Sherwood Community Centre and Library
Milton, Ontario
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Aquatic Centre, Twin-Pad Arena, Active Living Centre, Multipurpose Rooms, Social Lounge, Kitchen, Concession, Branch Library, Outdoor Amphitheatre
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Structural: Blackwell
Mechanical / Electrical: Smith + Andersen
Civil: EMC
Landscape: PMA -
2021 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Canada: Award of Excellence
2021 Athletic Business: Facilities of Merit Design Award
The Sherwood Community Centre and Milton Public Library Branch is a community hub offering an array of recreational and cultural programs for the Town of Milton, 80km west of Toronto. It is a ‘gateway’, situated at the entrance of the principal Main Street, with the historic town centre and a developing residential area to the east; but the facility’s design is also connected to protected rural areas and the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve Niagara Escarpment directly to the west.
The building occupies a single level and has standard structural steel heights and spans. This gives it a simple, sculptural massing that allowed the construction budget to incorporate elegant finishes and a garden courtyard as the primary exterior public space at the main entrance. To mitigate the overall bulk of the complex, the arenas are set one meter below adjacent programs at grade. Abundant daylighting and the use of natural materials throughout the interior enliven its primary spaces. The development of the site has been phased to include park amenities, including trails connecting into existing routes.
The facility adjoins existing baseball diamonds, to help complete a park precinct. The sloping site also allows views west from within the community centre to the park, a ravine, and the beautiful Escarpment landscape beyond.
Charcoal-grey zinc wall panels clad the exterior and interpret the 19th-century ‘board and batten’ farmhouses that are familiar in the area.
Inside, eramosa limestone panel walls and white oak ceilings draw from the facility’s location at the foot of the Escarpment. Continuous skylight slots allow light to play over these surfaces.
The U-shaped plan defines a continuous outdoor-indoor central public space, formed by the entrance garden plaza and the lobby.
The lobby and ‘social heart’ gives access or views along its length into all main program elements, including the arenas, aquatics hall, library, and multipurpose community room. The library and natatorium also open into the courtyard with garden and reading spaces, allowing their activities to extend to the outside.
