Channel 4
A product of negotiation and an addition to the Halifax commons - the community center incorporates four programs under one roof.
A dining hall, lawn bowling green, greenhouse plant preparation, and an additional art pavilion, all co-exist in a venue that looks to leverage proximity into safety. These programs are connected through a boardwalk that circumnavigates the entire site. The boardwalk is referred to as the channel, where it looks to create a transit incentive - as a path of least resistance.
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Collage became the chosen medium of representation through its ability to organize program, inspired materiality, and spoke the language of a community center.
Design Tutor: Jane Abbott
Through the creation of site lines, the design looks to leverage proximity in program to increase safety.
Aperture between programs is increased to ensure that each program can witness their neighbour in both axial directions. The plant prep has north/south visual clearance toward the offices, while the lawn bowling green can see west/east through to the kitchen
In counterpoint to the historical timeline of the site, the Expo Pavilion is an exhibition space that looks to cater to various community initiatives. It's flexible, adaptable, and transparent. The pavilion looks to stay open throughout the winter months.
Expo Pavilion
Dining Hall
Channel
A Public Channel
The Channel is a continuous boardwalk that interconnects adjacent programs.
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Acting as a circulation path and gathering space, the Channel encourages movement while reinforcing the strength between differing activities.
Precession
Cultivation to consumption. Seeds are shared at the shop, grown/maintained at the plant preparation station, and then prepared in the kitchen.
Structure
Mass timber beams support a king-post system above the dining hall. This landmarks the dining hall as the central program, reinforcing the project's intent: to cultivate visual and social cross-pollination.
Sitelines
The unobstructive views allow for passive supervision between spaces, reinforcing a shared awareness between users.
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Visibility extends to the Expo Pavilion. The outer aluminum panelling hinges open, presenting the inner program of the pavilion outward to the public realm. This is an attempt to showcase art and an exhibition from and to the public - you don't have to enter the expo centre to see what's inside.
