KPMB

KPMB, a 90+ person practice based in Toronto, is known for its consistency of architectural excellence through a diversity of project experience. Founded in 1987 by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg, KPMB won two major competitions for large-scale institutions in the first few years of practice, Kitchener City Hall and the Queen’s University Library. This work, along with a number of smaller-scaled interiors and interventions to existing structures, rapidly established the firm’s reputation for high design and production standards.

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Rotman School of Management

Rotman_Article The expansion of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto reflects the school’s vision to redesign business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in downtown Toronto, and one of the world’s most diverse cities, the design was conceived to directly support the Rotman School’s educational mandate to foster a new way to think and innovate on creative business.

The new structure will be fully integrated with the existing Rotman School, and will house the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking, the Lloyd and Delphine Martin Prosperity Institute, and other research programs and Institutes for Excellence, classrooms, study space and event facilities. The new building will aspire to LEED certification, and make a significant impact on the vitality of the St. George campus.

Manitoba Hydro Project

Manitiba_Hydro_Article Manitoba Hydro is the major energy utility in the Province of Manitoba, the fourth largest energy utility in Canada and offers some of the lowest electricity rates in the world. Owned by the provincial government, nearly all of its electricity comes from self-renewing water power. Its new headquarters tower, Manitoba Hydro Place, is the first of the next generation of sustainable buildings integrating time-tested environmental concepts in conjunction with advanced technologies to achieve a “living building” that dynamically responds to the local climate.

Located in downtown Winnipeg, the city is known for its extreme climate, with temperatures that fluctuate from -35ºC (-31 ºF) to +34ºC (95 ºF) over the year. The 64,500 m² (695,000 ft²) tower is targeting less than 100 kWh/m²/a compared to 400 kWh/m²/a for a typical large scale North American office tower located in a more temperate climate. The architectural solution clearly responds to the client’s vision, and relies on passive free energy without compromise to design quality and, most importantly, human comfort.

The street address, 360 Portage Avenue, encapsulates the three-hundred and sixty degree approach of the formal Integrated Design Process (IDP) mandated by the client to achieve the objectives of 60% energy savings, supportive workplace, urban revitalization, signature architecture and cost effectiveness. The site was strategically selected because over 95% of the bus routes pass this address, including routes to suburban Winnipeg where 80% of Manitoba Hydro employees live. The IDP process was greatly enhanced by extensive computer modeling using local wind, sun and temperature data to evaluate design options. The building is already projected to outperform its original energy goal by 64% or higher.

University of Waterloo Quantum-Nanotechnology Centre

Nano_Article The design of the Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) at the University of Waterloo creates a sophisticated platform for research and innovation in the respective fields of quantum computing and nanotechnology. Just as the intricate study of multi-layer nanoscale patterns and quantum physics reveal previously unimagined solutions and insights to the world and universe, the architects engaged the researchers – both theorists and experimentalists – in deep discussions to understand the ways and patterns of their work.

The architectural solution mitigates the specific requirements of the respective scientific practices of quantum computing and nanotechnology with an urbanistic response to the University of Waterloo campus. The IQC and the department of Nanotechnology Engineering each occupy their own ‘building’ and are organized above a shared podium which houses the Metrology Suite and Cleanroom. The podium is clad with burnished concrete block to relate to the primarily masonry campus fabric of the University of Waterloo.

The two components are joined by a linear central atrium that is both an indoor pedestrian route linking the Ring Road to the campus, and an informal space to catalyze exchange between scientists, faculty, students and visitors. Labs are strategically buried below grade to minimize interference from EMI and vibration. The overall massing configures a series of new courtyards. The green roofs of the podium act as an extension of the landscape and reinforce the network of green spaces that distinguish the University of Waterloo’s campus.

The Institute of Quantum Computing (IQC), housed in a ‘bar’ building with an east-west orientation, faces out to the Ring Road to communicate the IQC’s commitment to scientific advancement and innovation through collaboration with public and private sectors. The IQC façade explores the abstract notion of ‘superposition’ with varied readings generated through degrees of transparency and the play of light on its surfaces.