December 11, 2024
We are happy to announce that the winner of the last month's JMA Architectural Scavenger Hunt is..... Spencer Rand! being the first to identify the November clue: Norfolk Family Health Team's Simcoe expansion, located in Simcoe, ON.
Spencer, let us know if you want coffee from Matter of Taste, or an ice cream gift card from Four All, and swing by our office to pick up your price! It will be really nice to see you.
A bit about the Norfolk Family Health Team expansion:
This interior fit-up allowed the Team to expand into a spacious, fully accessible, central location in Simcoe. The ground floor facility (over 12,300 s.f.) now includes exam rooms, …
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November 12, 2024
We are happy to announce that the winner of the last month's JMA Architectural Scavenger Hunt is..... Neal Campbell! for being the first to identify the October clue: University of Waterloo Health Services Centre on Strauss Lake, and can be approached from Westmount Ave.
A bit about the University of Waterloo Health Services Centre Expansion:
Many of us at JMA graduated from the University of Waterloo, and remember the older health services building, on the edge of the pond – an early project of Moriyama and Teshima Architects in 1968. By 2010, when we (Kearns Mancini Architects and us) started working on this project, the university population had grown from 9,000 to 36,000, and health priorities and service models had changed.
…
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October 11, 2024
We are happy to announce that the winner of the last month's JMA Architectural Scavenger Hunt is..... Tim Ingold! for being the first to identify the September clue: Breslau EMS/Fire Station at 51 Beacon Point Ct.
A bit about this Fire/EMS station:
Completed in 2018, this is the only station in the region that Fire and EMS share. The training room was designed to double up as a community room for public use. The massing of the building articulates a sense of address and identity for each of the occupants. Recognizing the need to safeguard response times, and a concern for safety across the site for all users, designing a successful pattern of circulation was of huge importance.
A special water saving fea…
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October 08, 2024
Conestogo Lake home with gables
As we continue our office Word of the Day exercise, we’d like to share another round of definitions.
Infrared (thermal) emittance: A value between 0 and 1 (or 0% and 100%) that indicates the ability of a material to shed infrared radiation (heat). A cool roof (one designed to reflect more sunlight than a conventional roof, absorbing less solar energy) should have a high thermal emittance. The wavelength range for radiant energy is roughly 5 to 40 micrometers. Most building materials (including glass) are opaque in this part of the spectrum and have an emittance of roughly 0.9, or 90%. Clean, bare metals, such as untarnished galvanized steel, have a low emittance and are the most important exceptions to the 0.9 rule. In contrast, aluminum roof…
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September 24, 2024
We recently brought an engaging and interactive booth to Kitchener’s KidsPark festival, where we were able to expose kids to architecture in a way that is inspiring and fun. Additionally, we also used this opportunity to answer questions, mostly from parents and caregivers, about what architects do. This festival presented us with a great opportunity to engage with audiences we do not normally reach.
Our booth, “Fun with Architecture" was a massive success. We were busy non-stop all day, as kids played an architectural matching game, built with wooden blocks and drew on title block. With this pilot project, we tested activities and our approach.
Recently, we were very pleased to learn that the project has generously be…
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July 16, 2024
Dickson Public School, ongoing residential conversion - How many keystones can you spot?
As we continue our office Word of the Day exercise, we’d like to share a second round of definitions.
Enfilade: In architecture, an enfilade is a series of rooms formally aligned with each other. This was a common feature in grand European architecture from the Baroque period onward, although there are earlier examples, such as the Vatican stanze. The doors entering each room are aligned with the doors of the connecting rooms along a single axis, providing a vista through successive rooms. The enfilade may be used as a processional route and is a common arrangement in museums and art galleries, as it facilitates the movement of large numbers of people through a building. [Wikipe…
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July 02, 2024
In the world of architecture, there are many specific and technical terms. As a fun office exercise, we recently started an internal Word of the Day, where a different JMA staff member is invited to share a definition with the office every day, before nominating a colleague to contribute the next day’s definition. We just thought we’d share some of the words that have come up so far:
Pastiche: an artistic work in a style (or styles) that imitates that of another work, artist, or period. [Google Dictionary]
Fanlight: A window over the door that is curved or shaped like a fan is called a fanlight. A transom is the rectangular version of the fanlight. [OntarioArchitecture.com]
Examples: http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/FANLIGHT.HTM
…
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August 17, 2023
Doors Open Waterloo Region returns as an in-person event in 2023 on Saturday, September 16 from 10 am to 4 pm, and we're proud to be a part of it. Waterloo Region will have 20 participating sites this year, such as noteworthy buildings, interesting places & heritage sites, many of which are not usually open to the public. The list includes WPL's Eastside Branch, which we designed in joint venture with ward99 architects inc, and the historic Public Utilities Commission building in downtown Kitchener, where our office is located on the second floor. Details about each can be found below.
An interactive map showing the location of all 20 participating sites can be found here. For further information, visit Doors Open Ontario.
The excellent illustratio…
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Rear house elevation with measurements
When accurate drawings don't exist, survey drawings must be done at the very beginning of every house renovation. They are the basis for realistic decision-making that responds well to the existing situation. When a couple of inches make the difference between being able to fit a door, or a washroom, the importance of good accurate drawings is evident. Unlike most architectural drawings, (done with a CAD program and sitting at our desks), these are done by hand and on site. The tools for this task haven't changed: a couple of steel measuring tapes (15' & 30') and a surveyor's tape at 100', clipboard, plenty of paper, pencils, eraser, sharpener and pens in various colours, a flashlight and a camera.
You might th…
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June 02, 2023
As privately owned public spaces (POPS) increasingly become part of new developments in Waterloo Region and beyond, we thought we'd take a closer look. You may not realize it, but you've likely spent some time in privately owned public spaces. Typically found in denser urban environments, they can take many forms, including front yards, courtyards, enhanced walkways, plazas and gardens.
The term privately owned public space was initially popularized by Harvard professor Jerold S. Kayden through his 2000 book Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. However, the concept actually dates back to the late fifties, when New York planning officials began offering private developers both additional height and density in exchange for public open space…
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April 26, 2023
Our staff will once again be participating in Jane's Walk, the annual community-based approach to city building that uses volunteer-led walking tours to encourage people to rediscover the value of walking, and to observe, reflect, share, question and re-imagine the places in which they live, work and play. This year, both John and Scott have Jane's Walks planned for the first full weekend of May (6-7).
Balzer-Manitou Trail: Parkway Potential, with Scott
Take a stroll with Scott Clark of John MacDonald Architect down Schneider Creek into the Balzer Greenway, following the route of a planned active transportation connection. Along the way, we'll look at the history of the Balzer farm, as well as discuss desire lines, local infrast…
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Scott
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August 02, 2023
Thanks Nolan. If you can think of anything to add to the list, we'd be interested to hear from you.
Nolan Bentley
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August 01, 2023
I am going measuring tomorrow so this is a timely reflection :-) thx!
