Collaboration
a+LiNK
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Structural: XX
Mechanical + Electrical: XX
Civil: XX
Program
Aquatic Centre (6-Lane 25m Lap Pool, Leisure Pool, Changerooms)
Additional Program
Twin-Pad Arena (Spectator Viewing Area, Changerooms), Gymnasium, Fitness Studios, Indoor Track, Branch Library, Child Minding, Multipurpose Rooms, Café, Community Kitchen, Outdoor Program (Entry Plaza with Connection to Café, Multi-Use Trails, Playground, LID Bioswales in Parking)
Awards
2020 Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Design Excellence Awards
2019 Athletic Business Architectural Showcase – Facilities of Merit Design Awards
2019 London Urban Design Award – Buildings
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2013 Ontario Association of Architects:
Design Excellence Award
2013 Toronto Urban Design Awards: Buildings in Context – Public: Award of Excellence
Bostwick Community Centre, YMCA and Library
London, Ontario
Located on the southwest periphery of London Ontario, the Startech.com Community Centre, YMCA, and Public Library brings together a unique array of programming to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The City of London, the London Public Library, and the Western Ontario YMCA recognized that the integration of their amenities and services into a single hub would increase access to them.
The building sits at the front of its site as a lantern of activity, presenting a strong civic identity visible from the main arterial thoroughfare, Southdale Road. Inside, the design deftly accommodates the operations specific to each partner, yet also coalesces them around an active, ‘town square’ lobby. Throughout the building, skylights and exterior glazing are predominately oriented north, to drop an exceptional amount of diffused natural light deep into the plan. This daylighting, along with views across spaces, makes the facility’s various programs highly visible, generating excitement and encouraging participation.
While the project was one of the largest municipal construction investments ever for the City of London, the building’s simple but impactful and sustainable design was highly cost-effective, and our team was able to deliver within budget an additional 15,000 sf of shell space for additional multipurpose rooms and offices.