2019 / Edmonton, AB

The buildings are part of an overall project to upgrade utility services and accommodate future expansion at Fort Edmonton Park.

The Meter Buildings will house the controls for the Park’s new water distribution system. Requiring only occasional access to the single line of piping brought above ground within the building, the design provides a discrete sculptural object to complement the park’s natural landscaped setting. The exterior walls consist of insulated panels supported on glu-lam framing. Panels are clad with plywood on the interior and standing seam metal on the exterior. The steel cladding will develop rust over time to provide a protective natural colour and finish to complement the surrounding vegetation. The ends of the building will have translucent panels to provide daylight to the interior for energy long-term energy savings.

The Guardhouse will provide controlled access via gate arms for vehicles entering the park. Occupants will also provide exhibit and schedule information to visitors. Consisting of an information/transaction window on each side, a desk area for work and separate utility and washroom linked by a common roof, the building is designed as a time period-neutral character that complements its setting in the river valley with sloped roof and natural cladding materials. A large number of options were explored to arrive at the current design, including one adopting the expression of the nearby Selkirk Hotel and another utilizing more universal modernist forms.

2018 / Edmonton, AB

Following renovations within Anderson Hall at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to accommodate the Mental Health & Addiction Hub, there was a desire to provide a more suitable exterior entrance for its patrons.

The addition would identify the approach more strongly, provide weather protection from a new road drop-off lane, communicate the nature of functions being accommodated, and have imagery meaningful to participants in the health services program, many of whom are Indigenous.

The canopy design is a stark contrast to the severely flat rectilinear building façade, adopting imagery of a soaring eagle as a metaphor for treatment program aspirations. The use of an organic form and natural materials further reinforces the connection to important aspects Indigenous cultures.

The physical forms are expressed at night with linear lighting placed along the perimeter of the canopy structure.

Addition + Renovation
2014 / Edmonton, AB

The existing church building was expanded to provide additional meeting, music, library, and family rooms, washrooms, a gathering space, and chapel. A full basement was included to accommodate youth fellowship room and future development.

The floor plan integrates with existing circulation patterns, and continues the design vocabulary of the original building, including angled window bays, wood fascia and stucco wall finish. The sloped chapel roof provides a visual counterpoint to the dominant mass of the existing worship space.

The functional program and final design was developed over several years, accommodating the input of various church groups and committees and a moving target budget. Site development included a large expansion of the vehicle parking area and associated landscaping.

2013 / Edmonton, AB

Interior renovations will provide improved function and an upgraded appearance to the 40-year old space.

At the main hall, a decorative dropped ceiling will lower the scale, provide visual interest, and maintain acoustic treatment. New continuous horizontal wood panelling, along with false columns (aligned with the glulam beams) and recessed lighting will improve both seating flexibility and sense of intimacy for a variety of events.

The Green room will receive similar ceiling, wall, and floor finish upgrades, to improve usability for a variety of functions. The community building’s kitchen, bar and washrooms will be upgraded with new finishes and millwork.

2010 / Edmonton, AB

The design superseded an earlier design which was reduced in scale due to budget cuts. View the original design here.

This first phase of a larger plan to re-design the pedestrian approach, park admissions, provide gift shop / exhibition and public washroom facilities, accommodates the administrative functions of the park.

Located in the “out-of-time” area of Fort Edmonton Park, the facility’s low-scaled linear form and expression of stacked rundle stone and vertical board siding on the exterior, and prairie grass landscaping, reflect its natural river valley context and recall Alberta’s agrarian past.

Energy saving features contributing to the building’s LEED Silver designation include manual and operable windows to provide cross-ventilation, deep roof eaves and aluminum window louvers for solar shading, water-saving plumbing fixtures, drought-resistant planting, and high-albedo roofing.

2008 / Edmonton, AB

This project was redesigned and built after budget cut-backs necessitated a change in the program scope. View the final project here.

The original design for the project accommodated staff for the Park interpretive program, gift shop, admissions booths, and public washrooms, and consisted of 2 storeys, with a partially buried lower floor.

Designed to achieve LEED Gold designation, energy-innovative features included an accessible green roof, green planting wall, and geothermal heating/cooling system. The structural and framing members were specified to be forest certified lumber, with automatically controlled operable windows throughout providing supplementary ventilation for conditioning indoor air.

2003 / Edmonton, AB

Located in Edmonton’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery, the building provides permanent accommodation for cremated remains contained in urns and displayed in custom-designed display cabinets.

Consisting of two storeys on a steeply sloped site with burial plots on three sides, the forms and materials of the building are designed to convey a sense of stability and permanence, with an intimate scale provided by the sloping roof, split-face masonry and horizontal lines of stucco-cladding. The display cases are located on the upper level, accessed by a central open staircase and illuminated by perimeter  and clerestory windows.

Renovation
1999 / Edmonton, AB

Renovations were made to the former Knights of Columbus building to accommodate the needs of the parish in their relocation from an inner city location. The worship functions were located on the second floor in order to provide a soaring roof above the Nave, rising to an apex above the Altar illuminated with natural light from its south orientation.

Natural light also washes over the stations adorning the rear textured wall of the Nave. The worship space is reached from a modest street level entrance, up a grand staircase and through the Narthex containing a symbolic baptismal font. The Sanctuary and Altar accommodate custom-designed altar candle, communion table, and other elements originally designed for the parish’s prior location.

Interior materials have a natural expression including clear cedar and split-face concrete block veneer. Other functions accommodated on the first level include a multi-use space, kitchen and administrative offices.

1998 / Edmonton, AB

The church for a congregation of 300 people was located on former agricultural land without residential context (at the time) in the Terwillegar Towne neighbourhood.

Its distinctive geometry results from the integration of a circular plan accommodating the congregant seating area, with a triangular shape representing the Holy Trinity. One corner of the triangle is raised high to form the sanctuary area with the remaining two corners defining the lower plane of the entrance lobby.

Daylight is captured sparingly with a large window to illuminate the simply furnished sanctuary and altar. Simply monolithic materials are employed on the exterior and interior both to support the simple massing and to ensure budget limits were adhered to.

1993 / Saddle Lake, AB

A multi-use community hall containing assembly space with support functions including offices, washrooms, and kitchen designed to serve an adjacent outdoor rodeo area as a concession.

A semi-circular plan shape is a gesture acknowledging traditional Plains Cree structures, as are the wood logs arranged to define an interior central space and exterior entrance canopy.

1990 / Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation, AB

A K-9 school developed from early programming and site selection stages. The design seeks to create a unique spatial identity which uplifts native values, traditions and spirituality.

The Cultural Heritage room – in the form of traditional Stoney lodging – is the focal point of the organization. The open library surrounds part of this multi-purpose gathering, reading and program space, strengthening the bond between accessing and sharing of information.

The space is topped on the exterior by a swivelling weathervane, echoing a traditional relationship to the environment and the seasonal cycles. The colour palette and exterior brick patterns also serve to evoke familiar cultural images.