Located within the downtown Sudbury core, this new institutional/cultural/research facility is composed of a collective of symbiotic buildings that form a very transparent and publicly accessible courtyard, which is the hub and focus of the new Northern Ontario School of Architecture. With a central fire pit and seating area, the south-facing courtyard is flanked by a gallery and student operated café. The goal is to create a place where students and the public can gather, share ideas, interact, and discover the complexities of design and life in the North.
A Native Arts Centre defines one side of the public courtyard and accommodates a variety of artist studios, offices, arts and crafts education, as well as a kayak/canoe boat building program that will engage the aboriginal communities by revitalizing a resourceful skill base fundamental to traditional culture and heritage. Attached to this building is a public gallery at street level, that will host a variety of functions, but primarily will house different exhibitions by both the Native Centre and the School. It may also be a space where emerging artists from the surrounding community could exhibit work.
Opposite the Native Centre are the main components of the architecture school which is composed of: studios, a lecture hall, presentation space, offices, library, digital labs, etc. Anchoring the site with a strong visual street presence, the School extends the full length of the site and acts as the spine for the other components to plug into. A café near the entrance of the facility is meant to generate income and provide a meeting place for students and faculty. At the back end of the courtyard, a state of the art workshop and materials research lab is sited to bridge the gap between the Native Centre and School. The research lab on the second floor aims to create business opportunities and increase the local skilled trade industry through the use of advanced methods and technologies - with a focus on material exploration and wood research.
With a building layout inspired by northern Aboriginal shelter configurations, each building relies on the function of other buildings which in turn creates a comprehensive publicly integrated facility intended to inject a new energy into Sudbury's downtown core. The courtyard acts as a catalyst to facilitate the interaction of diverse groups of people through a series of indoor/outdoor spaces that together will act as one - and be one together.
With the intention of challenging the conventional architecture school typology, this collection of buildings is open and accessible from the street, and by design, invites the public to engage in a unique northern arts and cultural design experience.
(Competitor's text)
10 scanned / 5 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Plan
- Perspective
- Perspective
