Newmarket Operations Centre
Toronto
ON
Award Category:
Governor General’s Medals in Architecture
RDH Architects Inc
Lead design architect(s):
Geoff Miller
Municipal operations centres rarely attract attention from designers or the public, despite their functions being critical to the life of most communities. The LEED Silver Newmarket Operations Centre represents an attempt to celebrate these services with a new civic landmark, and aims to set a new national standard for the design of this underappreciated building type. Far from being an afterthought, spaces for maintenance of the town’s fleet and related equipment are the heart of the building and are conceived as part of an efficient and sustainable workplace.
Click for full version:
.
.
.
photos: Tom Arban
.
"Elevates an ordinary brief for a municipal operations centre into an exercise in formal refinement and economy that sets new standards for such civically crucial but architecturally neglected buildings. Through a rigorous, analytical approach, it reconciles demanding technical requirements with a crisply hewn architecture of sobriety and simplicity. Functional efficiency is matched by a clear commitment to sustainability, as well as the laudable aim of enriching the building’s wider environs."