Winning design team for Toronto landmark’s transformation revealed

by arslan_ahmed | December 18, 2023 3:36 pm

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A team led by Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA) has won the international design competition for the transformation of Toronto’s iconic St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts (SLCA).

Headed by Siamak Hariri, the winning team, including LMN Architects, Tawaw Architecture Collective, Smoke Architecture, and SLA, secured the accolade with their design titled “Transparence.” The concept establishes a dynamic link with the historic St. Lawrence neighbourhood, crafting a new cultural epicentre in the city’s heart.

Noteworthy for its high-performance transparent facade enveloping the existing structure, Transparence integrates Indigenous design elements inspired by Wampum belts, featuring a circular ceremonial fire at Front and Scott streets. The layout aligns the lobby and public amenities in an L-shaped plan along the Front Street facade, connecting with Berczy Park.

The second and third floors envision creative spaces filled with studios, rehearsal rooms, and flexible performance areas, fostering collaborative encounters. Warm wood interiors embody openness and accessibility, forming a continuous visual narrative for the city. A 300-seat acoustic hall positioned above, overlooks the city skyline, and accesses a green terrace.

Further, both the 600- to 1,000-seat main theatre and the acoustic hall prioritize adaptability with transformable components such as retractable seating and partitions.

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The jury, consisting of leaders in culture, planning, urban design, architecture, Indigenous design, and landscape architecture, based their decision on criteria such as creative response to the site, sustainable and accessible design innovations, interpretation of the reimagined vision, adherence to heritage guidelines, and cost-effectiveness.

Preserving the brutalist features of the original structure, the reconfigured SLCA transforms the orientation of the two theatres, emphasizing a 90-degree rotation of the main theatre axis to engage a new public plaza on Scott Street.

Siamak Hariri, architect and a founding partner of Hariri Pontarini Architects, described the design as a luminous line, symbolizing unity, and connection. Meg Graham, jury chair, praised the scheme for seamlessly integrating the theatre with the street, creating a harmonious civic space open to the world.

Source URL: https://www.constructioncanada.net/winning-design-team-for-toronto-landmarks-transformation-revealed/

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