Centre Village Winnipeg, Manitoba Housing, New Canadian Homes, Building, Architect

Centre Village, Manitoba, Canada : Winnipeg Housing

Centre Village Manitoba - design by 5468796 Architecture Inc, Canada

Centre Village Winnipeg 2011 Design: 5468796 Architecture Inc with Cohlmeyer Architecture Ltd Manitoba, Canada Centre Village Centre Village is a 25-unit housing co-op located on a small infill lot in Winnipeg’s Central Park neighbourhood. The project strives to create a true community – a housing village – within modest means. From its outset, the development faced a considerable list of mediating factors, including a compressed lot size, low budget, major vehicular adjacency and nearby derelict housing. picture from architects The final design is based on simple, 8’ x 12’ modules organized on a central spine or “bar”. The sizes of all rooms are based on European standards, compressing the North American norm while still producing livable space and ultimately allowing the site density required by the business plan. Occasionally, the base module is replaced by a larger 14’ x 12’ unit that cantilevers off the main spine to expand the master bedroom and living room. All upper units have their own rooftop patio, and any second-storey units are accessed by exterior staircases. While the housing units are small, the 8’ band allows each unit to have views in multiple orientations, as well as cross-ventilation. A vibrant orange colour – used to define the ceiling plane and reflect light indoors – is punched out of the building through custom-welded aluminum window cowlings, which mark the transition between interior and exterior through the glazing threshold. A typical unit has eight or more windows, liberally scattered throughout to help mediate the smaller internal areas and extend the perceived living space outdoors. The mixture of standardized modules creates richness and variability on the site, generating a seemingly unorganized, yet carefully considered composition of small one, two, three and even four bedroom homes that allow for families to transition from high-rise apartments into the development. These bars of housing are arranged around two inner collective spaces - a landscaped courtyard and an internal streetscape. Every unit has a private entrance from one of these shared spaces, provided to foster individuality as well as connectivity to the larger community of occupants. The common spaces are then connected to the broader neighborhood, plugging into the existing pedestrian culture to encourage interaction and dialogue. images from architect The outer shell of the 28’ x 28’ cube is a dynamic membrane composed of diamond extrusions strung together to form a flexible curtain that draws back to reveal stage and structure within. The retracted skin in turn becomes a draped and undulating ceiling landscape providing a backdrop for performance and allowing adjustments to the stage’s acoustics. When closed, 18,000 angled metal pieces capture and refract light or images to their outer surface, creating a unique pixel matrix. Programmable lighting shines onto the pixelated skin, offering a canvas for interactive displays that are seasonally programmed and available for active engagement by local artists. The stage in its closed position also accommodates small gatherings and exhibitions inside, both on the main floor and on an upper level performance space complete with bleacher-style seating. An important objective for the project was to provide a secure screen which could be opened and shut for various programming. The challenge was to create a unique meshwork that would be soft enough to drape open and rigid enough to provide a solid barrier. Early prototypes used chain-mail as a precedent for a flexible protective membrane that could form the venue’s envelope. A second key goal was to explore the capacity for the membrane to capture images projected upon its surface. Technical constraints were imposed by the distance from the screen to the back wall of the stage (where the projector would be housed), and the fact that images would hit the back screen face, but would be observed when looking towards the stage. Through prototypes we examined the size and number of elements necessary to effectively capture the projected images, as well as the appropriate depth of cells and their ability to maintain image integrity. images from architect In its final installation, the individual extrusions are strung together through pre-cut holes using aircraft cable to hold cells in place. The orientation of each piece alternates up and down vertically along the line of the cable, with adjacent rows of cells riveted together at every third piece. The membrane is thereby able to cascade gently, while maintaining continuous surface integrity. Pre-strung panels of screen were erected on site before being riveted together to form a continuous assembly. By questioning the year-round relevance of the stage program, the team was motivated to develop a constituent part of the program (security, screen and canopy) into a new project feature. The skin thereby transcends its function as shell and takes on the new role of emblem. Centre Village - Building Information Architect: 5468796 Architecture Inc. [with Cohlmeyer Architecture Ltd.] Client: CentreVenture Development Corporation Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Project Area: 15,000 sqft (25 units) Project Year: 2010 Budget: $2.5M Photographs: 5468796 Architecture Inc. Consultants: Project Manager: Hold Zone Inc. Structural Engineer: Lavergne Draward & Associates Civil Engineer: MEC Consulting Landscape Design: Cynthia Cohlmeyer Centre Village Winnipeg information from 5468796 Architecture Inc Centre Village Winnipeg images from FD

A Winnipeg building recently added on e-architect:

Bloc_10
Design: 5468796 Architecture Inc

photo : James Brittain Photography
Winnipeg Housing

Another recent Winnipeg building by 5468796 Architecture Inc on e-architect:

OMS Stage

image from architect
OMS Stage Winnipeg

Another recent Winnipeg design on e-architect:

Winnipeg Skating Shelters
2010-11
Design: Patkau Architects

image : James Dow
Winnipeg Skating Shelters
Winnipeg is a city of 600,000 residents located on the Canadian prairie. It is the coldest city of its size outside of Siberia. Winter can last six months. So learning to celebrate winter - learning to take advantage of the opportunities that winter provides - makes sense.

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photograph : James Dow
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image : Nic Lehoux
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Centre Village Winnipeg : page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

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