Place des Arts has secured another award for its architecture.
In a media release issued Friday, the Ontario Association of Architects announced the Sudbury cultural centre as one of 10 recipients of this year’s Design Excellence Awards.
Place des Arts opened in 2022, and was nominated by Sudbury NDP MPP Jamie West.
Designed in a joint venture by Moriyama Teshima Architects and Bélanger Salach Architecture, the building’s architecture will be celebrated at this year’s Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) conference in Niagara Falls to be held May 22-24.
"We are incredibly proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Design Excellence Awards,” OAA president Settimo Vilardi said in a media release.
"This year's recipients exemplify the apex of creativity, sustainability and community impact. Their achievements not only emphasize the versatile potential of architecture in beauty and function, but also highlight an ongoing commitment to climate stability and sustainable design."
This year's collection features “a diverse range of building types, including awe-inspiring community centres and learning institutions, a striking lakeside residence, and an elegant performing arts venue in New York City,” according to their media release.
A panel of design experts selected this year’s recipients, selecting 10 winners from 100 submissions.
“Winning projects were carefully evaluated based on criteria including creativity, context, sustainability, good design/good business, and legacy,” according to the media release.
Submissions were also required to include their use of energy use intensity metrics, with sustainable, resilient design considered a critical component of any successful project.
The OAA’s website describes Place des Arts as “a new cultural hub that is greater than the sum of its parts,” with a multi-purpose rehearsal and performance black box, a 300-seat proscenium-style theatre, a contemporary art gallery, library and publishing house, boutique, bistro, daycare and offices.
“Place des Arts was designed to stand out — the cultural organizations behind it wanted it to be an unmissable landmark for the northern city and contribute to the re-energizing of Sudbury’s downtown,” according to the website. “Equally, there was a profound desire for its architecture to be grounded in local stories, providing the venue with a strong sense of place. Uniting both ideas has resulted in a building rooted in history without being stuck in the past.”
The rough masonry at the base “echoes the broken rock faces and textured mine shafts of the region,” the website notes.
“The oxidized stone outcroppings that signalled to early frontiersmen the presence of ore deposits in the region are brought to the building through the colourful patina of the pre-weathered steel cladding that covers much of the exterior.”
Last year, Place des Arts’ architecture received international acclaim by Grands Prix du Design 16th edition, including gold certification in the public/cultural building category and platinum in the special prizes/architecture and collaboration category.
“The building interacts with the street and sidewalk to invite pedestrians to enter, while its distinct and expressive facades interact with the surrounding neighborhood,” Grands Prix du Design wrote in their decision at the time.
“Each side of the building reflects and reinforces the character of the urban landscape in front of it, through attention to the choice of materials, shapes and textures.”
