This multi-use sports facility replaced the original Memorial
Gardens, home of the Sault Greyhounds and local hockey
for the past 50 years. This building provides Sault Ste. Marie
with a much needed venue for sports, exhibitions, concerts
and other large capacity events. It contains 4162 seats, 494
standing room, plus 13 private box seating areas.
The
project was designed do that an additional 40 box seating
areas could be added in the future.
The existing sloping site was used to its advantage, by
providing an at grade entrance on the south side that will
allow direct access from the street for trucks, buses etc, at
the lower events and ice level. The north side provides
access at the seating level for patrons.
We worked with the Economic Development Corporation of
the City of Sault Ste. Marie to design a “Made in Sault Ste.
Marie” design solution for the buildings and attractions
proposed for the Gateway Site in Sault Ste. Marie. Mr. Ellis was
asked to provide these services due to his intimate knowledge
of the site and the waterfront with his involvement since 2003
with various developers on this site. He co-designed two
schemes and sole designed two others over the years.
This design illustrates a night time view of the main tourist
attraction building. The site integrates many components such
as art exhibits, a relocated Algoma Central Railway Station, a
showcase for alternative energy generation, a cultural centre,
aboriginal heritage centre, restaurants and shops.
This is a challenging project, as the existing Gallery must be kept operational, while the building is expanded and completely renovated.
Our solution is to ‘wrap the building in new clothes’. The existing footprint stays and new galleries, common, presentation, classroom, cafeteria, retail, secure storage and administration areas are either added, or expanded in their existing locations. The wrap around constriction method always allows access to the building during construction and easily expands spaces around the periphery. Galleries can therefore be expanded and new ones formed, to allow a continuum of exhibits, from local to international in stature.
One extremely import aspect of the functional programme is to expand upon the collections storage area, as the Gallery has a significant archive of works requiring environmentally stable and secure storage.
Mr. Ellis designed the Centre in the 1990’s and we are now in
the midst of designing its first major expansion. All the images
on this page are in-house 3D renderings of what the new
Centre will look like once complete.
This interpretative centre was designed to depict the role of
the airplane opening up the north. It also defines the
northern experience and heritage, with its relationship to
aviation. This stems from fire fighting, mining exploration,
transportation and medical services used to open up the
north.
The displays are educational and informative tools that
explain how aircraft were used as a means to this end.
The project is sited at the existing hangar which was used by
the Ministry of Natural Resources to build, service and repair
fire fighting aircraft since the 1920’s. This building is considered
to be an important part of aviation history and as such, is
considered to be as much an exhibit, as are the aircraft and
artifacts housed within.
This building was commissioned as the indoor pool for the
Ontario Winter Games. The overall complex contains a
competition pool, children’s pool and recreation area, a new
ice arena, restaurant, field house, meeting rooms, several
concessions, classrooms, etc.
The building shares many common architectural and material
features with the other buildings on the site to reinforce the
wholeness of the recreational complex.
Each building
possesses a glazed two storey entrance and rectangular
sports floor or activity area, all of differing scales and
materials. As this is a public facility in a highly corrosive
atmosphere, we incorporated very robust materials and
systems to withstand abuse and environmental concerns.
Mr. Ellis’s interiors won a national design award for the
building and its materials.
This concept was designed for the buildings and attractions that were proposed for the Gateway Site in Sault Set Marie, known as 'Legacy Quest', in 2003.
The drawings demonstrate preliminary renderings and different views of the massive model of the main tourist attraction building. The site integrates many components from 'Immersion Studios', to a dark ride, art exhibits, a relocated Algoma Central Railway Station, a cultural centre, an aboriginal heritage centre, a major hotel, restaurants and shops.
Note this project was cancelled, but a new Gateway proposal is underway.
In 1972, millions of Canadians watched two guys from
Timmins, two from Sault Ste. Marie, one from Smooth Rock
Falls and one from Kirkland Lake help Team Canada win
against the powerful Russian Team.
This year, 17,000 kids in
Northern Ontario are practising for their turn. This centre tells
the story of hockey in the north and the players that fulfilled
their dreams in the NHL.
The building, designed by Mr. Ellis to look similar to a modern
day scaled down arena, houses activities such as an
interactive/participatory experience called the ‘Fun Zone’, a
chance to ‘virtually’ interview your hockey heroes, exhibits
detailing the contributions of northern players in the NHL,
future stars, regional exhibits highlighting the local teams that
feed the pro leagues, as well as other interactive exhibits.
Of note is that the same design team of david ELLIS architect
and Bronskill & Co., exhibit designers, have been selected to
design the north’s newest interpretative centre, the
Alternative Energy Science Centre.
The Former RYTAC (Rotary YMCA Tennis and Aquatics Club)
facility has been abandoned for several years until recently,
when Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology acquired
the property. The intent of the College is to replace the
building and offer it as both a community resource and to utilize
various components for programmes for the College.
Currently the site is comprised of the Boathouse building, which
contains boat storage and launching facilities on the ground
floor and a social room on the second. In addition to the
aquatics related activities housed within and adjacent the
building, the other major use is an array of six tennis courts.
These have recently been opened, with new nets, windbreaks
and lighting.
Our solution is to separate the two functions, with the social
aspects being housed in one building, raised to maximize views,
and the ’boathouse’ aspects constructed in more of a
utilitarian nature as a second. Since the construction of the
‘social’ facilities would have a higher standard of finishes and
be heated, it was determined substantial savings in both
capital and operational cost can be obtained by creating
co-joined distinct pavilions
