Armenian Cultural Centre

Toronto, ON

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES  //  COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT  //  INSTITUTIONAL

SDG was retained to redevelop the Armenian Cultural Centre in Toronto. The redevelopment focused heavily on incorporating environmentally sound construction practices and techniques. Large areas of paving were redesigned to improve pedestrian circulation and vehicular traffic throughout the site using permeable paving instead of asphalt. Indigenous and xeriscaping plant material was selected to alleviate the requirements for an irrigation system on site.

A pedestrian plaza was created to capture the church traffic and separate it from the vehicular traffic of the community centre. A large monument to commemorate the 1.5 million Armenian lives lost during the first genocide of the twentieth century was designed within the plaza.