rare pavilion: A final photo tour: the completed pavilion

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

A final photo tour: the completed pavilion

The pavilion was completed in late October, just as the mornings were starting to get frosty.

I cannot help but step back and make note, again, of the remarkable generosity of the rare community of donors and volunteers who brought the building into being. Donors are noted in the right sidebar of the blog; volunteers are introduced throughout the course of the blog posts.

The final building reflects an incredible collective investment in a much-loved landscape, the vibrant community that gathers in it, and the desire to invite others to share in its richness.

And while this is the end of the pavilion's construction story, it is just the first chapter the stories to come.

Thanks for reading!

Acknowledgements

The Pavilion at the rare Springbank Community Gardens would not exist without the support of the Cloverleaf Foundation and the Kavelman-Fonn Foundation. The Cloverleaf Foundation’s generous initial gift came at a critical time - allowing rare to plan and envision the space alongside the School of Architecture students who designed it. Construction began and the Kavelman-Fonn Foundation subsequently made a lead gift facilitating the full realization of this initial vision. These donors have invested in environmental education for children and in a community-shared space used by school groups, community gardeners, trail walkers, and general visitors to the gardens. We can’t thank them enough!

You can help support Springbank Community Gardens by clicking here to make a donation. We still need additional site infrastructure: new eco-composting washrooms, handwashing stations, interpretive materials, and support for trail enhancements.

The Pavilion Team

Dedicated volunteers from the rare community formed the construction crew. Whether they helped for a few hours or a few months, these folks brought a remarkable commitment to quality, skillful approach, creativity, generosity, and attention to detail to the building site. Their work was truly extraordinary.

Laura Knap (B.E.S. Arch) worked on the final building design and managed construction. In collaboration with rare staff, she also produced this blog.

Structural design and general reviews were by R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd.

Amanda Newell is the Gardens and Building Project Manager for rare.

Project design and development for the pavilion began in two master's seminars led by Andrew Hunter and Farid Noufaily at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge. The substantial work of these students gave shape to the pavilion, its siting, and its relationship to the surrounding landscape.

Preliminary Design - Arch 684, Spring 2009: Pooya Baktash, Liam Brown, Heather Brown, Maryam Karimi, Sean Irwin, Sara Nejad, Prithula Prosun, Mike Taylor

Design Development - Arch 684, Fall 2009: Lida Arbabi, Timea Jakab, Fariba Khorashahi, Rebecca Lai, Carmen Lau, Darcy McNinch, Parisa Nikkhou, Morteza Rabbani, Lisa Rendely, Poonam Sharma

The staff and board at rare have provided much direction, insight, and support along the way. The staff team, Environmental Advisory Committee, archaeologists, and educators provided input to ensure that no habitats, rare plants, or cultural history would be disturbed by the construction process.