With its unique cultural variety and abundant natural resources, the Greater
Sudbury region of Ontario is poised for success on both the national and international level. To break through, NOSOA and the city of Sudbury should have a piece of architecture that is as unique as the region it calls home. NOSOA will link not only people of the community together, but also people to their environment. A school of architecture should be a model for design students and the community to follow; a beacon of creativity and an example of community interaction and environmental understanding. These ideas are the seeds from which this design concept sprouted.
Located centrally at Elm and Elgin Street, the school is organized to allow many areas to remain open to the public. The drawing studio, theatre, galleries, and manufacturing are located on the ground floor, allowing easy access for both NOSOA architecture students and members of the community. These spaces all branch off of a large glass atrium; a central core that floods the space below with ample daylight.
At the base of the atrium is a Living Machine, a special collection of native plants that cleans and renews the building's wastewater, contributing to NOSOA's sustainability. The system starts inside, connects to the garden space on the south side, and returns inside to complete the cycle. Continuing the goal of sustainability, the atrium's southern windows have louvers to mitigate sunlight, each with a built-in solar panel to generate electricity.
With the wood industry in a state of flux, the construction spaces at NOSOA would allow master woodworkers to reach out to the community and teach their art.
The dedicated construction gallery would be a place to display this artwork. Opposite this gallery is a universal gallery, displaying both architecture student work and work from local artists. The retail space, with its art supply store and cafés, connects to this gallery, together creating a public lounge space.
While the ground level is public, the top three levels are designed to be more private, holding the undergraduate studios and classrooms, library, and the graduate studio and offices. Faculty offices are located immediately adjacent to the undergraduate studios, connecting students with faculty from every year level. Each of these levels features outdoor roof gardens with native plants, helping to lessen the building's rain water runoff. Runoff that does occur is collected and funneled into the building's Living Machine.
Bringing the traditional lumber and mining industries together in this design was the final objective. The building features wood and copper prominently, in curved interior railings and exterior tiles respectively, while stone and steel add simple, clean accents. These materials are all local to Northern Ontario, and using them not only connects NOSOA with its heritage, but also begins a cycle of resource education and creativity.
(Competitor's text)
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