Diamond Schmitt Architects returns for a 5th year to Doors Open Toronto presented by Great Gulf (May 24-25, 2014) with two afternoons (1:00pm to 5:00pm) of presentations on current projects around the GTA and further afield.
Visitors will learn from Diamond Schmitt’s architectural staff about the newly opened Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning at SickKids Hospital. Back-to-back half-hour presentations will also look at works currently under construction, including The Globe and Mail Centre, an academic facility at University of Toronto Scarborough, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and a mixed-use tower rising in Buffalo, New York.
Jack Diamond presents his asymmetrical design for the pipe organ at Maison Symphonique, which will have its inauguration on May 28th in Montreal. Two cultural projects designed for Hong Kong will be reviewed and an update provided on the large Performing Arts Centre underway in St. Catharines. The firm will also preview the one-hour documentary film entitled The Maestro & The Master: Building the New Mariinsky (2014) about designing the opera house that opened last year in St. Petersburg, Russia. The film will be broadcast later this year on TVO.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the living wall biofilter, a sustainable design feature pioneered by Diamond Schmitt Architects and Nedlaw Living Walls at University of Guelph’s Humber campus in Toronto. Other examples of these four- to six-storey green walls can be seen at Corus Quay, Centennial College and smaller versions at the One Cole condominium in Regent Park and at the Direct Energy Centre. The science and design of these plant-filled walls will be explored.
The way architects design with computers is constantly evolving. They will examine the latest tools and techniques of building design software. Another session features the Thompson Rivers University Law School in Kamloops, BC, which opens officially next month. Its wavy roofline takes inspiration from the surrounding mountains. And, as condos climb higher on the Toronto skyline, they will consider the urban environment being created for children and the kinds of amenities needed for a socially sustainable future.
All presentations are free to attend and Diamond Schmitt’s office building is handicap-accessible. The schedule is as follows:
Saturday, May 24th
1:30pm Gilgan Centre with Duncan Higgins
2:00pm Hong Kong Theatres with Matthew Lella
2:30pm Buffalo rising with Antra Roze
3:00pm Maison Symphonique and its organ with Jack Diamond
3:30pm University of Toronto Scarborough with Nigel Tai
4:00pm Architecture and Digital Design with Gary Watson
Sunday, May 25th
1:30pm The Globe and Mail Centre with David Dow
2:00pm Living Wall Biofilter at 10 with Birgit Siber
2:30pm Thompson Rivers U. Law School with Walton Chan
3:00pm Kids, Condos and Downtown Living with Sybil Wa
3:30pm St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre with Sybil Wa
4:00pm Vaughan Metropolitan Centre with Mike Szabo
Diamond Schmitt Architects is located at Suite 300, 384 Adelaide Street West, just east of Spadina Avenue. For more information, please visit www.dsai.ca.