Kitchener, Ontario
Program: A 480,000-square-foot mixed-use office and commercial complex spanning a city block in downtown Kitchener. The project transforms a defunct tannery into a hub for the area's growing technology sector, with office tenants including Communitech and Google, public courtyards and event space, a health clinic, and workspace for local artisans, among them a photographer and a cabinet maker.
Design concept and solution: Seeking to bridge Kitchener's industrial heritage and its recent tech-sector activity, the RAWdesign team wanted to streamline the site's maze of buildings and add-ons without uprooting the existing artisan-tenants. RAW preserved the masonry shell and divided the site into three main buildings: two devoted to tech offices and one housing workspace and retail for the artisans. The architects removed the tannery's smaller structures to create pathways and reveal the logic of the block. They kept the interior spaces shallow and cut courtyards into the site to maximize daylight. To preserve the tannery's industrial texture, they painted the steel structure, sandblasted the existing brickwork, and refinished the wood floors on the upper levels.
Architect:
RAWdesign
12 Mercer Street, Level 4
Toronto, ON
M5V 1H3
Tel:+1.416.599.9729
Fax:+1.416.599.7729
Location: Kitchener, Ontario
Completion Date:
Base building (lobby, corridors, washrooms) completed December 2010; Digital Media Convergence Centre and Tannery event space completed September 2010; various tenants ongoing
Total construction cost: $56 million
PeopleOwner: Cadan Inc. Architect: Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Vanessa Fong, Project Architect, OAA Project Team: Architect of record: RAWdesign Interior designer: RAWdesign Engineer(s): Mechanical: Ed Fowler, The Walter Fedy Partnership Structural: Nigel Thompson, The Walter Fedy Partnership The Walter Fedy Partnership: www.twfp.com DMCC + Tannery Event Space Mechanical: Jonathan Delahunt, MCW Consultants Ltd. Structural: Ken Fong, Read Jones Christoffersen Consulting Engineers MCW Consultants Ltd.: www.mcw.com Consultant(s) Landscape: The Planning Partnership General contractor: Zehr Levesque Inc. Photographer(s): Cindy Blažević CAD system, project management, or other software used: |
ProductsExterior cladding Metal/glass curtainwall: Provincial Glass Concrete: Tri-City Wood: The Timeless Material Co. EIFS, ACM, or other: Shear Metal Products Roofing Windows Aluminum: Provincial Glass Vinyl: Dashwood Industries Glazing Doors Wood doors:Knells Fire-control doors: Winser doors Security grilles:Dynamic Closers Hardware Hinges: Knells Closers: Knells Exit devices: Knells Pulls: Knells Security devices: Knells Interior finishes Suspension grid: Nietsch Drywall (Ont) Inc. Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: JG Group Paints and stains: Mike’s Painting & Decorating Wallcoverings: Mike’s Painting & Decorating Floor and wall tile: RichCraft Interiors andWBT Corporation Conveyance |
