Capital Health Centre
Edmonton
AB
Award Category:
Urban Fragments
Dub Architects Ltd.
The challenge was to make an uninviting 1970s complex worthy of its new role as an institutional headquarters building.
The design includes an entry doubling as an all-seasons exhibition and event space. A grand canopy is extended beyond the buildings, serving as a wayfinding device. After dark, the lit structure gives the street a sense of warmth and security.
The roof adopts a civic scale from the exterior, yet recedes to a human scale inside, drawing the street into a space that is both urban and intimate. The desired effect is a light, welcoming structure that appears simultaneously substantial and weightless.
Click for full version:
.
.
.
photos: Dub Architects Ltd.
.
“That one gesture, that link between the two buildings, does a very nice job of tying the buildings together and connecting the whole to the street. We saw this as an innovative sculptural piece of architecture.”