AZURE_2014_07_08.pdf

awards
of merit
architecture
people’s
choice
winner
1
2
Architecture
> 1,000 Square Metres
1 Regent Park Aquatic
centre
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Firm: MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller
Archi tects, Toronto
Beyond its condo-strewn skyline, one
of Toronto’s most impressive recent
transformations is taking place in
Regent Park, a once-notorious housing
project that is transitioning into a
vibrant mixed-use community. This
aquatic centre serves as its heart,
inviting in both long-time residents
and newcomers. Clad in black zinc
panels with a green roof, the lowslung
2,600-square-metre building
is generously glazed: a raised, glasscovered
spine runs along its axis,
and a “dorsal fin” of a skylight brings
light into the swim halls and change
rooms, with double sliding doors off
the main pool area leading sunbathers
to the park-side terrace. Inside, the
faceted wooden ceilings bring a
sense of grandeur to the morning
swim. mjmarchitects.com
2 Valencia Waste
tReatment Plant
Location: Valencia, Spain Firm: Israel
Alba, Madrid Team: Israel Alba with
Mónica Domínguez, Zina Petrikova,
Laura Rojo and Ines Steuber
Through their thoughtful architecture,
the four long, parallel structures that
constitute this waste treatment plant
achieve the facility’s central tenets:
to connect with its environment, and
to engage visitors. The sculpted buildings,
which process 450,000 tonnes
of waste each year, sink at one end
into the rising topography and receive
ample natural light inside. Visitors
can enter via a plaza dotted with local
orange trees to tour the plant and
learn about energy conservation.
israelalba.com
az awards annual jul ⁄ aug 2014 55