2. PROJECT DETAILS
Architects
• Baird Sampson Neuert Architects
Project Director
• Jon Neuert
Area
• 8700.0 sqm
Project Year
• 2006
Gross Area
• 791 m² [8,514 s.f.]
Budget
• $4.8 million
4. CONCEPT
• The French River marks the transition to the Canadian Shield.
• Designated as Canada’s first Heritage Waterway.
• The project establishes an architecture of the River, defining and
invoking its physical qualities and cultural legacy
• through an integrated approach to architecture, landscape and exhibit
environments.
• the project embraces its condition as a place of passage, and is itself
an expedition
• through its siting, organization, views and exhibition, and as a
responsible construction in nature.
• Flowing across an archetypal landscape of rock and water, visitor
experience is organized along a continuously inclined topography of
found and constructed elements that establish an interpretive and
spatial armature for the project, which interprets the River’s descent
from its headwaters at Lake Nippissing to its delta at Georgian Bay.
13. PROJECT DETAIL
• Series of terraces accommodate public rooms and events.
• The building is organized into two primary vessels: Visitor and
mechanical services are located behind an expansive concrete wall
that merges with the granite topography of the site.
• A larger wooden volume hovers above this found / constructed
landscape.
• Exhibition Detail :
• The “Voices of the River” exhibition provides a first person
accounts of their experience with the River, using historical
accounts and contemporary voices that embrace the River
multicultural character and the role ‘canoe culture’ plays in
shaping Canadian identity.
15. SUSTAINABLE FEATURES
• The building is sited to minimize environmental impacts
• Series of constructed ‘islands’ that mark the locations of water related
infrastructure, which includes an ‘Ecoflow’ sanitary treatment systems using
sphagnum moss.
• Inert and durable local materials – wood, concrete and stone are the primary
building materials.
• Constructed upon an outcrop of exposed granite, the building was carefully detailed
to create an insulated thermal mass/storage for the Centre.
• Granite is exposed on the interior as part of the building’s geology exhibit. Rain
water is collected in a cistern that forms part of the building’s entry terrace.
• Exterior terraces are designed to support wide ranging activities and to generate
favourable microclimate in the shoulder seasons - protected from westerly winter
winds and open to solar access to the south.
• A high performance building envelope constructed from structural insulated panels,
together with heat recovery on ventilation air, provides an energy conservation
strategy that exceeds MNECB standards by 40%.
16. Entrance from the parking
Open terrace
Entry terrace
Ecoflow area
Surrounding forest
Material palette
18. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
• It captures the essence of the place.
• Organic.
• The shape of the building is reminiscent
of the materiality of nature.
• Expresses the solidity and fragility of its
environment.
• Energy efficient.
19. AWARDS
• RAIC Governor General’s Medal 2010
• Canadian Museums Association Award for
Outstanding Achievement – Facility Development and Design 2008
• OAA Design Excellence Award 2007
• OAA Best in Show 2007
• Outside the Box Award – Design Excellence 2007
• Woodworks Award 2006
• Design Exchange Silver Award – Architectural commercial 2006
• Canadian Architect Award of Excellence 2005
• Ontario Concrete Award of Merit 2005
20. REFERENCES
• French River Visitor Centre / Baird Sampson Neuert Architects
,retrieved from archdaily.com
• Retrived from - http://www.bsnarchitects.com
• Architecture | French River Provincial Park Visitor
Centre,SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 – retrieved from
https://fototype.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/architecture-
french-river-provincial-park-visitor-centre-4/
• Retrieved from - https://www.canadianarchitect.com/
Canada’s first Heritage Waterway, the French River, is a place of passage and journey: the passage of ice and water over rock – peoples and vessels across its landscape. Moving beyond the role of container, the project embraces this condition as a place of passage and is itself an expedition; through its exhibition, siting, organization and views, and as a responsible construction in nature. The project seeks to establish an architecture of the River, one that engages the defining physical qualities of its northern landscape and its cultural legacy as the primary route of fur traders and explorers.
, a landscape of granite scrapped bare by the passage of glaciers. In its descent from its headwaters, the River transforms from a fractured granite gorge, into a vast delta of sculpted granite islands and outcrops.
”. It has been a primary source of uniquely Canadian mythology, inspiring native pictographs and European depictions of heroic river journeys
the River served as a trade route between First Peoples, and for Europeans, was the primary route for inland exploration of the continent and as the “Voyageurs’ Highway
Canada’s first Heritage Waterway, the French River, is a place of passage and journey: the passage of ice and water over rock – peoples and vessels across its landscape. Moving beyond the role of container, the project embraces this condition as a place of passage and is itself an expedition; through its exhibition, siting, organization and views, and as a responsible construction in nature. The project seeks to establish an architecture of the River, one that engages the defining physical qualities of its northern landscape and its cultural legacy as the primary route of fur traders and explorers.
, a landscape of granite scrapped bare by the passage of glaciers. In its descent from its headwaters, the River transforms from a fractured granite gorge, into a vast delta of sculpted granite islands and outcrops.
”. It has been a primary source of uniquely Canadian mythology, inspiring native pictographs and European depictions of heroic river journeys
the River served as a trade route between First Peoples, and for Europeans, was the primary route for inland exploration of the continent and as the “Voyageurs’ Highway
Along this inclined topography, a series of terraces accommodate public rooms and events, providing physical extension between interior and exterior landscapes and programming events.
The building is organized into two primary vessels: Visitor and mechanical services are located behind an expansive concrete wall that merges with the granite topography of the site.
A larger wooden volume hovers above this found / constructed landscape, providing shelter for the exhibit and community events space. Cultural narratives of the exhibition are organized as temporal layers that float above this constructed riverscape.
The “Voices of the River” exhibition provides a first person accounts of their experience with the River, using historical accounts and contemporary voices that embrace the River multicultural character and the role ‘canoe culture’ plays in shaping Canadian identity.
Along this inclined topography, a series of terraces accommodate public rooms and events, providing physical extension between interior and exterior landscapes and programming events.
The building is organized into two primary vessels: Visitor and mechanical services are located behind an expansive concrete wall that merges with the granite topography of the site.
A larger wooden volume hovers above this found / constructed landscape, providing shelter for the exhibit and community events space. Cultural narratives of the exhibition are organized as temporal layers that float above this constructed riverscape.
The “Voices of the River” exhibition provides a first person accounts of their experience with the River, using historical accounts and contemporary voices that embrace the River multicultural character and the role ‘canoe culture’ plays in shaping Canadian identity.