JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West
Plans for Beaconsfield’s new cultural centre in Centennial Park has attracted international recognition for its innovative design.
Montreal-based architectural firm Lemay was awarded top honours for its conceptual design for the centre by the World Architecture News earlier this spring under the category Future Projects – Commercial Buildings. The plans for the unique-looking building includes a grass-covered roof that rises from ground level, providing visitors with walking paths along the rooftop.
The distinction is very encouraging for the long-awaited project, said Andrew Duffield, Beaconsfield’s director of sustainable development, who has spearheaded the project since 2019.
The design beat out several submissions focused on sustainability, including an all-electric high rise in Boston; a massive 131-hectare entertainment centre in Shenzhen, China; and a 100-per-cent renewable energy resort in the Maldives.
“The fact that not only (WAN) as an organization recognized the project, but the fact that it (was) awarded the gold level clearly demonstrates the design’s value in terms of its integration within its environment,” Duffield told The 1510 West.
The Lemay design was one of several options presented to the city last summer as part of a design contest for the new cultural centre. Now, with this international recognition, Duffield said the city clearly made the right choice.
“It’s a validation of the respect of the design for its place and value to the community,” he said.
The “very prestigious” gold achievement is also encouraging for Lemay, explained Eric Pelletier, an architect and senior partner with the firm.
WAN’s panel of international judges were looking for project designs that were high quality, innovative and sustainable, as well as integrate well within the environmental context and were predicted to have a positive social impact, Pelletier explained in an interview last week.
A presentation by Pelletier and a team of architects in July detailed the innovative design of the cultural centre, titled “A Landscape Reinvented.”
The group’s design aimed to intertwine the centre with the surrounding nature of Centennial Park, Pelletier explained at the time.
Made almost entirely of wood in the Scandinavian minimalist style, the single-storey centre features a sodded ramp-styled roof, giving the impression of a natural slope rising from the ground, thereby serving to “blur that boundary between architecture and landscape,” Pelletier said.
The building will house a library, a bistro and meeting rooms, as well as several areas to accommodate youth of all ages. The exterior plans include footpaths connecting between the centre, a new waterfront boardwalk and the yacht club.
In the fall, Beaconsfield will issue a call for tenders, with plans for construction to begin in spring of 2026. The centre is scheduled to open its doors to the public by the summer of 2028.