Orillia Recreation Centre
Orillia, Ontario
The Orillia Community Recreation Centre and its 26-acre naturalized ‘Foundry Park’ reimagine Orillia’s industrial history and reference both the site’s previous use as a foundry and the city’s legacy of red brick civic buildings. The project is an exemplary redevelopment of a brownfield site: it transforms a previously uninhabitable location into a new social heart for the city that supports an array of current and future uses.
The City wanted the facility to be both a competition venue and a community centre that also met a long-standing need for aquatics and gymnasium amenities in Orillia. The rich program mix is layered and flexible, accommodating both tournament-based play and community recreational and social use, with a connective tissue of indoor and outdoor civic spaces. The facility’s interior and exterior, including the park, are overlaid with a comprehensive experiential design program.
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Structural: XX
Mechanical + Electrical: XX
Civil: XX
Program
Aquatic Centre (8-Lane 25m Competition Pool with Movable Floor, Leisure Pool with Beach Entry, Hydro Therapy Pool, Climbing Wall, Diving Boards, Swinging Rope, Changerooms)
Additional Program
Double FIBA-Sized Gymnasium (500 Spectator Seats), Fitness Conditioning Space, Weight Training Studio, Multi-Use Studio, Indoor Track, Pre-School Room, Multipurpose Rooms, Kitchen, Outdoor Program (Entry Plaza and Picnic Area, Custom Furniture, Playground, Sports Fitness Court, Multi-Use Trails, Community Courtyard, Meadows, Pedestrian Bridge)
Awards
2023 AIA Canada Design Award – Award of Merit
2022 Graphic Design USA – American Graphic Design Award
2022 Athletic Business Facilities of Merit Design Awards
2022 Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Design Excellence Award – Finalist
2016 Canadian Brownfields Network Brownie Awards – Redevelopment at the Local, Site Scale
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2013 Ontario Association of Architects:
Design Excellence Award
2013 Toronto Urban Design Awards: Buildings in Context – Public: Award of Excellence