Sagamok First Nation - Biidaaban Kinoomaagegamik

Location: Sagamok, Ontario 

Architect: J. L. Richards & Associates Limited

Description: Biidaaban Kinoomaagegamik is a new elementary school designed for 260 students from JK to grade 8. The school is in the community of Sagamok, located along the top of a prominent ridge that forms the western edge of the La Cloche Range. Rich in history, many important cultural and historical sites can be seen from this ridgetop, including the geographic namesake of the community of Sagamok (two points of land joining). The site consists of a gently sloping forest of mixed species.

The site design was influenced by three primary principles. First, the building location and site design should work with the natural slope of the site. Second, safety should be considered for accessing the school regarding pedestrians, vehicles and buses. Third, the building orientation and views should be considered so that the primary entrance faces east, the play area faces south, and there is a visual connection to the lake.

The goals set out for this project included: accessible building and site; modern school design; sustainable/respectful of the environment; energy efficient; durable materials; low maintenance and low operating costs; safety and security; respectful of cultural and spiritual elements; and a “school for the community” or “Sagamok’s School”.

The school design is a one-storey building with junior and senior grades in separate wings. The main entrance to the school faces east. The reception and administration are located adjacent to the main entrance to facilitate security needs. The gymnasium, main washrooms, change rooms, multipurpose room, cultural space, and cafeteria are centrally located to allow for easy access to either wing of the school and facilitate after-hours use by the community.

The primary wall construction for the building is cross laminated timber or mass timber walls. This product was selected to facilitate a fast-track construction schedule, for its innate durability, its low carbon footprint, and to provide a natural wood finish to most of the interior walls. High performance, durable and noncombustible materials were selected for all the exterior materials: brick, concrete panels and metal. The interior is finished primarily with earth tones in natural or sustainable materials such as linoleum. Plenty of storage is incorporated into the design. By incorporating extensive community consultation, the teaching spaces were designed with multiple input sessions with staff, students, and elders.

According to the owner, “It has been an amazing journey we have been on over the last year as we move closer to the realization of a new school for the community of Sagamok. JL Richards has truly taken a cutting-edge approach including the community, parents, staff and students along the way. We really appreciate having the opportunity to be a part of the developmental phase and have input into the design. It will certainly be a community school in every sense of the word.”

Suswin Village Transitional Indigenous Housing

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architect: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. 

• 2024 Queen’s Park Picks

Description: Rooted in the heart of downtown, Suswin Village provides a safe, accessible and dignified housing solution for North Bay’s Indigenous homeless. Meaning ‘nest’ in Ojibway, Suswin Village offers its residents a warm, welcoming and home-like environment. The three-storey structure consists of thirty self-contained 1-bedroom units complete with washroom (six units of which are barrier-free), large Common Room and Meeting Room, fully equipped commercial-quality kitchen, residential and commercial-grade laundry facilities and supporting administrative and reception areas. The design incorporates best-practice sustainable design strategies, practices and systems, including the incorporation of natural ventilation,
durable cladding materials, highly insulated exterior wall and roof assemblies, energy-efficient triple glazed window units, LED lighting complete with occupancy sensors and sensor-activated, low-flow plumbing fixtures. Suswin Village also benefits from downtown North Bay’s first, onsite vertical geothermal well field bed complete with heat pump units to provide building heating and cooling. Outside, LEA’s landscape work incorporates drought-tolerant, native trees and plantings and a large communal fire pit with flagstone surround for residents and staff to gather.

North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit  

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architect: Mitchell Jensen Architects

• 2018 Best of Canada Award, Canadian Interior Magazine

• 2018 WoodWORKS! Northern Ontario Excellence Award

Description: The architectural design was inspired by staff and management, who shared generously to help the architects to make this building the best it can be.  The two storey facility will accommodate clinics serving the public as well staff spaces to support all the health promotion activities of the Health Unit.  The building will be an expression of the value of public health in the community and enable the dedicated staff to provide the highest level of professional services to which it aspires.

With elements of wood and stone, views of Lake Nipissing and abundant daylight the building will reflect its place in Northern Ontario.

Temagami First Nation Multi-Use Facility

Location: Bear Island, Temagami, Ontario 

Architect: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. 

• 2019 WoodWORKS! Northern Ontario Wood Design Award

• 2019 Ontario Concrete Award

Description: The Temagami First Nation Multi-Use Facility is a one storey wood-framed administration and community center that serves as the main municipal hub for the Temagami First Nation community on Bear Island. This LEED® inspired facility includes a multi-purpose Gathering Room with a commercial kitchen, laundry and locker room facilities, a rent-able multi-use space and accommodates a range of administrative offices for various services such as Lands and Resources, Council, Band Administration and all related support programs. Working with a number of complex multi-user groups, a diverse program requirement, a highlighted engineered wood framed superstructure and the logistical challenges of working on a remote island (seasonally accessible by boat or developed ice road) were some of the notable challenges for this project  The resultant building now sits as a proudly on the shores of Lake Temagami and is the first major development completed as part LEA’s Master Planning of the Bear Island Waterfront (completed in 2016).

Preston Street Office

Location: Ottawa, Ontario 

Architect: J. L. Richards & Associates Limited

Description: JLR undertook integrated multidisciplinary feasibility, design, tendering, and construction support services to consolidate JLR’s three existing Ottawa offices to two floors at 343 Preston Street. Rather than building an entirely new office, JLR decided to retrofit an existing office space to fulfill our business needs. With the COVID-19 pandemic requiring us to embrace a hybrid working model, we decided to create a progressive and technologically integrated office space that adapts to new challenges presented by the post-covid working reality. By retrofitting the office, we were able to revitalize carbon-intensive materials already in place and reduce the environmental impact associated with new construction.

JLR’s new office was designed to incorporate an activity-based/hybrid work model that requires less area and creates a community of spatial neighborhoods that maximize access to daylight for all users. Plants are integrated into the design of common spaces to connect interior spaces with the building’s exterior. The new office is an open concept floorplan design with a staircase connecting floors nine and 10. This design created an unbroken, interconnected, and dynamic work environment that supports JLR’s transition to a hybrid working model while allowing our employees to collaborate more freely and efficiently. The workspace fit up was designed with the diversity and inclusion of the JLR team in mind. With activity-based working, an easily navigable floor plan, and quiet focus rooms, we created an accessible office that is accommodating to a wide variety of mobility challenges and neurodivergences.

We are proud to have been able to create an office that adapts to the realities of post-pandemic flexible work, fosters collaboration, and supports employees with disabilities. Our new office shows JLR’s ability to adapt to a changing world and develop modern solutions for modern challenges.

MNRF Fire Management Facility Haliburton

Location: Haliburton, Ontario 

Architect: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. 

2018 LEED® Gold® certified by the CaGBC

Description: The MNRF New Fire Management Facility in North Bay, Ontario, is a 12,370 sq.ft building designed to provide the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) emergency response crews with new offices, training spaces and equipment storage to better prepare and respond to local wild fires. Our initial mandate was to achieve a LEED® Silver® certification upon completion, and through collaboration and teamwork we surpassed our goal and the building received LEED® Gold® certification by the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC). LEED® green building program features include a geothermal ground source heat pump system, maximum solar passive heating during winter months, low flow plumbing fixtures, rain water collection, sourced construction materials extracted within a 800km of the site and selecting materials with a low VOC (volatile organic compounds). 

MNRF Fire Management Facility North Bay

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architect: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. 

2018 LEED® Gold® certified by the CaGBC

Description: The MNRF New Fire Management Facility in North Bay, Ontario, is a 12,370 sq.ft building designed to provide the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) emergency response crews with new offices, training spaces and equipment storage to better prepare and respond to local wild fires. Our initial mandate was to achieve a LEED® Silver® certification upon completion, and through collaboration and teamwork we surpassed our goal and the building received LEED® Gold® certification by the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC). LEED® green building program features include a geothermal ground source heat pump system, maximum solar passive heating during winter months, low flow plumbing fixtures, rain water collection, sourced construction materials extracted within a 800km of the site and selecting materials with a low VOC (volatile organic compounds). 

Harris Learning Library  

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architects: Evan Bertrand Hill Wheeler Architecture joint venture with Diamond Schmitt Architects 

• 2013 Ontario Lirbary Association - OLA New Lirbary Building Award

• 2012 ALA / IIDA, Library Interior Design Awards – Best of Category for Academic Libraries

One Kids Place Children's Treatment Centre

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architect: Mitchell Jensen Architects 

• 2010 Northern Ontario Excellence Award - Wood WORKS! Ontario

• Award of Excellence, Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario

• Project of the Year by Association of Registered Interior

Description: One Kids Place (OKP) provides a broad range of services to help children, youth and their families with physical, developmental and communication delays and disabilities.  In addition, the facility houses the Clinic of the North Bay Pediatric Group, a consortium of all pediatricians in the North Bay area.

The result is a single storey building organized around a primary public circulation system which is intuitive and easily understood.  Access and views to the outdoors are abundant with a central courtyard as the primary feature providing an outdoor therapy area, quiet reflection space, and play area which is sheltered from surrounding roadways.  It acts as an orientation device being the focus of much of the public circulation.

North Bay Regional Health Centre  

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architects: Evan Bertrand Hill Wheeler Architecture. 

• 2010 WoodWORKS! Institutional  >$10M Wood Design Award

• 2017 Queen’s Park Picks

Description: North Bay Regional Health Centre, a 755,000-square-foot facility that includes the District Hospital (acute care) and the Regional Mental Health Centre (specialized forensic mental health services).

As a new model for health care in Canada, the project resulted in many significant firsts which included combining forensic mental health with acute care, 100 per cent fresh air mechanically in each room, a major SARS review undertaken with departmental changes integrated into the design, integrating two-week and two-month food cycles for patient-focused care delivery, reworking security systems from first principles to deal with unique population requirements, and incorporating structural heavy timber construction in a B-2 occupancy (care and treatment) facility.

Ge-Da-Gi-Binez Youth Centre

Location: Fort Frances, Ontario 

Architects: Mitchell Jensen Architects

2010 LEED® Silver® certified by the CaGBC

Description: The Ge-Da-Gi-Binez Youth Centre in Fort Frances is a secure custody facility that accommodates up to 12 Indigenous youth from Northwestern Ontario, who are being detained or serving sentences. The centre is the first of its kind in Canada dedicated to rehabilitating Indigenous youth in conflict with the law. Evidence-based rehabilitative programs are provided in keeping with First Nation culture. It is owned by the Ontario government and operated in partnership with a consortium of Aboriginal and social service agencies.

This was a third in a series of youth facilities designed by Mitchell Jensen Architects. This very unique 18,711 square foot facility was delivered using a modified design-bid-build delivery system, in an abbreviated time frame to allow the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) to fulfill its commitments regarding appropriate accommodation for youth in custody.

Bill Barber Complex 

Location: Callander, Ontario 

Architect: Evan Bertrand Hill Wheeler Architecture Inc. 

2010 WoodWORKS! Institutional Wood Design Award <$10M

Justice Ronald Youth Centre

Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario 

Architects: Mitchell Jensen Architects

2010 LEED® Silver® certified by the CaGBC

Description: This new youth justice facility in north western Ontario, features accommodation, program, education and administration space for Young Offenders between the ages of 12 and 17.  A high level of security and observation has been incorporated into the design of the $11M facility.

Foyer des Pionniers Long Term Care

Location: Hearst, Ontario 

Architects: Mitchell Jensen Architects

2004 Ontario WoodWORKS! Jury’s Choice Award

Description: The main floor was designed to provide 3 distinct Resident Home Areas (RHA) including one 32 bed RHA, one 16 bed RHA and a 14 bed RHA dedicated for the cognitively impaired. Site topography permitted the development of and access to several outdoor areas for the residents of Foyer des Pionniers. A large outdoor patio complete with a wooden garden trellis for shade was provided. For the cognitively impaired RHA, an exterior courtyard space was created within the confines of the RHA. Residents have access to the safe, controlled exterior area and require less intensive staff supervision as the potential for uncontrolled wandering is virtually eliminated.

Canadore College School of Aviation Campus 

Location: North Bay, Ontario 

Architects: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. joint venture with ZAS Architects Inc.

• 2003 Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Honourable Award

• 2002 School Construction News and Design Share Award

• 2001 Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) Award of Distinction

Description: Canadore College Aviation Campus was first designed in 2001 by Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. (LEA) in joint venture with ZAS Architects Inc. The facility provides students with an up close experience of avionics, while being steps away from the tarmac. In 2001, the campus was the recipient of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) Award of Distinction. The jury recognized the partnership between the college and the airport, and acknowledged how the program was translated with clarity to working drawings. In 2002, the campus was awarded a citation award for the “Innovative Learning Environments” by the School Construction News and Design Share Awards, and finally in 2003, the campus was awarded the honorable award by the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). These awards supported the idea that the Aviation Campus for Canadore College represented the first step in creating one of the most comprehensive, educational aviation complex in Canada at the time. 

The Canadian Ecology Centre 

Location: Mattawa, Ontario 

Architect: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc.

2001 Canada Wood Council & WoodWORKS! Jury Award

Description: During the design phase of the project, the use of recycled and "green" materials was extensively researched. In collaboration with the CEC, we shared our vision with local lumber and wood product manufacturers who in turn were pleased to provide the project with locally harvested wood products and lumber. Realizing the added value of using locally produced materials both for economical and environmental reasons, our palette of materials showcases the local industries and reflects the community's history. The design and construction of the building has endeavoured to reinforce the lessons of sustainable design by “living lightly on the land”. The architecture of the CEC strives to be harmonious with the natural surroundings that have influenced it’s very design. In June of 2000, The Canadian Ecology Centre (CEC) was showcased at the World Exposition “Expo2000” in Hannover Germany. The CEC’s freestanding exhibit echoed the exposition’s theme of “Humankind, Nature and Technology”. The exhibit was one of the major highlights at the Canadian Pavilion.

Collège Boréal Main Campus 

Location: Sudbury, Ontario 

Architects: Larocque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. joint venture with ANO Architects Inc., Cotnam Belair Architects, Bywater Mitchell Architects 

1999 Ontario Association of Architects OAA Awards of Architectural Excellence

Description: In June of 1999, Collège Boréal Main Campus was awarded the prestigious “Ontario Association of Architects OAA Award of Architectural Excellence”.  The award is designed to honour “the architectural skills of Ontario Architects and recognize significant projects impacting on social, environmental and community development in all of Ontario.”