BARRIE CONDOMINIUMS

BARRIE CONDOMINIUMS

On a south-facing slope, overlooking Kempenfelt Bay and directly north of Barrie’s City Hall is this mixed-use condominium project. Its “base”; a long, linear building, containing a 3-storey restaurant (south end), professional offices (middle) with condominium and underground parking entrances (north), is clad with honed grey limestone; a nod to the heavily textured, grey limestone cladding of the Simcoe County Courthouse (Barrie Courthouse) across the street.

The base, adjacent to Mulcaster Street, brings the building’s lower mixed-use program right up to the street’s edge, in an effort to promote good urban design and beautiful streets. Capped with a black zinc horizontal roof plane that gestures towards Kempenfelt Bay, the roof, combined with the base, creates a striking urban form in downtown Barrie. On top of this base is the 17-storey condominium tower, whose three primary facades (south, east and west) are fully glazed, drinking in the waterfront views of Kempenfelt Bay.

To the back side of the condominium tower, where views are less dramatic, are stacked 2-storey, one bedroom apartments, designed to attract a younger clientele, looking for an affordable first home.

At the meeting point where the condominium tower meets the roof, are the building’s public amenities, including an indoor pool. South of the amenities and exterior to the building, can be found a shallow reflecting pool, complete with stepped terraces, ornamental grasses and numerous potted maple trees. This enormous, elevated terrace offers residents a lush, natural playground just above the adjacent streets, connecting them visually with Kempenfelt Bay and offering a place of pleasant respite within a busy city.

LOCATION: Barrie, Ontario

ARCHITECT: LINEVISION Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Principal-in-Charge

CLIENT: Withheld

STATISTICS:

  • No. of storeys: 20
  • Total floor area:
    205,270 ft2 (19,070 m2)
  • Below grade parking: 158 stalls
    (including 7 barrier-free)

MATERIALS:

  • Black curtain wall windows & doors + horizontal maple wood battens set between the glass
  • Plate glass with glass fins
  • Honed grey limestone cladding & landscape walls
  • Black zinc fascias & balconies
  • Grey pre-finished metal siding
  • Black pre-finished metal pool guardrails
  • White & yellow painted DensDeck soffits
  • Vertical wood screens (condominium entrance)
  • Outdoor landscaping

GENERAL PROGRAM:

  • 3-storey restaurant
  • 2-storey professional offices
  • Condominiums (1,2 & 3 bedroom units)
  • Indoor amenities including indoor pool
  • Outdoor reflecting pool and landscaping
  • Loading docks: 2

COST: Withheld

COMPLETION: Project