LOW BLOCK, HIGH BLOCK

摘要

The Laurier Brantford YMCA is a minimal, austere, rectilinear building. With its mirrored façade and a truss-supported cantilever extension on its eastern flank, it sits on the street with all the permanence of a mirage. At first glance, its modernity is a blunt counterpoint to the historic core of downtown Brantford. Completed in December 2018, the 11,318-square-metre facility by architects CannonDesign consists of dual bars, each almost a block in length, stacked atop one another. The massing is apropos, since the co-owned recreational centre is designed to bring together two segments of Brantford's population: YMCA members and Wilfred Laurier University students. Concurrently, the building serves as a conduit between the elevated commercial Colborne Street, and the Grand River basin, a sharp 10.6-metre drop to the south.