Dufferin Community Commons
The significance of site and what it has to offer to the community is the primary source of inspiration for the Dufferin Grove Community Commons. In drawing from the existing conditions on site, our project extracts the nature of the micro-programming in the park. The way in which, each activity holistically claims a slice of space, while being connected by the fabric of the park is reflected in our design proposal.
Program
The program is segregated into 3 zones, and deployed and arranged in relation to each other around the existing ravine on site. The ravine acts as an organizational force to strategically optimize views and exposure to sunlight to enhance spatial experience and create programmatic hierarchy. The 3 zones are: The informal recreational spaces consist of the Gymnasium; the informal public spaces are the small meeting rooms, cafe and lounge; and the formal public spaces are reserved for the Community hall.
Formal Strategy
Similar to the approach to program, the form of the building also echoes the idea of segregation and dematerialization. The building is separated into roof, wall and structure and it is influenced by the work of Mies van der Rohe. Mies’s Banking Pavilion in Toronto privileges the roof to create a sense of solidity, while the building dissolves at the ground level to create a sense of transparency. The occupant thus feels visually connected to the outside but physically separated. This is a salient concept that drives our design. The roof clad in metal is the solid element, which blankets the pods of spaces. It is a continuous dynamic surface that slopes, folds and overflows to make its presence apparent and meet the wall surfaces in the most playful of ways.
While the roof has energy and flow, the structure is ceremonious and it is celebrated. The timber frame is formal as “it represents the promise of essential order in the changing world” . Beyond the threshold, it creates an interior world. The building constantly plays with the polarity of solid and void through the eclectic use of materials. With the use of glass in conjunction with the timber structure, the building either opens up generously to the park or at certain moments provides glimpses to the exterior through coincidental apertures.
Environmental Consideration
The project also proposes Photo-Voltaic louvers on the glazed surfaces for the purpose of sun shading and energy collection. The addition of the louvers further creates polarity. The façade dematerializes and dissolves further allowing for the Big roof and majestic structure to define the project.
