This session is SOLD OUT and is not available for registration.
Location: Offsite - buses and meeting spot, Parker Building, Laurentian Main campus
Please report 15 minutes prior to
your scheduled departure to the OAA Dispatch Hub located next to
Registration in the R.D. Parker Building
1.5 ConEd Learning Hours
1.5 AIA LU
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Place des Arts, a new cultural facility in the heart of downtown Sudbury, plays a significant role in the City of Greater Sudbury’s downtown revitalization. Aligning with the Downtown Revitalization Masterplan’s action strategy, the plan specifically indicated that what is important for the new Place des Arts is that “the centre has a visible street presence and would contribute to the pedestrian interest and activity of the Downtown.”
In joint venture, Moriyama Teshima Architects and Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture (now known as Bélanger Salach Architecture) were able to achieve a highly intricate and flexible design that provides spaces for a wide variety of activities and uses, while contributing to the surrounding urban context. The design of Place des Arts engages with the street and sidewalk level to invite pedestrians into the facility, while reaching out to the surrounding neighbourhood with distinct, expressive façades. Each face of the building responds to and augments the character of its respective abutting cityscape, with calculated choices of materiality, pattern, and texture. Focusing on notions of duality through both historical and contemporary integration, the tour touches on the collaborative design process and the key design considerations for the facility and its impact on Downtown Sudbury’s revitalization.
Learning Objectives
1. Gain insight into the design thinking and planning for a building that was to act as a catalyst for urban revitalization.
2. Demonstrate how architecture can assist an organization’s ability to achieve its mission and values, while influencing its work processes and culture, and urban outreach abilities.
3. Hear about the roles and responsibilities of the various team members—both client and design team—as well as the design and advantages of deep collaboration.
4. Discover the consensus process and design response through refinement, program compression, integration compromise, and right-sizing.
Amber Salach, Architect, B.A.S, M.Arch, OAA, MRAIC, is a principal at Bélanger Salach Architecture, Chairs the Northern Ontario Society of Architects (NOSA), and sits on the advisory panel of Building Equality in Architecture North (BEA[N]), where she devotes her time to organizing continuing education events, promoting local architecture and dialogue amongst architects and the community at large. She is part of the fourth generation of architects to lead a firm established in 1964 that has created legacy projects throughout Sudbury and the North. She was appointed partner in 2015 and is the first female architect and partner of the firm, as well as the first licensed and practising female architect in Sudbury. Amber has led a number of community initiative projects, as one of the main design and project architects for recent projects such as Place des Arts, Laurentian University Student Centre, Manitoulin Secondary School Revitalization, St. David Catholic Elementary School, and the redevelopment of the Rainbow District School Board Offices.
Brian Rudy, B.E.S., B.Arch, OAA, NSAA, AAA, AIBC, FRAIC, is a partner at Moriyama Teshima Architects. His combination of passion about the poetry of architecture and practicality for how projects get realized has made Brian one of the leaders of his practice’s cultural portfolio for the last 20 years. Brian’s strong design leadership searches out meaningful and right-sized solutions that place sustainability and cultural sensitivity at the very heart of the design. In addition to work on Place des Arts in Sudbury, he has a wide breadth of experience in educational, performing arts, and transportation projects, ranging from the Governor General’s award-winning Canadian War Museum in Ottawa to the Etihad Museum in Dubai, and the multi-billion-dollar P3 Gordie Howe International Bridge. A strong believer in the sustainable practice of adaptive reuse, Brian has also led several innovative projects including Discovery Centre in Halifax, which is repurposed from a pre-existing power plant turbine hall, and the Humber College Building G project, a heritage-designated administration building of the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital.
Jason Philippe, Architect, OAA, OAQ, is director of architecture for Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) with the federal government of Canada, where he advocates for the value of collaboration between clients and designers as catalyst for synergy and success. A Franco-Ontarian from Norther Ontario, he studied at Carleton University and the Bauhaus in Germany. Jason completed his internship with Larocque Elder Architects (LEA) of North Bay and practised as a design architect with Moriyama Teshima Architects (MTA) in Toronto.
Louis Bélanger, Architect, B.E.S., B.Arch, OAA, MRAIC, is a founding partner of the architectural firm of Bélanger Salach Architecture. Fluently bilingual, Louis has developed relationships with the Francophone community and his unique combination of skills and experience in a wide variety of projects has contributed to the diversity of the firm’s portfolio. Louis’ experience with leading large-scale community projects in Greater Sudbury is unparalleled. With 33 years of in-depth, hands-on, local experience, he brings strong leadership to the firm’s institutional design team. He has been the lead architect and project manager on many community-minded projects such as Place des Arts, Health Sciences North phase 1 revitalization project, South End Community Library, the Northern Water Sports Centre, Countryside Arena, Pioneer Manor, Elgin Street Greenway and St. Joseph Parking Lot Redevelopment at Bell Park.
Activity Level: Low (Comfortable shoes are recommended. This tour is wheelchair-accessible.)