Save Max Sports Centre
Brampton, Ontario
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4 Indoor Sports Fields, Multipurpose Rooms, Dance Studio, Youth Room, Café, Cricket Pitch, Basketball Courts, Splash Pad, Playground
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Structural: Blackwell
Mechanical / Electrical: LKM
Civil: Rand Engineering
Landscape: Strybos -
2008 Athletic Business: Facilities of Merit Design Award
2008 Ontario Association of Architects (OAA): Design Excellence Award
2008 Recreation Management: Innovative Architecture and Design Award
2008 Toronto Urban Design Award
2007 Brampton Urban Design: Award of Excellence
2007 Design Exchange (DXA): National Award
Brampton’s Save Max Sports Centre is both a community centre for its surrounding neighbourhoods and a city and province-wide sports facility. The project’s development reflects the changing demographics of many Canadian metropolitan areas. Originally planned for ice hockey, its primary programming was switched to soccer, and the facility was also designed for flexibility: the four indoor soccer fields are convertible for ice hockey or other sports and can support functions such as tradeshows and summer camps. The 11-acre master-planned site also provides outdoor soccer pitches, basketball courts, cricket fields, and play areas.
The sheer size of the indoor sports halls called for cost-effective concrete block and steel siding, yet this system is also elevated by the use of polished ashlar block and horizontal silver corrugated panels. The panels have a shifted pattern of angles that capture light and shadow, animating the large building surfaces throughout the changing light of day. This dynamic and inviting effect is complemented by linear strips of coloured glass throughout the building curtain wall and warm cedar for the exterior and interior soffits and ceilings. Laminated graphics on the glazed exterior create ‘suburban billboards’ that celebrate sport as a community condenser.
The project applies an urban approach in a prototypical suburban setting. The facility’s siting and transparency engage the street, establishing a landmark presence, while the design also creates exterior public realms that interface between the building, its adjacent busy intersection, and the park.
The four indoor soccer pitches are paired in two masses and shifted to create two outdoor spaces — the ‘Civic Corner,’ with a vibrant community playground and splash park, and an ‘Arrival Court’ that is the main drop-off. Overlooked by the community rooms and generous lobby-gathering space, these outdoor realms establish the framework for the facility’s community centre and allow the interior life of the building to be visible to passing vehicles.
The design prioritizes passive sustainability strategies — natural daylighting, zoned lighting control, solar shading, and passive ventilation systems. The central viewing corridor running between the indoor fields is lined with skylights, and the complex as a whole operates primarily without electrical lighting through the day.
The Centre was the first building to fully integrate the City of Brampton’s accessibility standards. The Experiential Design program of lighting, bold colour, and material palette, were carefully selected to enhance both the facility’s identity and navigability throughout.
