Canadian buildings recognized for excellent use of copper

Havergal College Upper School in Toronto
Havergal College Upper School in Toronto

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Two Canadian buildings are among 11 recipients of the North American Copper in Architecture Awards, recognizing excellent use of copper in buildings in 2021.

Havergal College Upper School in Toronto and CHUM Auditorium in Montreal were recognized alongside nine buildings in the U.S., for outstanding applications of architectural copper and copper alloys.

The NACIA awards program has recognized 189 copper buildings over the past eight years, including such notable buildings as the Colorado State Capitol, Harvard Law School, The Plaza Hotel and St. Patrick’s Basilica.

‎“‎The 2022 NACIA winners exhibit copper’s endless range of applications through innovation in new and historical restoration projects,” ‎said Larry Peters, project manager and architectural applications specialist for CDA. “Answering the growing demand to meet environmental goals using sustainable building materials, the 2022 winners demonstrate a perfect balance of maximizing green materials and longevity, creating architecture masterpieces for generations to come.”

The 11 winning projects were selected by a panel of judges based on the presence and use of copper and the significance of the project at hand – whether historic, modern, or otherwise.

Canadian winners:

chum
CHUM Auditorium in Montreal

CHUM Auditorium -Montreal, Quebec

Architect-Design

NEUF architect(e)s (Montreal) and CannonDesign (Chicago)

Revision of the design, execution and construction supervision

Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes(Montreal)  and Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux architectes (Montreal)

Copper was reinterpreted as a contemporary form to signal key elements within the curtain wall. The project’s central architectural element is a 365-seat auditorium at the heart of the urban plaza in copper clad. The building envelope “tells a story” of layering and un-definition. It articulates itself at night when moments of translucency and perforation light up components of the interior.

The selection of systems, components and materials was made according to the building’s sustainability objectives and those related to obtaining LEED Silver accreditation. Particular attention was paid to the general architectural covering of the roofs and more particularly that of the Pierre-Péladeau amphitheater building, in particular by the use of decorative copper panels, reminiscent of the roofs of several emblematic institutional buildings in Montreal.

toronto college 2Havergal College Upper School -Toronto, Ontario

Architect

Diamond Schmitt (Toronto)

Copper Wall Panel Manufacturer

Ontario Panelization (London, ON)

Copper Installer

Lake Effect Company Limited (Sundridge, ON)

General Contractor

Buttcon Limited (Concord, ON)

Structural Engineer

Blackwell (Toronto)

Third Party Copper Review

CR Systems (Barrie)

Havergal College is an independent day and boarding school for girls from junior kindergarten to Grade 12, established in Toronto in 1894.

A new 22,000-sq. ft. addition transformed an under-utilized service area, creating a new landscaped courtyard alongside three storeys of studios, adaptable teaching, and gathering spaces. New copper elements at “tell a story of the building’s craft, attention to detail, resilience, sustainability, and its transforming character over time.”

Large rhythmic copper clad walls are made from 16-ounce copper pans with 2-inch single-lock standing seam, adding depth and scale. A sprung edge was introduced into the pan profiles to mitigate oil-canning and facilitate expansion and contraction of the copper throughout the day.

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