Wasaga Beach Arena and Library
Wasaga Beach, Ontario
-
Twin-Pad Arena, Concession, Indoor Track, Multipurpose Rooms, Library (Meeting Rooms, Digital Labs, Children’s Zone, Rooms for Service Providers), Community Kitchen, Outdoor Reading Garden, Playground, Sports Courts
-
2025 Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) Global Design Award: Finalist
2025 Athletic Business: Facilities of Merit Design Award
The Town of Wasaga Beach in Ontario, Canada, is home to the longest freshwater beach in the world. It has become a destination and gathering place for locals and tourists alike – each summer, crowds flock to the town’s beaches.
While the town’s natural amenities continue to accommodate growing demand, its local community-based infrastructure was falling behind. The new Wasaga Beach Library and Twin-Pad Arena is the first public facility developed by the town in decades. As part of the project, an environmental graphics and wayfinding program was developed to showcase Wasaga Beach’s idenity, referencing its unique geography and history.
The Town’s identity is tied to the beach. Using aerial views as a reference, the shoreline became an abstracted motif that can be found throughout the facility’s signage, wayfinding, typography, and environmental graphics.
Going beyond AODA, ADA, and other accessibility guidelines, tactile lettering and braille is used on all room, directional, and wayfinding signage, including back-of-house spaces.
In addition to the beach, Wasaga’s trails and parks are year-round destinations for outdoor recreational activities like fishing, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and cycling. Building on the town’s history of integrating recreation focused pictograms within trail signage, the design team developed a recreation inspired set for the new facility’s signage.
Newspaper clippings, photographs, and other archival material revealed a rich collection of historical content. Custom book collection stack ends in the library form a curated exhibit, showcasing the town’s history.
An undulating donor wall made of custom extruded aluminum tubes represents rolling waves at the beach. The removable face plates with sponsor names appear as spines on books.
