Location: Edmonton, AB Architects: MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA) in joint venture with HIP ArchitectsDate of completion: 2012OAA Awards 2016 Design Excellence WinnerSituated within a prominent sports precinct in Edmonton, between the 1978 Commonwealth Stadium and the 1938 Clarke Stadium, the new Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre (CCRC) transforms a vacant stadium ground by consolidating the once residual spaces into a lively 24/7 urban park space and event destination. As a joint-use partnership between the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club, the CCRC brings together football operations, stadium programming, and a community centre.
Photo Credit: Tom Arban
Responding to its triangular site, the CCRC is composed of three primary masses – a field house, an aquatics centre, and a gymnasium – all framing a central lobby space. The facility also includes the adaptively reused 1978 stadium fitness centre. Its scale and mass respond to its context. The pool’s massing creates a prow-like gesture, suggesting speed and movement – a counterpoint to the stadium’s dynamic nature. The southern canopy responds to the facility’s solar orientation, shielding the interior from direct sunlight.
Section drawing showing how the different spaces of CCRC interconnect and negotiate the site. Drawing Courtesy of MJMA
The project is designed to allow three distinctive groups to share program specific amenities for mutual benefit: the Eskimos use the community centre pool, track, and fitness centre for player training, and host game related events in the gym and meeting spaces; the community uses the field house as well as the Eskimo meeting and coaching rooms in the off-seasons; the stadium operators host side-stage events in the field house, and use the community centre and Eskimo meeting rooms for hosting and staging functions for concerts and athletic events.
The Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre establishes a new civic and social meeting space for this regenerating neighbourhood, bringing together the community’s different groups under one roof.
To view the full submission, including additional images and drawings, click here.
Photo Credit: Tom Arban
This post (3/20) is part of the OAA Awards 2016 Design Excellence Finalists blOAAg series celebrating the best of Ontario architecture. Every day during the month of March we will be posting a new finalist. You can view all posts by clicking here. Winners will be announced April 1, 2016.