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Projects   Project Portfolio – May 2005
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Perimeter Institute

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Saucier & Perrotte

At the Perimeter Institute in Ontario, Saucier + Perrotte Architectes pair darkness and light to celebrate the mysteries of physics


Photo © Marc Cramer

By Rhys Phillips

Twenty-five years ago, the corner of Caroline Street and Father David Bauer Drive in the small Ontario city of Waterloo was a jumble of old industrial buildings, vacant land, and railway tracks coexisting uncomfortably along the southern edge of Waterloo Park’s Silver Lake. In the mid-1980s, architect Barton Myers skillfully transformed a number of 19th-century brick distilleries into the Seagram Museum, which quickly became an icon of Canadian Postmodernism and initiated a metamorphosis of the area. The museum whetted the city’s interest in signature architecture, and a major competition for the Canadian Glass and Clay Gallery soon followed; the winning project by Patkau Architects opened in 1995 to critical praise. Last year’s opening of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes, marks the third major architectural addition to this once-frayed boundary of Waterloo’s modest commercial core. This remarkably expressive building both responds to its intriguing site and captures the institute’s very raison d’etre in built form.

Established in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis, founder of the successful high-tech firm Research in Motion, the Perimeter Institute is a private, not-for-profit think tank that works with 28 Canadian universities to attract scientists who study cutting-edge topics in quantum physics. The client, seeking a unique building that would help lure top scholars, obtained a list of five firms recommended by the University of Toronto’s school of architecture. Though the institute planned to conduct a two-stage competition of interviews followed by design submissions, they hired Saucier + Perrotte promptly after the firm’s interview, pleased with its approach to the program and site.

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the People

Client
Perimeter Institute www.perimeterinstitute.ca

Architect
Saucier & Perrotte
www.saucierperrotte.com

Principal in charge of design:
Gilles Saucier

Project Architect:
André Perrotte

Project Team:
Trevor Davies, Andrew Butler, Dominique Dumais, Eric Majer, Pierre-Alexandre Rhéaume, Anna Bendix, Sudhir Suri, Christian Hébert, Laurence LeBeux, Quinlan Osborne, Jean-Louis Léger, Samantha Schneider, Nathalie Cloutier, Christine Levine, Jean-François Lagacé, Sergio Morales, Guillaume Sasseville, Maxime Gagné, Audrey Archambault

Engineer(s)
Structural:
Blackwell Engineering Ltd.

Mechanical, Electrical:
Crossey Engineering Ltd. www.cel.ca

Civil:
Stantec Consulting Ltd. www.stantec.com/

Consultant(s)
Acoustics:
Acoustics Engineering Ltd.

Audio / Visual:
Novita

Kitchens:
YGQ Designer Inc.

Landscape Architect:
Saucier + Perrotte architects www.saucierperrotte.com

General Contractor
Eastern Construction www.easternconstruction.com

Photographer
Marc Cramer
Saucier + Perrotte architects www.saucierperrotte.com

 

the Products

Structural System/Cladding
Metal/glass curtainwall:
Fulwal, VM Zinc www.vmzinc.com, Ontario Panelization, Merit Glass www.meritglass.com, Roof Tile Management www.rooftilemanagement.com

Air/Vapour Barrier:
Bakor www.bakor.com

Roofing
Built-up roofing:
Hydrotech www.hydrotechusa.com

Roof Anchors:
Thaler www.thalermetal.com

Windows
Aluminum:
Fulton www.fultonwindows.com

Glazing
Glass:
Trulite www.trulite.com, Viracon www.viracon.com, Prelco www.prelco.ca

Skylights:
IBG Canada

Doors
Entrances:
Kawneer www.kawneer.com

Metal doors:
Commercial Door and Hardware

Wood doors:
Cambridge Door www.cambridgedoors.com

Hardware
Locksets:
Schlage www.schlage.com

Hinges:
Stanley www.stanleyworks.com

Closers:
LCN www.lcnclosers.com

Exit devices:
Von Duprin www.vonduprin.com

Pulls:
Gallery Specialty Hardware www.galleryspecialty.com

Security devices:
HID www.hidcorp.com

Interior Finishes
Acoustical ceilings:
Armstrong www.armstrong.com; Decoustics www.decoustics.com

Suspension grid:
Armstrong www.armstrong.com

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork:
Art Magic

Paints and stains:
Sico www.sico.com

Plastic laminate:
Nevamar www.nevamar.com

Floor and wall tile - washrooms:
Cica, Olympia www.olympiatile.com

Resilient flooring:
Forbo www.forbo.com

Shades:
Solarfective www.solarfective.com

Furnishings
Fixed seating - Auditorium:
Irwin www.irwinseating.com

Tables - Seminar Room:
Irwin www.irwinseating.com

Fireplaces:
Superior www.superiorfireplaces.com; Sauna: Finlandia www.finlandiasauna.com; Squash Court: Playcon www.playcon.com

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting:
Artemide www.artemide.com; Thomas Lighting www.thomaslighting.com

Downlights:
Lightolier www.lightolier.com, Ledalite www.ledalite.com

Exterior:
Zaneen www.zaneen.com, Thomas Lighting www.thomaslighting.com

 
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