89 DUNLOP STREET

89 DUNLOP STREET

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

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

In its completed form, this new office renovation/addition gives the building a completely new presence, while at the same time extending the rhythm of the neighbouring boxy waterfront buildings (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)
  • Rooftop terrace area:
    1,050 ft2 (98 m2)

MATERIALS:

  • Stucco cladding (white)
  • Limestone cladding (grey)
  • Silver curtain wall windows & doors
  • White pre-finished metal panels
  • Galvalume standing seam metal roofs
  • Glass guardrails
  • Composite wood decking (grey)
  • Vinyl soffit mural (autumn leaves)
  • Outdoor landscaping

GENERAL PROGRAM:

  • Office
  • Restaurant + outdoor rooftop terrace (4th floor)
  • Lower level sunken court

COST: Withheld

COMPLETION: Project