89 DUNLOP STREET

89 DUNLOP STREET

A non-descript, existing office building from the 1960’s sits to the back side of Dunlop Street in downtown Barrie, fronting onto Kempenfelt Bay to the south, with magnificent waterfront views. This renovation/addition proposes to update the rather dark office interiors of the existing building with a palette of white, light-reflecting materials to substantially brighten its interiors. Externally, this simple box has had a number of key architectural elements graphed onto its three primary facades (east, west, south), along with a rooftop restaurant added to its top, complete with outdoor dining space and a dramatic rooftop canopy.

On the east facade, a new vine covered ground floor entrance has been added, along with a new vertical stone clad elevator shaft and white stucco clad exit stair. On the south side, a new, two-storey white bent metal window, cantilevered from the existing building, opens onto Kempenfelt Bay, dramatically brightening its interior spaces. A new stair going from grade to the rooftop has been added to the building’s west facade, allowing direct access to and from the new rooftop restaurant. Capping the rooftop restaurant is a folded metal roof, whose soffit and interior restaurant ceiling displays an enormous photograph of autumn leaves set within a deep blue sky, reflective of the foliage found throughout the area.

In its completed form, the new renovation/addition renders the building completely anew, while at the same time maintaining the rhythm of neighbouring waterfront buildings to the east.

LOCATION: Barrie, Ontario

ARCHITECT: LINEVISION Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Principal-in-Charge of Design

CLIENT: Viaplex Real Estate Development

STATISTICS:

  • No. of storeys: 4
  • Total floor area:
    16,165 ft2 (1,502 m2)
  • Deck area:
    1,050 ft2 (98 m2)

MATERIALS:

  • White stucco
  • Grey limestone
  • Silver curtain wall doors & windows
  • White prefinished metal panels
  • Galvalume standing seam metal roofs
  • Glass guardrails
  • Composite wood decking
  • Outdoor landscaping

GENERAL PROGRAM:

  • Open concept office
  • 4th floor restaurant + outdoor terrace
  • Lower level sunken court

COST: Withheld

COMPLETION: Project