental reasons. Currently, snow is treated by different methods in Mont-real, and all of them end at the water treatment plant. The project thus becomes an alternative to this process by modifying the existing cycle and integrating it into the city itself. Moreover, the project seeks to address the renewal of the neigh-bourhood and the progressive reappropriation of the river shores that are still undefined post-industrial zones in this area of the city.

The architectural intervention divides the site in two. One is a large dumping space and a longi-tudinal park that is laid out along the street’s axis. The dumping space is created by a large trench dug into the ground. Thus, the pumping station becomes a freestanding figure revealing its essence. The main access to the interpretation centre contains temporary and permanent exhib-ition spaces. Conceptually and physically, the interpretation centre acts as a filter between the city and the shore, whereas the urban park is a promenade along which different types of foun-tains, basins and irrigated gardens animate the space—all of which are fed by recycled grey water. The project adapts and changes its appearance through the seasons, waiting to be discovered and appreciated as much in winter as in summer. The topography of the park has been modified to enhance visual connectivity for visitors, as exist-ing site conditions do not permit any visual and physical connection to the river. Most import-antly, the urban park provides a new type of rela-tionship between citizens, their water, and their city of Montreal.

hariri: The beauty of this project is that the architect solves a very real problem. We want people to know what it takes to treat our water; we know this problem exists because we are deal-ing with these issues on Toronto’s own water-

cOnceptUal Site plan

cOncept map

SecOnd FlOOr

third FlOOr

1 Main loBBy 2 teMporary exhiBition space 3 cafÉ 4 existinG pUMps 5 perManent exhiBition space 6 offices 7 archives storaGe 8 MUlti-pUrpose rooM 9 aUditoriUM10 oBservation footBridGe11 laBoratory12 Basins13 water tank14 Maintenance

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preViOUS paGe a renderinG of the site dUr-inG the sUMMer Months illUstrates vari-oUs Gardens and water treatMent facilities. leFt a renderinG of the site indi-cates the aMoUnt of snow to Be treat-ed, representinG it as a larGe pink cUBe. belOw leFt the concept Map hiGhliGhts the varioUs snow treatMent sites in Mont-real. snow will Be treated and Grey water will Be recycled throUGh the pro-ject’s innovative filtration desiGn.

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front. Students are doing better work than prac-titioners, and architecture, in its capacity to edu-cate, is the only way forward.

macy: Among students and those in the profes-sional world—everyone is talking about sustaina-bility and greening. The critics see a lot of green-wash where all the roofs are green, all the walls are biowalls. This raises a question about the relationship between nature, architecture and urbanism; it’s a fact that snow falls and we have to remove it, and it becomes polluted when it’s mixed with gas, car oil and debris, and then it has to be treated. So this project takes on the real problem between the interface of nature and urbanism, and it results in quite a hard-edged urban scheme. It is very impressive to see some-one bite into a problem like this and define what is the architectural and urban form and how can it manifest itself in a positive way through these strip gardens. I think that it’s pretty sophisticat-ed, forward-thinking and creative, and not something that’s about the status quo.

thom: This project speaks of how to adopt another perspective on waste, and how to make something beautiful out of it.

riGht, tOp tO bOttOm visitors to the perMa-nent exhiBition space can watch as snow is collected, Melted and treated at the new facUlty; two sections throUGh the existinG pUMpinG station and site.

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A Design CompetitionYou chose Spark Modern Fires. And now we choose you.We want your SPARK design in our 2009 National AdCampaign. Up to five designs will represent SPARK withfull creative credit in the leading industry media. And allqualified entries will appear in SPARK’s online gallery. Let the design world see your inspired use of our fires... now is the time to show us your SPARK!

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www.hgcengineering.com

Noise, Vibrationand AcousticsConsulting Engineers• Architectural Acoustics• Building Noise and

Vibration Control

HOWE GASTMEIER CHAPNIK LIMITED

Mississauga, Ontario

P: 905-826-4044F: 905-826-4940

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

12/08­ canadian architect 65

877.837.3275 landscapeforms.com

Introducing

™

Design by Robert Chipman

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OntariO AKB, atelier rzlbd (Reza Aliabadi), Baird Sampson Neuert Archi­tects, Bortolotto Design Architect, Boxwood Architects, Breathe Architects, Bregman + Hamann Architects, Bulthaup Toronto Inc., City of Toronto Planning/Urban Design, Diamond and Schmitt Architects, DuToit Archi­tects/DuToit Allsopp Hillier/Diamond and Schmitt/ERA Architects/Claude Cormier Architectes + Paysagistes/Adams + Associates/Ferruccio Sardella, Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates Architects Inc., Farrow Partnership Archi­tects in association with Busby Perkins + Will Architects, Gow Hastings Architects Inc., Ian MacDonald Architect Inc., Jennifer Turner Architect, Kearns Mancini Architects Inc. with Gow Hastings Architects Inc., Klein­feldt Mychajlowycz Architects Inc., Lapointe Architects, Larkin Architect, Levitt Goodman Architects, MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Mac­Lennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects and Yallowega Bélanger Architecture, MMMC Inc. Architects, Montgomery Sisam Architects, Moss Sund Inc., nkA (Nelson Kwong Architect), Oleson Worland/Taylor Smyth Architects, onebadant, Partners in Architecture and Development PAD Inc./Samer Hoot, Peter Hamilton Architects, Pitropov Architecture, PLANT Architect Inc., Queen’s Quay Architects International Inc., Raw Design, regional­Architects with Hilditch Architect, Rick Galezowski, Scott Morris Architects Inc., Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners, SMV Architects, Strasman Architects Inc., Taylor Smyth Architects, Teeple Architects Inc., WILLIAMSON­WILLIAMSON INC.

QUeBec ABCP Architecture et Urbanisme + Hudon Julien et Associés, Anne Carrier Architectes, Atelier Pierre Thibault, Brière, Gilbert + associés/Denis St­Louis Architecte, Cardin + Ramirez & Associés Architectes, Chevalier Morales Architects, Consortium Dan Hanganu Architects + Architecture 2000 Inc., Croft Pelletier Architects, Jodoin Lamarre Pratte et Associés Architectes (Marosi + Troy Consultants), Kanva Architecture, Le Groupe Arcop, Martin Allard Architect, Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes, Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Archi­tectes/Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes, Miguel Escobar Architecte + Urbaniste (MEA+U), Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes, Réal Baril, Scott Millar Architect.

neW BrUnSWicK Architecture 2000 Inc.

nOVa ScOtia Chad Jamieson Architect, Fowler Bauld & Mitchell Ltd.

hOnG KOnG Woods Bagot.

2008 StUdent aWardS Of excellenceIn addition to this year's winners, the following architecture students were chosen by their schools to enter their thesis projects in this year's awards: Livia Antalikova (University of Calgary), Kirsty Bruce (Dalhousie Univer­sity), Elena Chernyshov (University of Waterloo), Justine Chibuk (McGill University), Tomer Diamant (University of Toronto), Kelly Doran (Univer­sity of Toronto), Allison Gonsalves (Dalhousie University), Noel Heard (University of Calgary), Mike Holt (University of Calgary), Chris Hunter (University of British Columbia), Olivier Jacques (Université Laval), Sean Knight (University of Calgary), Philippe Lafrance­Boucher (Université Laval), Alexandre Laprise (Université Laval), Alexandre Massé (Université de Montréal), Matthew McFetrick (University of Manitoba), Tom Ngo (Carleton University), Farid Joseph Noufaily (University of Waterloo), Zach Pauls (University of Manitoba), Adrian Politano (University of Waterloo), Dominic Poncelet (Université de Montréal), Kelly Riopelle (Carleton Uni­versity), Clara Shipman (McGill University), Natalie Telewiak (University of British Columbia), Alexander Witko (University of British Columbia).

acKnOWledGementScontinued from page 66

66 canadian architect 12/08­

acKnOWledGementS

liSt Of entrantS

BritiSh cOlUmBia AA Robins Architect, Acton Ostry Architects Inc., Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd., b Squared Architecture Inc., Bevanda Architecture Inc., Broadway Architects (Rob Sieniuc + Associates), Bunting Coady Architects, Burgers Architects Inc., Busby Perkins + Will Architects Co., Cannon Design, CEI Architecture Planning Interiors, CEI Architecture Planning Interiors in association with William R. Rhone Architect, Chang Holovsky Architects Inc., D’Ambrosio architecture + urbanism, D’Arcy Jones Design Inc., Dynamedia, Frits de Vries Architect Ltd., GBL Architects Group Inc., GBL Architects Group Inc./Merrick Architecture—Borowski Lintott Sakumoto Fligg Ltd./Nick Mil­kovich Architects Inc. with Arthur Erickson/Wal­ter Francl Architecture Inc./Doyle/IBI Group, IBI/HB Architects, Mackin Tanaka Architects, Marko Simcic Architect, Matthew Soules Archi­tecture Inc., Merrick Architecture—Borowski Lintott Sakumoto Fligg Ltd., Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership Architects Designers Plan­ners, Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership Archi­tects Designers Planners in association with CEI Architects, Omicron, Peter Cardew Architects, Scott M. Kemp Architect, Urban Arts Architec­ture.

alBerta Cohos Evamy integratedesign, Cohos Evamy + Lundholm Associates, Dub Architects, Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Plan­ning Ltd., Maltby & Prins Architects, Marc Bou­tin Architectural Collaborative, Peter Osborne, Rockcliff Pierzchajlo Architects & Planners, S2 Architecture, Sahuri + Partners Architecture Inc., Sturgess Architecture.

SaSKatcheWan James D. Zimmer Architect.

manitOBa 5468796 Architecture, Andrew Wach Architects, Architects Without Borders Canada, Cibinel Architects Ltd., Michael Robert­son Design Studio, Number Ten Architectural Group, Syverson Monteyne Architecture Inc.

2008 aWardS Of excellenceIn addition to this year’s winners, the editors thank the following individuals and firms for participating in the 2008 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence:

continued on page 65

British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec Atlantic Provinces

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R e s i d e n t i a l

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