Having its setup at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Smoke architecture offers full architectural services, including conceptual design, feasibility studies, land-use plans, assessment reports, community engagement, tender support, and construction supervision.
In joint venture with Ellis Don (a Canadian based Construction Company), the firm has been hired to design & build the Centennial College A Block Expansion Building located at Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It’s described by the architects as Canada’s first zero-carbon, mass timber higher-education building.
The design of building is inspired by Canadian culture which is resembled to Calgary Central Library, it includes class rooms, activity rooms, auditoriums and faculty offices. The building is finished in spacious glazing and aluminum cladding. There is no word about the structure of the building whether or not its structure will be solely timber, like Norway’s Mjøstårnet or it will be a frame structure, however, it will be finished in sustainably-sourced wood. Estimated cost of this project is CAD 105 million and the project will be completed within 36 months.
“Dialog and Smoke approached the project using the Mi’kmaq concept of ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ – viewing the world through both an Indigenous lens and a Western lens – and were inspired by the Anishinabek ‘Seven Fires’ prophecy that says we need to pick up things left by the trail,” says Dialog. “An Indigenous Commons forms the heart of the building – the structure flows around this circular room that opens out into a soaring central courtyard.
“Listening to the land, the team chose to align the structure to the cardinal directions. The main entry is at the east, the traditional location for the entrance in Indigenous structures. A grand stair ascends to the west, as part of the wisdom hall, a three-level high active multi-story convergence space for students, staff, and visitors that connects people to Indigenous stories. The narrative of the design is a story of seed, growth, culmination, and balance.”
The Centennial College A Block Expansion Building is designed according to LEED Gold specifications (a green building standard) .The building will get energy from roof mounted solar plates, however, the remaining part of roof will be covered by grass. At this early stage there is no information about the sustainability of the project.
