Sudbury cultural centre is tops in design

Sudbury's Place des Arts has earned a 2024 Design Excellence Award from the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).

The francophone cultural centre was named along with nine other winners on April 4.

"We are incredibly proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Design Excellence Awards,” Settimo Vilardi, OAA's president, said in a news release.

"This year's recipients exemplify the apex of creativity, sustainability, and community impact. Their achievements not only emphasize the versatile potential of architecture in beauty and function, but also highlight an ongoing commitment to climate stability and sustainable design."

Jointly designed by Moriyama Teshima Architects and Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture (now Bélanger Salach Architecture), Place des Arts opened in downtown Sudbury in 2022.

The centre is a joint initiative of seven founding 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. 

The $30-million facility boasts 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.

Aesthetically, it stands out for its exterior cladding of corten steel, a weathered steel alloy that has a rusty patina.

Other award winners on the list include:

• Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation (St. Peter’s Bay, Prince Edward Island) by Baird Sampson Neuert (now part of WF Group Inc.), in association with SableARC Studio;
• Centennial College A-Building Expansion (Toronto, Ontario) by DIALOG Ontario Inc.;
• Center for Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts) by KPMB Architects;
• Churchill Meadows Community Centre and Sports Park (Mississauga, Ontario) by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Ltd. (MJMA);
• David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center (New York City, New York) by Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc. (Master Plan and Concert Theatre) and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (Public Spaces);
• Neil Campbell Rowing Centre (St. Catherines, Ontario) by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Ltd. (MJMA) in association with Raimondo + Associates Architects Inc.;
• Ontario Court of Justice Toronto (Toronto, Ontario) by NORR Architects & Engineers Ltd. in association with Renzo Piano Building Workshop S.A.S;
• Toronto Public Library—Albert Campbell Branch (Scarborough, Ontario) by LGA Architectural Partners Ltd.; and
• Virgin Vineyard House (North Hatley, Quebec) by LAMAS Architecture Ltd.

Winners will be celebrated during the OAA’s annual conference, which will be held in Niagara Falls in May.

The OAA is a regulatory body that oversees the practice of architecture in Ontario. Its Design Excellence Awards are held biennially.