Sudbury’s Place des Arts is being recognized by the 16th edition of the Grands Prix du Design, an international design contest that celebrates the best in global architecture.
The multipurpose arts facility, which opened in 2022, is a Platinum Winner in the Special Prizes – Collaboration category.
Located in downtown Sudbury, the 40,000-square-foot building was jointly designed by Bélanger Salach Architecture of Sudbury and Toronto’s Moriyama Teshima Architects.
Built at a cost of $30 million, the facility was designed as a centre for French-Canadian culture, jointly supported by seven local Francophone organizations: Carrefour francophone, Centre franco-ontarien de folklore, Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario, Éditions Prise de parole, Nuit sur l'étang, Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario and Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury.
Among its assets, Place des Arts features an early childhood arts centre, several creative spaces for youth, more than 10,000 square feet of office space, a black-box style multipurpose studio for 120 people, a concert hall with 299 seats, and a contemporary art gallery and gift and book shop.
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The jury of the Grands Prix du Design praised the collaborative approach taken by Bélanger Salach Architecture and Moriyama Teshima Architects in their design.
“Through their trusted and thought leadership, the two firms guided seven strong voices toward consensus, resulting in a versatile design capable of providing services to a wide variety of activities and uses while enriching the urban context surrounding,” reads a project synopsis from the jury.
“The building interacts with the street and sidewalk to invite pedestrians to enter, while its distinct and expressive facades interact with the surrounding neighborhood. Each side of the building reflects and reinforces the character of the urban landscape in front of it, through attention to the choice of materials, shapes and textures.”
Jurists also commended the use of materials — among them sandstone, igneous rock and Corten steel — as a nod to the Sudbury Basin and the mining activities that take place there.
“Because the choice of each of its materials arises from a story, the building is in itself the narrative thread of a story to be transmitted to future generations,” the synopsis reads. “This building is a vessel carrying collective memories.”
Originating in Montreal, the Grands Prix du Design opened to international participants in 2020 and since then, candidates from more than 35 countries have participated.
The submission process is now open for the 17th edition of the contest.
