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$6.95 jan/12 v.57 n.01

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The NaTioNal Review of DesigN aND PRacTice/The JouRNal of RecoRD of aRchiTecTuRe caNaDa | Raic

cover The BiBlioThèque Raymond-lévesque in longueuil, queBec By manon asselin aRchiTecTe and Jodoin lamaRRe PRaTTe eT associés aRchiTecTes. PhoTo By maRc cRameR.

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8 news SturgessArchitecturewinsawardatWorld

ArchitectureFestival;FarrowPartnershipteamselectedforSouthAfricanMinistryofHealth“CentreofInfluence”Projects.

23 insites PamelaRitchotintroducestheinvestiga-

tionsofthePrixdeRome-winningfirmLateralOfficeintotheArcticFoodNet-work.

27 technical AstrategyforrecladdingtheFirstCana-

dianPlaceofficetowerinTorontoisrevealedbyIanChodikoff.

30 Books Fournewpublicationsprovidegoodread-

ingforthenewyear.

33 calendar InteriorDesignShow2012inToronto;

Rural ReadymadeexhibitionopensattheUniversityofSaskatchewan.

34 Backpage JohnLerouxprovidesanexampleofa

contemporaryandinformalapplicationofcolouredglassinarchitecture.

12 BiBliothèque raymond-lévesque a new liBRaRy By manon asselin aRchiTecTe and Jodoin lamaRRe PRaTTe eT

associés aRchiTecTes is a sTRiking ResPonse To iTs suBuRBan monTReal conTexT. teXt odile hénaulT

18 Brian c. nevin welcome center, cornell plantations

BaiRd samPson neueRT aRchiTecTs’ new faciliTy foR a ResPecTed ivy league insTiTu-Tion TReads lighTly on iTs veRdanT siTe wiTh BeauTy and gRace. teXt leslie Jen

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JanuaRy 2012, v.57 n.01

contents

We acknoWledge the financial support of the government of canada through the canada periodical

fund (cpf) for our publishing activities.

­­EditorIan ChodIkoff, OAA, FRAIC

AssociAtE­EditorLesLIe Jen, MRAIC

EditoriAl­AdvisorsJohn MCMInn, AADIpl.MarCo PoLo, OAA, FRAIC

contributing­EditorsGavIn affLeCk, OAQ, MRAICherbert enns, MAA, MRAICdouGLas MaCLeod, nCARb

rEgionAl­corrEspondEntshalifax ChrIstIne MaCy, OAA regina bernard fLaMan, SAAmontreal davId theodore calgary davId a. down, AAAWinnipeg herbert enns, MAA vancouver adeLe weder

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6 cAnAdiAn­ArchitEct 01/12

Ian ChodIkoff ichodikoff@cAnAdiAnArchitEct.coM

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AbovE LoCated In toronto’s west don-Lands, the athLetes’ vILLaGe for the toronto 2015 Pan/ParaPan aMerICan GaMes wILL heLP transforM the CIty’s waterfront.

Despite the best intentions to link the Athletes’ Village with its adjacent context, the development remains largely disconnected from the rest of London. After the city was selected to host the 2012 Olympics in 2005, the designated land for the Athletes’ Village was sold to Westfield to develop the retail components and to Lend Lease to build the housing. Lend Lease then encoun-tered financial difficulties, forcing the govern-ment to take back the land. In August 2011, US-based Delancey Estates and Qatari Diar—an investment company run by the Qatari govern-ment—purchased the Athletes’ Village in Olympic Park from the British government for $907 million. The developers are expected to build an additional 2,000 units after the Olympics are over.

Despite its flaws, the design, layout and choice of materials used throughout the Athletes’ Village are of a high standard. And since the plan is to rent rather than sell the units, there is a good chance that the transition will be a success given that Qatari Diar has an incentive to maintain the development. In the case of Vancouver’s Athletes’ Village, developers initially believed that inves-tors would be lining up to buy property in that city’s red-hot real estate market. Sadly, they were mistaken as prospective buyers were disappoint-ed with—among other things—the lack of views to nearby False Creek.

Toronto has already begun to lay the ground-work for its Athletes’ Village. With 10,000 ath-letes, coaches and team officials coming from 41 countries, the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Ameri-can Games share a few things in common with the Olympic Games—notably an impetus to trans-form the city through speculative urban develop-ment. Located on an 80-acre site in Toronto’s West Donlands, the Athletes’ Village will be de-signed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, architectsAlliance, Daoust Lestage, TEN Arquitectos and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects. The legacy projects will include a new YMCA recreational facility, the first stu-dent residence for George Brown College, 787 units of market housing, up to 100 units of af-fordable housing and 253 units of affordable rental housing.

The benefits of the Athletes’ Villages in both London and Toronto have yet to be seen, while the fundamental mistakes in the planning of Vancouver’s Athletes’ Village still remain. To be sure, the organizers behind the 2015 Games are carefully measuring their risk; in contrast, one hopes the architecture will exhibit greater risk than what has materialized in London, as the city of Toronto would more than welcome such a bold addition.

With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games only a few months away, we can begin to scrutinize the success of the Athletes’ Village that will support these highly anticipated events. London’s experience will hopefully inspire the realization of the Athletes’ Village for the Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. Along with the costly market-transition-ing efforts made last year for the Athletes’ Village that was built to support the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, important lessons can be learned when linking the challenges of housing athletes and officials for events like the Olympics with large-scale urban redevelopments.

Leveraging the potential of the Olympics to spur urban redevelopment is not a new concept: the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 is often used as a successful benchmark. Signature architectural projects that will serve as sports venues in Lon-don’s Olympic Park are important, but perhaps the Athletes’ Village has the most potential in shaping the city’s future. Designed to host 17,000 competitors and officials on 67 acres of land, the “legacy mode” of the Athletes’ Village is expected to offer a 50-50 ratio of affordable and market-rate housing units. If everything goes according to plan, commercial office space, along with a school, health clinic, shops, and public open space will support the mostly completed 1,493 new housing units. The Village’s 8- to 12-storey towers are arranged in a rectangular grid with three-storey ground-oriented townhouses at the base. Despite the attempt to variegate the fa-çades, the entire development approaches what one might come to expect from a concrete hous-ing complex built in the 1960s.

viEwpoint

What excellence looks like

Zeidler Partnership Architects of Toronto and Snøhetta of Oslo,

Norway and New York City have won a 2011 Canadian Architect

Award of Excellence for the stunning design of the Ryerson

University Student Learning Centre.

This prestigious award recognizes the best in building projects

across the county. The Student Learning Centre was honoured

for pushing the boundaries of design excellence. Jurors

called our dynamic building a “great visual portal” – one that

“announces and animates the entry to Ryerson’s campus.”

“From the beginning, we wanted a transformative and bold

development for our city, a building that would serve as an

outstanding environment for our students to study and

collaborate,” says Julia Hanigsberg, Ryerson’s Vice-President,

Administration and Finance. “Zeidler Partnership Architects

and Snøhetta have given us a spectacular design that surpasses

those objectives, and will inspire our campus and engage

the community for many years to come.”

Congratulations to Zeidler and Snøhetta. We are proud of

your impressive achievement and grateful for your outstanding

contribution to our campus and to downtown Toronto.

Architectural team is honoured for pushing design boundaries

www.ryerson.ca/ryersonbuilds

8 canadian architect 01/12

news

Projects

Ædifica’s snackBox opens in new York’s times square.SnackBox, the award-winning project by Ædifica and MuvBox, has found a home in the heart of Times Square. Innovative restaurateur Jonathan Morr was looking for a design team that would help him develop a unique solution that would fit in this iconic site. Created from a 20-foot-long shipping container, the concept is the modern-day reinvention of the old-fashioned canteen, and serves iconic New York street food with gourmet flair. Located on a section of Broadway that is now closed off to vehicular traffic, the SnackBox is easily moveable and entirely self-sufficient. It works off the grid with its fresh- and grey-water supply tanks embedded in the floor with power coming from a hybrid energy system combining electric batteries and gener-ator. A section of the walls pivot upwards, trans-forming into cantilevered steel awnings, and provide shelter from the elements. During colder days, heating for the staff is provided by recuper-ating heat from the generator. The SnackBox’s black and white graphic stripes provide an ele-gant contrast to the neon rainbow of colour of its surroundings. At night, the SnackBox vanishes back into its cube, ready to redeploy in minutes, bright and early the next morning. www.aedifica.com

hdr selected to design humber river regional hospital.HDR, as a member of the Plenary Health Care Partnerships team, was selected to design Hum-ber River’s new 1.7-million-square-foot hospital in Toronto. The hospital will be the largest acute-care hospital in the Greater Toronto Area and the first in North America to automate all of its oper-ational processes. The project is the result of a partnership between Humber River Regional Hospital, Infrastructure Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and Plenary Health Care Partnerships. Plenary will design, build, finance and maintain the hospital for 30 years, with HDR providing full architec-tural and health-care consulting services. As the first fully digital hospital in North America, it is designed to support the latest medical technology in a completely digital environment. Upon en-tering the hospital, the ability to easily access data and information enables users to “connect” from points such as kiosks situated throughout the hospital or on mobile devices anywhere in the building. Once in patient rooms, Integrated Bed-side Terminals (IBTs) allow patients to control their environment, order restaurant-style room service, and communicate with caregivers and

family members via video. Doctors and nurses use voice recognition software to complete charts verbally, and smart-bed technology monitors pa-tients’ vital signs and updates electronic medical records immediately. Lab-work specimens are delivered via pneumatic tubes, with results re-turned to hand-held mobile devices within min-utes. While all this is happening, Automated-Guided Vehicles (AGVs) deliver supplies and equipment to units and clinics, allowing care-givers to fully devote their time to patient care. Adjacent to the hospital building is the centre-piece of the entire campus, the South Plaza, which will support community events and fea-tures outdoor seating and areas for respite. The value of the contract with Plenary Health Care Partnerships in today’s dollars is approximately $1.75 billion. The contract cost covers the design and construction of the hospital, building maintenance, life-cycle repair and renewal, as well as project financing. The Toronto-based Plenary Health Care Partnerships team includes: Plenary Health and HCP Social Infrastructure (developer), PCL Constructors (construction), HDR (architecture), Johnson Controls (facilities management), and RBC Capital Markets (financial advisor). The hospital broke ground on December 2, 2011 and is scheduled to open in late 2015.

awards

sturgess architecture wins award at the world architecture Festival in Barcelona.Held in Barcelona, the World Architecture Festi-val (WAF) announced that Sturgess Architec-ture’s Glacier Discovery Walk design was selected to win a category award for Competition Entries in Future Projects. According to the WAF’s an-nouncement, the jury was unanimous, citing the Discovery Walk as “simple, elegant yet highly

emotional...[and] bridges to the natural in a way that is apart yet within nature.” The Glacier Dis-covery Walk is a 450-metre interpretive walk carved and folded into a mountainous landscape in Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The walk ends with a 35-metre parabola canti-lever, slightly twisted, facing the Athabasca Gla-cier in the Columbia Icefield. Engineering and design of the walkway were based on the concept of cropping out from the landscape, creating an experience of a natural extension of the land. De-signed to outcrop the mountainside, views of the walkway from the highway a few metres above are obscured, entirely separating the pedestrian ex-perience from the automobile experience.www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/news-index.cfm

winners of the Premier’s awards of excellence in design in saskatchewan announced.In late 2011, the Design Council of Saskatchewan (DCS) held Design Week in Saskatoon, its bi-ennial celebration of design. A variety of activ-ities including free lectures and film presenta-tions were held to promote public awareness and understanding of applied design. The winners of the Premier’s Design Awards program were also announced. In the Architecture category, the Premier’s Award of Excellence in Design recog-nized the Meadow Lake Courthouse by HDH Architects, while three Awards of Merit distin-guished aodbt architecture + interior design’s Mistawasis Health Centre and the International Vaccine Centre in Mistawasis First Nation, and the White Stone Business Park in Saskatoon by SEPW Architecture Inc. In the Landscape Archi-

aBoVe A rendering of the competition-winning indoor soccer centre in montreAl by sAucier + perrotte/hughes condon mArler Architects.

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tecture category, an Award of Excellence was given to the River Landing Riverfront project in Saskatoon by Crosby Hanna & Associates. In the Interior Design category, an Award of Excellence went to Studio FIAT in Saskatoon by Stantec Architecture Ltd. Two Awards of Merit recog-nized the Ramada Hotel renovation in Regina by Stantec Architecture Ltd. and the Saboroso Bra-zilian Steakhouse in Saskatoon by HDH Archi-tects. In the Community Planning category, an Award of Excellence was given to Public Spaces, Activity and Urban Form Strategic Framework in Saskatoon by the City of Saskatoon/University of Saskatchewan/Sweeny Stirling Finlayson & Co Architects Inc./Stantec Architecture Ltd. And finally, in the Collaborative category, an Award of Excellence went to the River Landing Pedestrian Linkage in Saskatoon by Stantec Consulting Ltd./Stantec Architecture Ltd.www.designcouncil.sk.ca

comPetitions

saucier + Perrotte/hughes condon marler architects selected to design new indoor soccer centre.The winning project in the architecture competi-tion for the new indoor soccer centre at the

Saint-Michel Environmental Complex (SMEC) was recently unveiled. Among the four submitted by the finalist firms, the jury chose the concept developed by Saucier + Perrotte/Hughes Condon Marler Architects. The other three finalists were: Côté Leahy Cardas Architectes, Eric Pelletier Architectes, and L’Équipe Affleck + de la Riva/Cannon Design. The roof of the new soccer cen-tre on the site of the former Miron quarry will call to mind a mineral stratum, eloquently her-alding the structure as seen from Avenue Papi-neau. The volumes of the building will rise like a series of luminous crystals among the trees in the wooded embankment bordering the avenue, lending a human scale to the project to observers in the residential neighbourhood. The centre will include one full-size soccer pitch that can be subdivided into smaller surfaces for seven-a-side play; locker rooms; a fitness and physiother-apy room; an event and restaurant area; and a family rest area. The centre will also house the offices of the Association régionale de soccer Montréal Concordia. Pursuant to Montreal’s policy on sustainable development for municipal buildings, the Ville de Montréal is targeting LEED Gold certification for this exemplary struc-ture. The total cost of the new soccer centre is $28.3 million, with the Ville de Montréal invest-

ing $15.6 million and the governments of Canada and Quebec contributing another $12.7 million through the Building Canada Fund—Quebec.http://mtlunescodesign.com/en/project/SMEC- Soccer-Complex-Architecture-Competition

Farrow Partnership team selected for south african ministry of health “centre of influence” Projects.Aiming to dramatically improve health and re-duce costs, the South African Ministry of Health has funded an international design competition to build exemplary Health-Promoting Lifestyle Centres (HPLCs). Jury members from five con-tinents have selected Farrow Partnership’s team as the winner in response to an open design brief, which called for a new type of health cen-tre. The HPLCs are planned for assessment, adaptation and construction in the rural settings, townships and cities throughout the country’s nine provinces. The HPLCs are intended to ad-vance strategic goals of South Africa’s national health insurance system by introducing a new “salutogenic” model that changes how people think about their health. While the concept of pathogenic (disease-causing) is well recognized, the notion of salutogenic (health-causing) pre-sents a groundbreaking shift toward a vision of

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healthy living beyond conventional models of acute care, prevention and sustainability. “We have 8,000 known causes of disease, and maybe only 80 known causes of health,” observes Dr. Alan Dilani, director of the International Acad-emy for Design and Health, which organized the competition in partnership with the South Afri-can Ministry of Health. The Farrow team’s win-ning design was assessed on the basis of 40 saluto genic and performance criteria. “In this scheme, the Protea—the national flower for South Africa, serves as a metaphor for hope, healing and renewal, its form carefully placed at the heart of the health-promoting lifestyle centre (HPLC),” said the judges. “Designed to serve as a community landmark housing a wide variety of health, education, retail, library and theatre spaces, [it] will set an international standard for salutogenic design that explores and promotes the full range of the causes of health.” In contrast to long-established acute-care “Centres of Excel-lence” in treating disease, the design is conceived as an innovative “Centre of Influence” for pro-moting healthy living. This competition is the first of its kind in Africa and offers the winners an opportunity to build these facilities with funding provided by the South African Ministry of Health.

what’s new

architecture canada | raic launches new services portal.Architecture Canada | RAIC has launched its new online services portal. Featuring many function-ality and usability improvements, RAIC members will notice an immediate difference in the look and feel of the new portal, including a modern and updated store and dedicated events registra-tion section. www.raic.org/notices/miscellaneous/2011/portalfeatures_e.pdf

Vancouver art Gallery’s new exhibition website invites visitors to check into the Grand hotel.A new website created by the Vancouver Art Gal-lery gives visitors the opportunity to follow gal-lery curators over the next two years as they de-velop a major exhibition. As part of the Gallery’s longstanding commitment to exhibitions exam-ining architecture, design and visual culture, Grand Hotel will explore both the design and so-cial construction of hotels. The exhibition opens in June 2013 and curators Jennifer M. Volland and Bruce Grenville will share their explorations in a dedicated website and blog as they shape the

presentation. Updates are available via Twitter @grandhotelex or RSS.www.grandhotelexhibition.org

designing ecological tourism website launches.Designing Ecological Tourism (DET)—a collabor-ative research platform that investigates the chal-lenges faced by ecotourism in the developing world—has launched a new website to showcase its findings. Led by Assistant Professor Aziza Chaouni of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Archi-tecture, Landscape and Design, DET has brought together faculty members from the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, as well as inter-national experts, local stakeholders, government officials and graduate students. DET’s goal is to develop and disseminate transferable tools, strategies, and visions for low-impact forms of tourism, which safeguard fragile environments and invigorate local economies. It seeks not only to introduce graduate students to working in de-veloping world contexts, but also to nurture col-laborative research environments that combine the three disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and planning with ecology, eco-nomics and sociology.info@designingecologicaltourism.com

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aerospaceinspired by cloistered abbeys and the aeronautical history of its community, this new public library is an elegantly assertive response to its natural environment.

proJect BiBliothèque Raymond-lévesque, longueuil, queBecarchitect manon asselin aRchitecte and Jodoin lamaRRe PRatte et associés aRchitectes in consoRtiumteXt odile hénaultphotos maRc cRameR, Julien PeRRon

When PBS television journalist Charlie Rose interviewed architect Rem Koolhaas last October, he quoted film director Mike Nichols as saying, “The same way I want an actor to surprise me, I want an architect to give me something I did not know I wanted.” Being delightfully surprised by architects is what has been occurring for a small segment of clients in Quebec over the past 20 years as a direct result of an innovative govern-

ment-sponsored program that has allowed a number of successful design competitions to be realized.

One extraordinary and positive outcome of a recent design competition in Quebec was the Raymond-Lévesque Library in Longueuil, de-signed by Manon Asselin Architecte (MAA, also known atelier TAG) and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte et Associés Architectes in consortium. MAA is a

small but intense Montreal-based architecture firm led by Manon Asselin along with her life and work partner Katsuhiro Yamazaki, both of them McGill graduates. In addition to a couple of mas-ter plans and a few small renovations, MAA’s portfolio consists of only three public buildings, each the result of a design competition.

Asselin and Yamazaki’s work was first noticed in 2001 after they won a two-stage open competi-tion for a public library in Chateauguay, near Montreal. The jury, which included the enthusi-astic and culturally aware mayor at the time, Ser-gio Pavone, had sifted through 57 entries—then three during the second stage—before choosing

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opposite a suRReal Rocky landscaPe cReates a dRamatic entRy to the liBRaRy while acting as a Retention Pond foR suRface wateR Runoff. above the liBRaRy is suPPoRted By con-cRete Pilotis, affoRding unencumBeRed views to the suRRounding landscaPe.

MAA’s submission. While quite a number of the-atres, museums and similar cultural venues had been built as a result of government-sponsored competitions, few libraries—with the exception of the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec—had been the subjects of a competition within the existing program. The Chateauguay competition was highly unusual for two important reasons: the au-thorities insisted on holding a competition for their future library, and they chose a design team led by what was then an unknown young archi-tect, Manon Asselin.

Her second project, a theatre in Old Terre-bonne located north of Montreal, was also the re-

sult of an open competition. The winning entry was produced by the same team and partners Asselin had used for Chateauguay—her own firm along with Jodoin Lamarre Pratte et Associés Architectes. Again they surprised the community with a delightfully assertive building, set in a unique natural and historical setting.

A few years later, Asselin decided to tackle an-other library competition, this time in Longueuil—Quebec’s third-largest city located across the

St. Lawrence River from Montreal. Longueuil had never held a competition before and might never have done so if public funding had not been so closely tied to the competition process.

The site chosen for the Raymond-Lévesque Library is located in recently annexed St. Hubert, a municipality long known for its airport—one of the first to operate in Canadian history—and its aeronautics industry. The building was also meant to be the cultural component of the Parc

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de la Cité, a conservation area appreciated for its natural setting. Remem-bering her first visit to the site, Asselin commented, “You could actually feel the breeze and smell the forest.” This first impression remained a strong influence on her design submission.

The team’s starting point was a wind diagram that served to determine the library’s overall volume and the shape of the roof. Crucial to the design process was the fact that in this competition—the first integrated design competition to be launched within the Quebec government’s program—en-vironmental issues and energy performance had to be addressed concurrent with the design process. As a result of the project’s specific technical re-quirements, a young engineering firm specializing in sustainable building, Martin Roy et Associés Inc., was brought in to work with the architectural consortium.

In the competition entry, plans and sections seemed to flow from the combination of program demands, symbolic elements and the surrounding natural elements. The winds shaped the roof, and a cloister-like courtyard—a reference to the abbeys that informed Asselin’s Master’s thesis at McGill—allowed natural light to flood the building. Even the North Star, experienced through two specially oriented skylights on the upper level, found its way into the building. Brises-soleil were introduced to filter the sun’s rays but also recall the surrounding forest. Finally, rainwater fed into two sculptural retention ponds were meant to act as cooling devices during summer months.

Little change was made to the original design once construction began. Seen from the roof, the slightly askew two-storey volume has a central opening, reminiscent of Asselin’s appreciation for cloisters. At ground level, the northwest façade is cut away to allow park users to reach the heart

above much of the landscaPe functions to collect wateR Run-off, tReating the contaminated wateR thRough sPecial Plant-ings. left and bottom left liBRaRy visitoRs aRe offeRed numeRous views to the exteRioR, and disPlacement ventilation fRom the flooR is one of many sustainaBle featuRes in this PuBlic Building.

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of the building—its courtyard—without having to go through the library. The main entrance, located close to this public access, is tucked beneath the second-floor slab and leads to the central desk, which acts as a horizontal and vertical pivot for the library’s functions. Beyond the desk, the south-western wing is entirely devoted to children and toddlers who are accom-panied by their parents to a fuchsia-coloured soundproof corner.

Teens, adults and genealogy fans are invited to ascend the stairs, next to the long wooden desk designed by MAA. On the second level, enclosed glass areas accommodating various functions break the rhythm of innumerable rows of bookshelves. Views across the courtyard through layers of glass, sloping roof sections and wood louvres provide a constantly changing visual experience. The reading room, hovering in mid-air above the entrance, is the final destination of a long architectural promenade ascending up through the building.

In terms of performance, the design team sought to reduce the costs normally associated with heating and air-conditioning by 50 percent. To reach this goal, the building was equipped with both an active and passive geothermal system. Ventilation was carefully planned using a number of strategies including fresh-air intake whenever possible. Heat comes through openings in the concrete floors, which also act as effective thermal mass.

Along the building’s upper-level perimeter, louvre panels made of car-bonized wood—a popular choice in Quebec for both its aesthetic and en-vironmental criteria—are positioned at slightly different angles to follow the

above the dynamic ciRculation PatteRns, along with the Beauty of the BRises-soleil aRe in evidence once inside the semi- cloisteRed couRtyaRd. right RamPing and continuous PRomenade-like ciRculation cReates many oPPoRtunities foR inteResting vantage Points and oveRlooks.

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1 entRy hall 2 café 3 multiPuRPose Room 4 PRess/PeRiodicals 5 main counteR 6 offices 7 technical seRvices

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15 Reading Room16 woRk Room17 genealogy18 teenageRs’ sPace19 oPen to Below

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+11.43m rooftop highest point

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above sPecially oRiented skylights Point to the noRth staR while cReating a gReat deal of visual inteRest in the Reading aRea.

path of the sun. Rainwater from the roof is chan-nelled towards two interconnected retention ponds on the site. One of the ponds is located in-side the courtyard, while the other is located in the parking area, across a path leading to the nearby nature trails.

One could say Longueuil’s Raymond-Lévesque Library achieves a number of goals. The project

has already received nearly a dozen awards for its design, sustainability and programmatic excel-lence. As was recently confirmed by a major award granted to the architects by library profes-sionals, the building fulfills its mission as the city’s flagship library. The high performance of its reduced energy consumption and water con-servation reaffirms the fact that sustainability

and design excellence are not mutually exclusive. As Asselin notes, “Ideally, in a building, per-formance becomes poetry and poetry becomes performance.”

And finally, competitions are likely to create more outstanding buildings than any other selec-tion process. Quebec has proven this repeatedly over the last two decades, largely due to its unique European-inspired competition program, a process that has led to the construction of more than 30 cultural facilities across the province—many of them receiving multiple awards. One can only hope that other governmental bodies in Canada will come to understand the numerous benefits resulting from the architectural compe-tition process. ca

Odile Hénault is a Quebec-based architectural writer.

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client ville de longueuilarchitect team manon asselin aRchitecte: manon asselin, katsuhiRo yamazaki, thomas BalaBan, matt Balean, lauRie damme-gonneville. Jodoin lamaRRe PRatte: nicolas RangeR, caRlo caR-Bone, géRaRd lanthieR, guylaine Beaudoin, seRge BReton, chaRles-andRé gagnon, maxime gagnon.structural snc-lavalinmechanical/electrical maRtin Roy et associéslandscape manon asselin aRchitecte and Jodoin lamaRRe PRatte et associés aRchitectesinteriors manon asselin aRchitecte and Jodoin lamaRRe PRatte et associés aRchitectescontractor tRidôme constRuction coRPoRationbudget $12.3 mcompletion octoBeR 2010

1 main entRance 2 couRtyaRd 3 Retention Pond 4 wateR Jets and

geotheRmal field 5 “the BuBBle”

6 PRomenade and access to PaRc de la cité

7 wood lot 8 Red maPles 9 coveRed PlaygRound10 floweR gaRden

11 meteoR gaRden12 gReen Roof13 seRvice entRy14 Rock gaRden15 “noRth staR”

16 adveRtising columns17 Retaining wall18 landscaPed wateR

Retention Basin19 Planting “islands”

20 wateR Retention and PhytoRemediation Plant-ings

21 PedestRian walkways with PeRmeaBle Paving

site plan

clocKwise from top left vaRious sound-PRoofed Rooms accommodate meet-ings and classes without Being visually disconnected fRom the Rest of the liBRaRy; the undeRside of the main staiR; the BRight fuchsia wall indicates the location of the childRen’s Reading aRea; the ReinfoRced concRete wall at the Building’s entRy cReates an inteRest-ing counteRPoint to the liBRaRy’s uPPeR volume.

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GrowinG a Futurea new Facility For a respected ivy leaGue university treads liGhtly on its verdant site with beauty and Grace.

project Brian C. nevin WelCome Center, Cornell Plantations, ithaCa, neW Yorkarchitect Baird samPson neuert arChiteCtstext leslie Jenphotos tom arBan

sity wanted a similarly sized building for the campus—a large public conservatory for tropical plants, including visitor services and educational functions that would facilitate its goal of ex­panding Plantations stewardship and educational programming while enhancing its visitation and visibility from the surrounding campus.

However, a reassessment of the budget and ongoing maintenance costs along with a re­focused strategy centering on a more sustainable alternative resulted in a modestly sized in­dependent Welcome Center—the result of which is a 6,000­square­foot two­storey structure. In addition to providing general visitor services, the facility also has an educational component, for both guests and students in the Graduate Fellow­

Located in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University has long held an esteemed reputation as an Ivy League academic institution, and its impressive Plantations is no less respected, as it has func­tioned for well over a century as an important entity for academic research in botany and land­scape architecture. Its roots can be traced as far back as 1875, when Cornell’s campus plan specified construction of an arboretum and a conservatory for teaching botany. Nobel Prize­winning research has been conducted on the

grounds of the Plantations; cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock conducted groundbreaking research through her genetic experiments in hybridizing maize. To this day, the Barbara McClintock Shed still stands in the southeast corner of the site as a historical testament to the important academic and scientific advances that were made here many decades ago.

By 2003, the time had come for the University to augment and enhance Cornell Plantations, and funding from private donors helped make this a real possibility. Baird Sampson Neuert Architects (BSN) were retained, based on their award­ winning design of the Niagara Butterfly Conserv­atory (CA, November 1996), located just north of Niagara Falls, Ontario. Initially, Cornell Univer­

01/12 canadian architect 19

opposite the WelCome Center’s gentlY Curving south façade features exPansive glazing, an aBundanCe of natural materials, and an inviting entrY Court. above, top to bottoM looking West from the uPPer level, one Can see the Wood-sheathed multi-PurPose sPaCe hovering over the tWo-storeY exhi Bi tion hall and loBBY; exhiBition disPlaY Cases in the loBBY flank the entrY into the Café and gift shoP.

the larger bowl. At the base of the knoll spreading out to the perimeter of the bowl is an expansive flatland where a wide variety of organized gar­dens have been planted over the years.

Siting of the Welcome Center within this bowl was critical to the architects’ design process. In­itially, four distinct sites and strategies were pro­posed for the built structure within the garden, but Neuert and Bonnardeaux’s preferred site was the one the client eventually agreed to. As well as

Beebe Lake and its Fall Creek extensions div­ide the campus laterally into north and south; the Plantations site lies just southeast of the lake. Conceptually, the design team led by principal in charge Jon Neuert and project architect Yves Bonnardeaux defined the site in terms of the bowl and the knoll. Glacial advances carved out a massive depression in the landscape, its path gently curving, leaving an aggregation of glacial deposits which formed an elevated knoll within

ship program in Public Garden Leadership. The client was explicit in articulating the importance of respecting the “intimate place” of the Botanic­al Garden, something the architects took to heart and which is clearly evident in the sensitive in­sertion into this most unique landscape.

The Cornell campus possesses a fairly striking topography defined by the glacial history of the area. This part of the state is known as the Finger Lakes region, named for 11 long and narrow par­allel lakes running north­south, all carved by the advances and retreats of glaciers during the Ice Age. Glacial motion powerfully sculpted the dis­tinctive landscape and topography of this region incised by gorges, evidence of which can be found on the University campus.

20 canadian architect 01/12

above the highlY exPressive and sCulPtural east elevation ClearlY reveals interior funCtions and the ComPonents of the Building, suCh as deeP overhangs and a suBstantial Wood louvred sCreen on the south façade.

the transition between flatland and knoll, the building’s two levels engage two separate topo­graphic conditions. The ground floor functions as an extension of the flatland and meadow, form­ing a very direct connection with the public gar­dens, particularly since the chosen site benefits from the adjacency to a series of existing conver­gent pathways. A second condition is experienced from the Welcome Center’s upper level, where the gentle slope of the grassy knoll can be appre­

minimizing site disturbance, Neuert maintains that the building’s nesting into the base of the knoll as it transitions to flatland results in the structure becoming a real part of the landscape rather than just operating as a mediating device. Furthermore, unlike the other three options, this particular site has the advantage of being visible from the precipice above, providing an important sightline for the project.

A most curious incident perhaps cemented this decision: shortly after an early­stage concept­phase meeting with the client, the two architects set out to further investigate and photograph these potential sites when a sudden intense lightning storm forced them to seek refuge in their car. As they were driving away, they heard a loud crack and spun around to see a giant tree

that had just been struck by lightning—now split in half—come crashing down to the ground. The storm stopped as abruptly as it began, and the pair drove back in amazement to find the felled tree, still steaming, immediately adjacent to their favoured site. According to Bonnardeaux, they needed no further encouragement to proceed with their selection.

With respect to site preparation, the architects removed a motley array of sheds and other utili­tarian structures that had been constructed in the 1950s—and restored the physical condition of the knoll, part of which had been bulldozed to ac­commodate these crude structures. Because of its considered siting, the building nests itself com­fortably into the landscape, creating an interest­ing sectional dynamic. As the design accentuates

01/12 canadian architect 21

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1 vehiCle entranCe/exit 2 Parking lot 3 arrival terraCe 4 BiCYCle Parking 5 Pedestrian WalkWaY 6 snoW storage 7 urBan forest 8 rain garden WalkWaY and Pedestrian Bridges 9 rain garden/BiosWale10 neW stormWater outfall11 existing stormWater outfall12 PathWaY13 roCk garden/alPine Plants14 transitional future garden

15 roadWaY and PathWaY16 Barrier-free Parking17 vegetated turnaround18 entrY Court19 Café terraCe20 WelCome Center21 knoll Plateau22 outdoor Pavilion23 ComstoCk knoll24 existing mulCh PathWaY25 existing ring road26 leWis Building27 Container garden28 roBison York herB garden

29 Young floWer garden30 mullestein Winter garden31 future gardens/international CroP and

Weed gardens32 event laWn33 tree grove34 Pounder heritage vegetaBle garden35 mCClintoCk shed36 existing gYmnosPerm BoWl37 neW gYmnosPerm Planting38 existing CamPus trail link39 BeeBe lake40 stormWater outfall

ciated, particularly from the large multi­purpose room which opens directly onto a generous out­door events terrace on a plateau. Additional sec­tional variation is apparent in the interior, with a central two­storey space comprising the exhi bi­tion hall, café and gift shop, which can be viewed from the multi­purpose room and bridge above.

As the project is really about the gardens form­ing the heart of the Cornell Plantations rather than the building itself, the parking lot is located a short distance away at the perimeter of the site, encouraging visitors to engage in a pleasant stroll through the gardens towards the Welcome Cen­ter’s entry court. In so doing, the transition from natural to built form is subtly manipulated through the choice of materials for the project. Dry­laid stone retaining walls extend from the exterior entry court into the interior, penetrating through the fully glazed walls into the exhibition hall lobby, forming a base for the exhibition cases on one side, and on the other, a screening wall con ceal ing the more prosaic functions of mechanical, electrical and washrooms. The dramatic and unified south façade comprised of an expansive screen of deep ipe wood louvres further communicates warmth and a certain organic quality, while also providing passive solar shading in summer and maximizing solar heat gain in winter.

It is important to note that as the facility is seasonal, two cycles of use are addressed in ac­commodating distinct user groups. As expected, the Welcome Center operates during the academ­ic year as a teaching facility and educational in­stitution, but during the summer season, tourists and other visitors make up the bulk of those entering its doors. Additionally, horticultural experts and researchers use the building year­round. This is why the large multi­purpose room was designed for maximum flexibility: in addi­tion to its function as one large classroom or two smaller classrooms when the dividing wall is slid into position, it can also be utilized as a confer­ence or lecture facility. Furthermore, the Wel­come Center facilitates revenue potential as a venue for weddings, as it provides an idyllic set­ting for such occasions given the natural beauty of the surrounding gardens.

As sustainability is an integral part of BSN’s practice, significant advances were made by the firm in addressing environmental and green in­itiatives. The orientation of the building on an

east­west axis maximizes opportunities for pas­sive solar gain, while existing vegetation and deep overhangs provide shade and prevent ex­cessive solar gain at certain times of the day. An in­floor hydronic heating system is connected to a rooftop solar vacuum tube system, while hot­water storage tanks are bermed into the hillside of the knoll. To further reduce energy consump­tion, passive ventilation and natural cooling strategies are employed on the lower level, with motorized operable vents promoting the stack effect. The Welcome Center has done away with air­conditioning, with the exception of the up­per­level multi­purpose space which regularly experiences high occupancy levels, thus neces­

sitating extra cooling. Moreover, the use of super­insulated exterior wood walls and high­performance double glazing also aids in reaching sustainability targets.

Neuert is particularly proud of the bioswale system the firm developed, as it serves a multi­tude of functions. As a “rain garden” sited next to the parking lot, it forms a critical part of the ar­rival sequence, introducing the site to visitors through an environmentally based garden theme. On a conceptual level, it acknowledges and de­marcates the route of an ancient glacial river, which sculpted the topography of the garden and the larger landscape. And in receiving and cleansing stormwater from the upper campus and

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1 exhiBition hall/loBBY 2 exhiBition Cases 3 reCePtion 4 gift shoP 5 Café seating 6 hallWaY 7 meChaniCal

8 eleCtriCal 9 WC10 offiCe11 elevator12 stair13 multi-PurPose room14 storage

above, top to bottoM the seCond-floor multi-PurPose room sPills out onto a outdoor terraCe, alloWing oCCuPants to enJoY the grassY toPograPhiCal Condition of the knoll; the north elevation Best reveals the seCtional ComPlexitY of the faCilitY as it melds effortlesslY With the gentle sloPe of the knoll.

architect teaM Jon neuert (PrinCiPal in Charge), Yves Bonnardeaux (ProJeCt arChiteCt), harveY Wu, andrea maCeCek, Jesse dormodY, mauro Carreno, CYril Charron, Winda lau, ian douglas, teddY BenediCtostructural BlaCkWell BoWiCk engineering (toronto) Mechanical/electrical m/e engineering (roChester) civil t.g. miller P.C. (ithaCa)landscape halvorson design PartnershiP (Boston)interiors Baird samPson neuert arChiteCts leed/sustainability Baird samPson neuert arChiteCtscontractor Welliver mCguire inC. (montour falls) executive project ManaGer norm aidunproject ManaGer luke BroWnarea 6,000 ft2 Building; 3.2 aCres of grounds on a 25-aCre sitebudGet $5.5 mcoMpletion JanuarY 2011

the parking lot, the bioswale also addresses stormwater management con­siderations and demonstrates the continued interdependence between plants and people.

Although only LEED Silver was mandated by the client, the firm believes they have achieved the requirements for LEED Platinum status, and are currently awaiting word from the US Green Building Council on their submission.

The Welcome Center at Cornell Plantations has clearly been well re­ceived. In 2011, the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Archi­tects honoured the project with an Award of Excellence, as did the Ontario Association of Architects. And in 2010, prior to its completion, the project received an Award of Excellence from this very magazine. As the Welcome Center was considered only the first phase of an ongoing process, BSN is engaged in a review capacity for Phase 2, which principally concerns an expansion within the flatlands, with the planned inclusion of a number of environmentally based gardens such as a new biofuel garden as well as an international crop and weed garden. Respected local Ithaca­based land­scape architecture firm Trowbridge & Wolf are leading this second phase. But Cornell is not done with BSN yet: they are currently in the schematic design phase of a training facility for the University’s marching band.

From Cloud Gardens Park (CA, August 1994) in Toronto nearly 20 years ago, to the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory (CA, November 1996), to the French River Visitor Centre (CA, April 2007), and now the Welcome Center at Cornell, “there is indeed a trajectory in the ongoing evolution of BSN’s work with respect to armatures and linkages amongst the projects,” says Neuert. From site response to architectural innovation and environmental sustainability, the firm’s level of sophistication and finesse is clearly blooming in every possible way. ca

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15 ConferenCe room16 serverY17 events terraCe18 Bridge19 oPen to BeloW

01/12­­canadian architect­23

insites

northern speculations

A­ToronTo-bAsed­ArchiTecTure­firm­is­invesTing­A­considerAble­AmounT­of­­energy­inTo­improving­A­food­delivery­neT-work­for­cAnAdA’s­fAr­norTh.

teXt­pAmelA­riTchoTiMaGes­lATerAl­office

Despite its far-off location and sparse population, the Canadian Arctic is a critical frontier of nation-al importance. Canada’s vast north might be home to one of the world’s least dense populations, but its youth demographic is growing faster than any-where else in the country. This northern frontier, no matter its distance from the densely populated southern band of Canadian cities stretch ing coast to coast, is of national concern because it is de-void of the infrastructure required to plan the sustainable communities necessary to secure its future. Immediate and tangible measures are needed to inform a period of strategic develop-ment that is in step with the sensitivity of its geography and culture. If this cannot be realized, then the cultural practices of hunting, fishing and Arctic mobility that were once so vibrant across northern communities could be lost forever.

aBoVe­lATerAl­office’s­reseArch­inTo­An­ArcTic­food­neTwork­seeks­To­hArness­The­rich­TrAdiTion­of­mobiliTy,­hunTing­And­fishing­in­The­norTh,­supporTing­iT­wiTh­A­flexible­neTwork­of­shelTers.

Our nation’s most remote regions continue to attract much political attention, challenging the architectural profession to come up with creative solutions. Once hard-wired to produce design and construction documents for traditional buildings, the contemporary architect is facing a professional and ideological shift to favour cross-disciplinary design research that some consider to be “speculative play,” a term that involves con-stant and rigorous inquiry into the conditions of our surroundings, often deferring the production of actual buildings. This kind of design research can liberate or expand architectural practice across the thresholds of urban, ecological and regional design, and can place increased empha-sis on the social, geopolitical and anthropological conditions of our world’s most complex regions before an architectural solution is even con-sidered. In this way, the pressing issues of the Arctic offer inspiring and challenging opportun-ities for the broad-minded architect.

Led by Mason White and Lola Sheppard, To-ronto-based Lateral Office has been speculating on strategies and designs for marginalized and remote regions of the world since 2007. In 2008,

following their design research for the Bering Strait and Reykjavik, Iceland, Lateral Office ex-panded their interest in the Arctic to begin their Next North project. An anthology of six pilot pro-jects, Next North investigates the issues and challenges central to Arctic development through six themes woven throughout their work: mobil-ity, ecologies, culture, resources, monitoring, and settlements. For example, their Ice Road Truck Stops project uses an energy-capturing structural mesh to construct Arctic ice roads, thereby securing a seasonal transportation net-work while constructing varying conditions in which aquatic ecologies can flourish year-round. White describes these projects as a series of “opportunistic synergies”—the strategic coupling of two or more programs under a single infra-structural project. In Health Hangars, an aircraft hangar undergoes simple adaptations to provide

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1 copper skin:­building­mATeriAl­for­flucTuATing­climATic­condiTions

2 sMokestack:­provides­The­opporTuniTy­To­smoke­hunTed­gAme­And­AcTs­As­A­wAyfinding­device­in­The­spArse­lAndscApe

3 skyliGht:­Allows­nATurAl­lighT­And­heAT­To­peneTrATe­The­spAce

4 snow wall:­snow­is­pAcked­in­wAll­cAviTies­To­provide­An­AddiTionAl­lAyer­of­insulATion

5 solar storaGe:­bATTeries­sTore­collecTed­solAr­energy­To­provide­An­AlTernATive­source­of­power­during­The­dArk­winTer­monThs

6 fire pit:­for­The­prepArATion­And­cooking­of­nATive­foods

7 fishinG holes:­provides­proTecTed­fishing­holes­ThroughouT­The­seAsons­of­The­yeAr

8 anchor systeM:­provides­weighT­To­sTAbilize­The­floATing­sTrucTures­As­well­As­An­under-wATer­surfAce­for­AlgAe­To­grow,­To­ATTrAcT­fish

9 data transMission:­for­The­TrAnsmission­of­dATA­signAls­(inTerneT,­cell­phone­And­­sATelliTe­services)

10 enerGy-harVestinG Buoys:­To­hArvesT­And­sTore­wAve­pressure­As­An­AlTernATive­source­of­energy

11 solar cells:­building­form­provides­opTimum­Angles­for­solAr­pAnel­plAcemenT

12 snow, ice and water collection: proviides­A­nATurAl­source­of­fresh­wATer­for­cooking,­wAshing­And­consumpTion

for the programmatic and spatial requirements of both an airport facility and health facility. This clever yet unexpected pairing responds to regional challenges of Northern construction and material logistics, thereby allowing research to critically inform architectural action. Through their hard work, Lateral Office’s Arctic inven-tions might actually possess the intelligence to become a reality.

Treading these challenging Arctic waters, Lat-eral Office has developed an inquisitive design practice that operates across related streams of research and “speculative play.” Founded in 2003, the partnership between White and Shep-pard has taken a critical step back from the ex-pected role of architect as builder. As their name suggests, Lateral Office explores architecture as the by-product of lateral, tangential and poten-tially disparate streams of thought and empirical processes. Parallel to this, White and Sheppard have simultaneously developed the research col-lective entitled InfraNet Lab where they continue to posit new roles for architecture and urban form as conduits for the world’s resources. Their research into such networked conditions as hydrological and transportation systems directly influences—and perhaps expands—the design practice coming out of Lateral Office. Through

this carefully constructed partnership, the couple has been producing systemic urban forms that respond to multiple issues at once, strengthening relationships between landscape, infrastructure and architectural systems.

Historically, we have failed to develop the ne-cessary infrastructure to sustain Northern and Arctic communities. Avoiding local conditions and culture, the federal government has typically demonstrated sporadic interest in the North, with their interest peaking when they need to utilize the Arctic’s land mass and resources for geopolitical value. Following the onset of the Cold War, the intrigue of the Arctic frontier raised its appeal as an important territory for national expansion. Under the Diefenbaker gov-ernment (1957-63), there was much talk of strategizing a Northern vision for Canada, but this only accelerated a period of shortsighted Arctic development. The government’s funda-mental aim during this period of history was to maximize the region’s riches while essentially eroding the traditional Inuit way of life.

Wrongfully presuming that this land mass and its resources are for the taking, intrusions from Ottawa have perpetuated a top-down model of development that persists today. With this mind-set, large-scale infrastructural development

often favours purpose-engineered structures that serve short-sighted single-use needs. By way of “quick-fix” solutions to remote territories across the Arctic, it has become rare that a project dem-onstrates an understanding of the region’s cur-rent and future challenges.

Historically, attempts at Northern develop-ment show us that government-led projects can quickly fail. Bureaucratic and monetary setbacks are a common occurrence across all levels of gov-ernment, causing even the most essential of pro-jects to quickly lose momentum—often resulting in the cancellation of Northern projects. Their long winters pose distinct challenges for con-struction and the transport of materials—the climate is simply not forgiving of any setbacks. Thus, a reliable flow of funding is essential for building in remote regions, which raises the im-portance of private capital. For the Arctic, private funding could ignite a rapid rate of development

Below­lATerAl­office’s­reseArch­involves­designing­new­Types­of­shelTers­ThAT­seek­To­merge­TrAdiTionAl­And­conTem-porAry­consTrucTion­Techniques.­wAlls­could­be­consTrucTed­of­mesh­for­improved­Airflow­in­The­summer­And­could­AccommodATe­compAcTed­snow­in­The­winTer.

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01/12­­canadian architect­25

coMponents: local specificity and adaptaBility throuGh deployMent of an array of tools 0 100km

Fishing hole over water

Smokestack for heating and food preparation

Ground-level cold storage

Deep permafrost cold storage

Greenhouse indoor cultivation

Mussel, kelp and fishing infrastructure

Fishing shelter support over water

Water and snow collection

Permafrost foundation pilings

Wayfinding devices

Lighting Communication towers

polesMeshshedsstacks

site plan 0 100kM

arctic Baypop. 700

pond inletpop. 1325

clyde riverpop. 825

Qikiktarjuaqpop. 525

pangnirtungpop. 1325

iqaluitpop. 6200

kimmirutpop. 400

cape dorsetpop. 1250

coral harbourpop. 775

repulse Baypop. 750

hall Beachpop. 650

igloolikpop. 1550

Baffin Bay

Davis strait

HuDson straitHuDson Bay

foxe Basin

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at a much larger scale than these communities could initiate or manage on their own.

For these reasons and more, Lateral Office’s Arctic investigations are strategically focused on the lessons learned from the Aboriginal peoples of the North, and their landscape. The firm looks to the culture, traditions, ecologies and geo-graphical context of the North to inform their proposed technological and systematic specula-tions. Undoubtedly, this cross-disciplinary scope must eventually face a critical audience and a broad range of skeptics who might ask: “How far away from reality is all of this speculation?” As Lateral Office learns to avoid naïveté in their work, they just might show us how an innovative design practice can exert significant influence on a region’s development.

The firm continues to receive support for their investigative work. Last October, Lateral Office was honoured with the Holcim Foundation’s Award for Sustainable Construction, receiving a Gold Award North America for their most recent development under the Next North project—the Arctic Food Network (AFN). This project propos-es immediate architectural solutions for the cul-tural practices of hunting, fishing and landscape mobility that are becoming increasingly threat-ened across the Foxe Basin in Nunavut Territory. In response to such regional challenges, the AFN is promoting a series of shelters to serve as camps, ecological harvesting stations, and data hubs.

The Holcim Foundation awards future- oriented works that demonstrate an understand-ing of people and their regions and a capacity to improve the living conditions in these contexts. Holcim has awarded building systems that range from locally manufactured bamboo and earthen-wall construction in rural Pakistan to long-term urban renewal strategies for post-tsunami Chile. Projects are awarded across the five major regions of the world and must align with the Foundation’s priority issues of innovative progress, ethical standards, environmental quality, economic prosperity and contextual proficiency. Winners of their first-phase regional competition receive seed money to facilitate the development and construction of their projects as they prepare to compete for the Global Holcim Awards 2012.

Lateral Office’s award of $100,000 US from the Holcim Foundation promises to drastically accel-erate their investigations into Northern issues. The competition’s jury commended the AFN’s great potential to redefine sustainable living and provide the Inuit with access to an improved fu-ture that is transferrable across other Northern regions. In this future, geographically discon-nected communities prosper through the mutual connectivity of three uniquely designed site con-ditions: land, water/ice, and coastal. Lateral Office’s distributed Arctic shelters provide navi-gational aids by way of data transmission towers

and lighting devices that maintain safe access across the region. Using their limited under-standing of local ecologies, hunting practices and the chang ing Northern diet, Lateral Office are studying how people traverse the land and use modest structures to secure and manage their local food network. Rather than imposing com-plex systems or advanced technologies on this fragile context, White and Sheppard have em-ployed simple systems that White describes as

“soft infrastructures” which improve adaptability and participatory customization by local users at each site. As climate change alters the conditions of ice, snow and open water, so too must the users alter these mobile structures by adapting them from floating water sites to structures on land.

Harvesting stations across various sites—such as fishing holes and shelters, indoor greenhouse cultivation, as well as underwater mussel and kelp infrastructure—requires local intervention

26­canadian architect­01/12

to develop individual sites as micro-economies that evolve out of newly strengthened cultural practices of land-based sustenance. Managing these ecologically based economies requires cold storage both at and below the permafrost layer, in addition to vital heat sources such as fire pits and smokestack structures to warm groups of nomadic caribou hunters. These soft infra-structures also provide fuel to smoke their game. The Holcim Awards jury for North America awarded these interventions for their ability to advance local patterns of living off of the land without defaulting to the single-purpose top-down strategies of the past. In short, the AFN merges architecture, landscape and infrastruc-ture to create a greater synergy that will enhance the evolving relationships between people and their environment across the region.

Lateral Office’s AFN is also attempting to facili-tate the evolution of the Inuit’s cultural relation-

ship with their rapidly changing region. Their snow-wall construction, for example, combines packed snow within a wall clad in a copper skin. These snow-and-copper walls are oriented at fa-vourable angles for exhausting smoke from cook-ing fires, or for capturing solar energy for storage in battery cells and interior lighting. Recalling past traditions of igloo construction, this multi-purpose infrastructure hopes to improve the functionality of future Arctic shelters—one that engages site conditions and facilitates the ability to grow local food—all while fostering a productive hub in a newly networked landscape.

To prepare for the Global Holcim Awards 2012, White and Sheppard are using their prize money to develop two concurrent streams of work. First, they will test the architectural systems driving their new “infrastructural synergies” by building a full-scale mock-up of one or more of these systems. One such example could be an anchor system that simultaneously stabilizes floating structures in open water while providing a growth site for algae that will boost harvestable fish populations. Secondly, the pair is also working with Nunavut’s Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth to test their ideas in community engagement and to develop a reality for the future of a viable AFN. As local ideas push back on White

and Sheppard’s speculations, they hope to see a level of community-based invention emerge.

Hopefully, the common use and operation of the AFN will strengthen the cultural ties that unite the Inuit population. Echoing the Holcim Foundation’s priorities, Lateral Office’s cultural-ly derived investigations demonstrate architec-ture’s agency in developing a viable regional net-work that can become a part of Inuit daily life, and will move them further along in evolving a sense of identity and community that embraces 21st-century challenges and opportunities. As the AFN works toward finding regional solutions to regional issues, Lateral Office has already proven the value of research-led speculative design to influence regionally informed architecture in a real way. If adopted, the methodology behind the Arctic Food Network will provoke new potentials in sustainable development for remote regions around the world. For Lateral Office, their AFN project could validate the evolution of their cross-disciplinary research practice and find an ever-expanding place for architectural specula-tion in the Arctic. ca

Pamela Ritchot is an architect and urban designer currently working at planningAlliance in Toronto on a regional development project in Northern Manitoba.

huB typoloGies

Sections

1_MESH boat dock2_SHED fishing shelter3_SHED cold storage4_POLE data transmission5_SHED kelp drying6_POLE wayfinding

1 2

3 4 5

6

a_huB 23a Aquaculture Centre c_huB 13 Protein PassB_huB 23B Freezer FieldSHEDS POLES MESH SHEDS POLES STACKS MESH POLES

Water + snow collection

Permafrost foundation

Mussel, kelp & fish-ing infrastructureSolarium

H2O drainageGround level cold storage

Deep permafrost cold storage

Wayfinding devices

Lighting

Fishing hole over water

Smokestack for heating & food preparation

Mesh for fishing shelters over water

Communication towers

Aquaculture Activities

Land + Water Site Condition Land-Only Site Condition Water-Only Site Condition

Plans

Perspectives

Freezer Field Activities Protein Pass

1_MESH2_SHED3_SHED4_POLE5_SHED6_POLE

1_MESH boat dock2_SHED fishing shelter3_SHED cold storage4_POLE data transmission5_SHED kelp drying6_POLE wayfinding

1_MESH boat dock 2_SHED fishing shelter 3_SHED overnight shelter 4_POLE data trans-mission 5_SHED kelp drying 6_POLE way-finding

1_SHED cold storage 2_POLE wayfinding (snow accumulation over time determines length of storage) 3_POLE data transmission

1_MESH boat dock 2_SHED fishing shelter 3_MESH connecting platforms 4_SHED lookout tower 5_POLE fish-ing holes

1 2

3

1

2

3

4 5

aBoVe­eAch­of­The­Afn’s­hubs­encircling­nunAvuT’s­foxe­bAsin­will­relATe­To­iTs­locAl­ecosysTems­And­proximiTy­To­communiTies.­The­proposed­hubs­Are­To­be­disTribuTed­AT­160-kilomeTre­inTervAls­And­occupy­vArious­Types­of­lAnd-scApes:­lAnd,­wATer/ice,­And­coAsTAl­condiTions.

01/12­­canadian architect­27

technical

no Stone UntUrnedThe­herculean­Task­of­replacing­over­45,000­marble­panels­on­ToronTo’s­iconic­­firsT­canadian­place­was­made­far­more­efficienT­Through­effecTive­projecT­­managemenT­and­planning.

Since it was completed in 1975, First Canadian Place has stood as a symbol of Toronto’s domin-ance in the financial industry in Canada. Today, the 72-storey, 2.4-million-square-foot office building remains the operational headquarters of the Bank of Montreal, and houses a large per-centage of the city’s top law, brokerage and finance offices. But the Type A tenants began to lose their faith in this Class A office building in May 2007 when one of the tower’s stone panels loosened and tumbled 50 storeys to the street below—miraculously, nobody was hurt. This inci-dent triggered a plan of action initiated by the building’s desperate owners that resulted in an extensive $100-million energy retrofit and a complete recladding of what remains Canada’s tallest office building.

Almost by definition, a skyscraper represents the embodiment of a client or client group’s de-sire to dominate a city skyline with a symbol of corporate fortitude. Furthermore, when a sky-scraper is complete, it often becomes a zeitgeist building—representing the latest in technological, economic and cultural achievements of the day. A few of the better-known skyscrapers completed over the past 80 years that have captured the im-agination of the public include: the Empire State Building in New York City, the John Hancock Center in Chicago, the 30 St Mary Axe Building (formerly known as Swiss Re and informally known as the Gherkin) in London, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. All of these skyscrapers certain-ly pushed the limits of the building technology of their times, and they all will eventually require significant upgrading if they haven’t already undergone costly refurbishments. For example, the retrofitting of the 1931 Empire State Building approached $550 million when it was completed in 2011. It is expected that the owners’ investment will pay for itself in less than five years. High energy prices, evolving legislation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and competi-tive real estate markets represent huge incentives for building owners to upgrade older properties. We can certainly expect that after 30 to 40 years, most high-rise buildings will require upgrading of mechanical equipment and the replacement of at least some building materials. This was the case for First Canadian Place (FCP).

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28­canadian architect­01/12

FCP was designed by architect Edward Turrell Stone, and the Toronto firm of B+H (then known as Bregman+Hamann Architects) were the archi-tects of record. Stone happened to be the same architect responsible for another well-known skyscraper also clad in white marble and incor-porating a similar tubular steel-frame structural system—the Standard Oil Building in Chicago which, at 83 storeys, was the fourth-tallest build-ing in the world when it was completed in 1973. A year after the building opened (its name changed to the Amoco Building and it is currently known as the Aon Building), one of the marble slabs detached from the façade and crashed into the roof of a nearby building. Stainless steel straps were hastily added to hold the slabs in place until 1990 when all 43,000 of its Carrara marble slabs were replaced with granite. The final cost associated with the retrofit was well over half the original price of the building.

After the single panel fell off of FCP in 2007, Brookfield Office Properties, the owners of the property, commissioned numerous studies to de-termine the necessary steps that should be taken to replace its 45,000 panels, which were invari-ably stained and distorted in both concave or convex patterns, the result of many harsh winter freeze-thaw cycles and increased wind pressures caused by the proliferation of subsequent high-rise buildings in the downtown core over a 30-year period. Notwithstanding the deterioration of FCP’s marble cladding, the construction of the building itself was very sound. Although a high-performance glazing replaced the original vision glass, the metal window frames were in near-perfect condition.

One of the greatest challenges of the FCP reno-vation project was to keep the building oper-ational during the replacement of the exterior cladding, and to mitigate any inconvenience or disruption to the tenants. The building’s marble panels were replaced with 5,625 white fritted or tinted glass panels designed with the engineering assistance of Brook Van Dalen & Associates. Each glass panel weighs 453 kilograms, whereas each marble panel weighed around 90 kilograms. However, one new glass unit replaces four marble panels and four glass panels, so the building has experienced considerable weight loss. Halcrow Yolles conducted much of the pre-construction engineering, including a study to determine if the building would naturally rise from its founda-tions as a result of its lighter mass. With the foundation firm, this was not the case.

Because of the iconic importance of FCP to Toronto’s skyline, considerable effort was made to ensure that the glass panels had a similar com-plexity in depth and colouration as the original white Carrara marble panels. Once removed from the site, the discarded panels were used in a variety of applications such as aggregate for con-

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01/12­­canadian architect­29

crete, roadway construction, and a few kitchen and bathroom renovations across the city. The B+H architect team, led by principal in charge Douglas Birkenshaw, project director Kevin Stelzer, and project manager Bronwyn Sibbald, met this challenge, and went even further by improving the build-ing’s slender profile by plac ing tinted glass panels at the corners to accen-tuate the sharpness of the new cladding.

A vitally important element to the project’s success was the $23-million custom-designed and built suspended elevator platform—a singularly important piece of engineering that contributed to the saving of over 1.3 million hours of labour, thereby hastening the project’s timeline. This 15-metre-tall three-storey platform weighing 113,000 kilograms is con-structed of standard off-the-shelf aluminum and steel components so that the structure could be broken down and used for future applications. The platform is constructed in 14 separate sections and is capable holding up to 160 workers at a time. It takes roughly three days for 80 workers to remove the marble panels on the lower floor of the platform and to subsequently install the new panels. When viewing the platform up close, it appears to be incredulously suspended from the building by attaching itself to narrow skate-like metal clips inserted into the window-washing slots on the exter-ior of the façade.

Once the marble panels, existing sealant, stone, and panel support brack-ets are removed on the lower level, special carts transfer the old material to the elevators. The upper level of the platform is where the new glass panels are installed. Each panel is hoisted onto a steel monorail running the entire circumference of the platform. As soon as the panels are in place, they are hooked onto a secondary monorail positioned closer to the building where they appear to be effortlessly lowered into position and installed. The pro-cedure was finessed to a fine art, largely due to EllisDon’s construction management experience. In fact, the entire construction site was particu-larly well designed to stockpile material and establish a system for the load-ing and unloading of special carts to remove the marble and install the new curtain wall. The double-decker loading platforms above Adelaide Street were even designed to accommodate the removal of snow from the upper platform, and is a further testament to the foresight of the design and con-struction team.

Construction for the retrofit began in November 2010, managing to reach the podium by the end of December 2011. The entire process of upgrading FCP’s cladding and building systems enabled the owners to take this build-ing into the 21st century while quietly reviving a tired icon that emerged when Toronto overtook Montreal as the financial capital of Canada. ca

aBoVe­a­secTional­drawing­of­The­suspended­elevaTed­plaTform­illusTraTes­how­The­plaTform­sysTem­is­aTTached­aT­The­middle­level­by­Tie-in­sTruTs­bolTed­To­Temporary­brackeTs.­winches­on­The­roof­suspend­The­sysTem­from­above­and­move­iT­down­The­face­of­The­building­using­sloTs­reserved­for­The­window-washing­equipmenT.­when­The­panels­have­been­insTalled,­The­Tie-in­sTruTs­are­removed­and­The­enTire­sTrucTure­moves­down­one­floor.­BeloW, leFt to riGht­Time-lapse­cameras­record­The­progress­of­consTrucTion.

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30 canadian architect 01/12

Books

the Business of design: Balancing creativity and ProfitabilityBy Keith Granet. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011.

Pay your consultants as soon as you are paid and remember to always de-posit 10 percent of your earnings into a savings account. These are but two of the many pointers outlined in Keith Granet’s useful book The Business of Design. Published on thick paper with large-print text, this guide approach-es the look and feel of a children’s book—but don’t let its deceptively sim-plistic graphic appearance fool you. Granet wants his readers to learn from his many years of experience advising countless architecture firms into achieving greater profitability and long-term success. In other words, this is a business book designed for the architect who loathes reading business books. Readers can clearly follow the necessary steps to establish, grow, or turn around just about any design firm through the book’s discussions on budgeting, fee structures, human resources and marketing plans—all ac-companied by easy to understand charts and graphics. Practitioners of all levels can benefit by reading this book as the content ranges from providing advice on developing a business plan to mentoring a senior associate. Every chapter finishes with a candid interview with notable architects such as Michael Graves, John Merrill, Eugene Kohn and Richard Meier on topics ranging from developing a business plan, marketing, and staffing. It is no secret that many architects will take on a project simply because they like the client’s site more than the actual client. Learning how to say “no” to a potentially disastrous situation is just as important as understanding the real costs associated with managing a successful project. One of Granet’s most important messages is realizing the value of the services provided by an architect. Architects typically lack basic business skills because they

place creativity well ahead of profitability. This book seeks to balance creativity and profitability so that architects can continue to design good buildings while being paid their full worth. ic

newfoundland Modern: architecture in the smallwood Years 1979-1972 By Robert Mellin. Toronto and Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011.

There’s a compelling photograph reproduced in Robert Mellin’s Newfound-land Modern. It’s a picture from the early 1960s, showing Newfoundland’s Premier Joey Smallwood examining a display of the World Trade Center. Smallwood, mesmerized and dwarfed by the huge project model, is no doubt imagining how architecture could fuel his dreams of a new Newfoundland. Modernity, culture and the central role played by architecture in shaping Newfoundland’s identity are at the heart of Mellin’s engaging chronicle. With impressive research, the author explores Newfoundland’s architectural maturation in the years immediately after confederation from three distinct vantage points. First, he gives us a view of Smallwood the tyrant as he waged war on Newfoundland’s established architectural professionals in order to impose his own ideas of how architecture should be practiced in his prov-ince. Second, in a clever narrative mirroring Smallwood’s self-aggrandizing Newfoundland: Canada’s Happy Province (1966), Mellin presents a critical commentary on the ways Smallwood the demagogue embraced Modern architecture in order to single-handedly transform Newfoundland from col-onial backwater to a progressive modern state. Finally, Mellin traces the ca-reers of two exceptional practitioners of the time—Frederick A. Colbourne and Angus J. Campbell—whose talent and vision served to help Smallwood realize his ambitions. Newfoundland Modern is not a conventional architec-tural history, as Mellin is a practitioner as well as an academic. He is a skilled writer with a keen observer’s eye, a wry wit, and a deep awareness of the architectural importance of the works he’s exploring. He interweaves high-level interpretations of form-making with on-the-ground anecdotes con-cerning the challenges of using new technologies in remote settings. As with his previous work Tilting, he brings us into the lives and times of the

reviewed BY IAN ChodIKoff, GeoRGe KAPelos, PAIGe MAGARReY ANd seAN RUTheN

01/12 canadian architect 31

individuals who advanced the province’s architectural culture. Mellin proves to us that Newfoundland presents more than the ersatz history and cozy neo- vernacular promoted by the province’s contemporary tourism apparatus. In so doing this work stands as an important measure for asserting the value Canadian architects have in place-making in our Dominion. Luscious illus-trations, amusing stories, an extensive bibliography and discursive footnotes all make for a solid scholarly work of authority and lasting value. Gk

carrot city: creating Places for Urban agricultureBy Mark Gorgolewski, June Komisar and Joe Nasr. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2011.

What started as a Toronto exhibit exploring how building design can facili-tate the production of food in cities is quickly going global. The show, en-titled Carrot City, is travelling across the globe, and is concurrently being exhibited in Berlin and Hartford. The curators, Ryerson University profes-sors Mark Gorgolewski, Joe Nasr and June Komisar, recently authored a textbook for the movement. Carrot City: Creating Places for Urban Agriculture approaches the concept of urban agriculture with a focus on the facts and numbers that prove its utilitarian and infrastructural capabilities, of which design plays an integral role. The 40 built and unbuilt projects presented in its pages—each accompanied by text zoning in on logistics rather than theories—offer case after case illustrating how urban agriculture can work when integrated with innovative forward-looking design. The Edible Schoolyard, for example, aims to improve New York City school meals while giving children the chance to learn about growing and preparing healthy food; architecture firm WORKac designed a series of spaces at two New York schools to implement learning and cooking spaces around quarter-acre

organic gardens. The book includes large-scale public projects (MVRDV’s Pig City concept for the Netherlands is exactly what it sounds like), residen-tial initiatives, individual building components like irrigation systems, composters, and even urban livestock products like UK pet-care emporium Omlet’s Eglu Go—a portable backyard chicken coop. Carrot City is an in-sightful read, moving from macro to micro while offering useful ideas to practitioners and homeowners alike. PM

toward a culture of wood architectureBy Jim Taggart. Vancouver: Abacus editions, 2011.

As an urgent and critical document on how the increased use of wood in our built environments can mitigate global climate change, this thorough and thought-provoking book could not have arrived a moment too soon. Filled with poignant observations on the use of wood in architecture, both historic-ally and currently, as well as many supporting case studies documented through excellent photography and lively graphics, the book serves as a small monograph showcasing recent work by Canadian architects and structural engineers who have explored the potential of wood to create innovative structures that rival contemporary concrete and steel structures. Most im-portantly, Taggart critically discusses the embodied energies of conventional construction materials, introducing the idea of “constructive environment-alism” as a way to reduce the carbon footprint in many architectural projects. As he points out in the third chapter, “there are many reasons to revive a wood building culture in Canada: to reaffirm cultural identity, to re-establish regional character, to resuscitate local economies, and perhaps more im-portantly, to make a contribution toward the mitigation of climate change.” As an added bonus, the book features many construction details in its mar-gins, including an axonometric of the majestic tree columns inside the Carlo Fidani Peel Cancer Centre in Mississauga, the roof panels of the Richmond Olympic Oval, as well as cross-sections of the curving columns in the West Vancouver Aquatic Centre. Jim Taggart, who has now been editor of SAB Magazine for five years, has made a determined and impassioned plea for the critical rethink of wood use in our built environment. sr

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For­more­inFormation­about­these,­and­additional­list-ings­oF­Canadian­and­inter-national­events,­please­visitwww.canadianarchitect.com

calendar

Design Exchange Awards: Winners ExhibitionNovember 24, 2011-February 26, 2012 Taking place in the Exhibition Hall at the Design Exchange in Toronto, this exhibition showcases this year’s winning work from across Canada, offering an opportunity for visitors to explore the various design dis­ciplines, and to appreciate the most current and innovative pro­jects being produced by Canadian designers. www.dx.org/dxa

Rural ReadymadeJanuary 13-May 5, 2012 This exhi­btion at the College Art Galleries at the University of Saskatchewan features work by a number of con­temporary artists who explore the readymade in contemporary ex­perience. Focusing on the use and adaptation of found materials, the work of these artists blurs regis­ters—between the mundane and aesthetic, low­tech and no­tech, found and familiar. www.usask.ca/kenderdine/

design Week at the design exchangeJanuary 23-29, 2012 As part of To ron­to’s Design Week 2012, the Design Exchange is proud to offer a variety of programming for the city­wide de­sign experience at the DX. Events will include a screening of co­director Ben Murray’s Unfinished Spaces, the exhibition launch of Stephen Burks’ Man Made Toronto, a panel discus­sion of the Evolving Visual Consum­er, a relaunch of the renowned DX Resource Centre, and more. www.dx.org

toronto design Offsite Festival January 23-29, 2012 The Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO) features exhibitions and events across the city of Toronto. Formed by an association of several “offsite” shows, all of the exhibitions and events feature and promote new Canadian practices—not only the art and design within each show, but also the ways they are organized, curated and produced.http://todesignoffsite.com

Photography Collected Us: The Malcolmson CollectionJanuary 24-March 10, 2012 This exhi­bi tion of historical photography at the University of Toronto Art Centre is comprised of rare and beautiful objects (an early da guerreo type, several salt­paper negatives) dating from the mid­19th century to the present. It encompasses many of the great names of photography in Eur­ope and North America: Gustave Le Gray, Eugène Atget, Julia Margaret Cam eron, Margaret Bourke White, Man Ray, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Paul Strand, to name a few. www.utac.utoronto.ca

charles Bloszies lectureJanuary 25, 2012 San Francisco­based architect Charles Bloszies speaks at 6:30pm in the Peter Kaye Auditorium at the Vancouver Public Library.

Peter Yeadon lectureJanuary 26, 2012 Peter Yeadon of New York­based architecture firm Decker Yeadon LLC and the Rhode Island School of Design lectures at Ryerson University’s Department of Architectural Science in Toronto at 6:30pm.

interior design Show 2012 January 26-29, 2012 Taking place at the Direct Energy Centre in Toron­to, the Interior Design Show is Can­ada’s largest contemporary design fair. Each year world­renowned de­signers and architects participate as keynote speakers and as creators of inspiring feature exhibits. Come see the design world’s trailblazers, game changers and celebrities in exhibits and on the stage.www.interiordesignshow.com

come Up to My room 2012January 26-29, 2012 Come Up To My Room (CUTMR) is the Gladstone Hotel’s annual alternative design event, and invites artists and de­signers to show us what goes on in­side their heads. The four­day event is in its ninth year at the Gladstone Hotel, featuring 11 room installa­tions and 13 public space projects.www.comeuptomyroom.com

Fernando romero lectureJanuary 31, 2012 Architect Fernando Romero of FREE in Mexico City de­livers the Kohn Shnier Lecture at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design at the Univer­sity of Toronto at 6:30pm.

Stanley Saitowitz lectureFebruary 6, 2012 Part of UBC’s Hous­ing and the City series, Stanley Saitowitz of San Francisco’s Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects lec­tures at 6:30pm at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver.

Jeanne Gang lectureFebruary 7, 2012 Architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang in Chicago de­livers the Bulthaup lecture at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design at the Univer­sity of Toronto at 6:30pm.

theo deutinger lectureFebruary 9, 2012 Theo Deutinger of Rotterdam architecture firm TD Architects lectures at Ryerson Uni­

versity’s Department of Architec­tural Science in Toronto at 6:30pm.

Vesa honkonen lectureFebruary 13, 2012 As part of the Forum Lecture Series hosted by Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism, Vesa Honkonen of Vesa Honkonen Archi tects in Helsinki, Finland lectures at 6:00pm at the National Gallery in Ottawa.

carme Pigem lectureFebruary 13, 2012 Carme Pigem, prin­cipal of RCR Arquitectes in Olot, Spain delivers a lecture at 6:30pm at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver. Pigem’s work is characterized by a simple yet refined architectural lan­guage that reflects the Catalan region of Spain where she lives.

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or the artistry of traditional glaziers.When James and Inge Pataki, owners of the

Gallery 78 commercial art gallery in Fredericton, chose to build a summer camp alongside an inlet of the St. John River at Longs Creek in the early 1980s, they engaged a number of their friends, including renowned artists Bruno and Molly Bobak, to hand-shape a unique “stained-glass” bottle cabin. Using a technique borrowed from cordwood houses, the walls were assembled from bottles stacked in a mortar bed. Like the best folk or naïve art, the walls are informal yet sophisti-cated, and they vary through patterned designs of white, green and brown bottles. Overseeing the interior open space is a bold happy face, a cheer-ful anthropomorphic assemblage of coloured bottles that comprise one panel of the wall.

By the end of the Modern era, stained-glass artists were striving to make their works part of the architecture itself. British glass artist John Piper called it “the simultaneous creation of a light-filled unit.” Like an abstract painting, the Patakis’ idea was less a carefully designed matrix of coloured bottles that read as a window, but rather one of an expressive presence of colour and light permeating the interior. One’s experi-ence of the structure changes entirely according to the intensity of light, which is startling and unexpected considering that on the outside, the camp is as grey and opaque as a cinderblock. Through resourceful scavenging, the Patakis have

built one of New Brunswick’s most exceptional buildings. On a sunny day, the interior effect is magical.

What would the medieval cathedral builders think of the bottle cabin? Would they see God pouring through the gin and wine bottles, or would they just be perplexed by a house made of glass and cement? Further to this, can we equally consider the huge stained-glass windows of a medieval cathedral in the same breath as a camp cabin made of bottles? The answer is a resound-ing yes, demonstrated by the fact that something as simple and honest as light shining through col-oured glass can stop us in our tracks and fill our minds with wonder. It reminds us that great architecture and design result from an inspired mixture of material and motivation, giving revela-tion to form, no matter how down-to-earth. ca

John Leroux is an architect and art historian living in Fredericton. His latest book, Glorious Light: The Stained Glass of Fredericton was recently published by Gaspereau Press. It is the first time in Canada that a fully illustrated history of a city’s stained glass has ever been published.

Bottled Up

The religious and spiriTual associaTions of sTained glass are reconsidered in con-Temporary and informal applicaTions of coloured glass in archiTecTure.

teXt + photo John leroux

We thrive on such things as beauty and colour, but in an equally intuitive way we yearn for pat-tern, rhythm, symbolism and radiance in our surroundings. Often responding to these needs, stained-glass windows are dynamic creations that radically transform with the changing light, the angle of the sun, the time of day, and weather conditions. Unlike a painting, they are con-sidered permanent and eternal—anchored in their particular place as a strategic part of the architecture.

While it is seldom celebrated, Fredericton, New Brunswick has some of the finest stained glass in Canada. This precious assortment runs the gamut from 19th-century church windows resplendent with Gothic Revival majesty, to bold post-war glazing that strove for a more modern expression of society’s values.

While light passing through a church’s stained-glass windows was seen for centuries as a sacred and tangible contact with God, a unique example of homemade architecture on the out-skirts of Fredericton shows that the power, reach and simple joy of sunlight passing through col-oured glass is not limited to religious structures

aBoVe an assemblage of coloured glass boTTles sTacked in a morTar bed creaTes a brighTly illuminaTed wall in a summer camp cabin in new brunswick.

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