ArchitectureWeek People and Places: RDH Architects near Mississauga, Ontario

The Lakeview Library is one of three remodeled by RDH Architects. Photo: Tom Arban

The Mississauga Library Project is an adaptive re-use strategy recently completed upgrades and additions to the Lakeview, Port Credit, and Lorne Park branch libraries, in Mississauga, Ontario. Toronto, Ontario-based RDH Architects Inc. designed the building renovations.

The three library projects date from between 1956 and 1967 and the three renovations were treated as one project, a strategy put forth by the client as a means to use public infrastructure stimulus funds in an efficient manner.

Overview of the Lakeview Library. Photo: RDH

Each of the libraries is situated in park settings. Lakeview and Lorne Park stand within established 1950's suburban neighborhoods, while Port Credit is situated adjacent to the Credit River along Lakeshore Road, the former commercial 'high' street of the old town of Port Credit.

Caption. Image: RDH Architects

The libraries are mid-century modern buildings with similar physical and aesthetic characteristics. As such, the new design for the buildings is based on the development of a single vocabulary of consistent parts, applied differently to each of the three libraries.

The result is the transformation of three tired modern facilities: a complete gutting of the interiors, a re-cladding and expansion of all glazed areas, the refurbishment of exterior masonry, and the development of a canopy frame system and set of exterior terraces intended to change the building aesthetics.

Lorne Park Library. Photo: RDH

The existing exterior elevations of each library are composed as a basic rhythm of solid and void. The solid areas are predominantly masonry while the voids areas are glazed. This composition was respected and accentuated by increasing the amount of glazing in each void area, extending the glass from floor to ceiling and using a minimal detailing methodology.

The new steel frame canopy systems form an enclosing colonnade that incorporates the existing building volumes and engages with the park setting while providing infrastructure for building elements such as canopies, shading, lighting, and plants. Custom ceramic frit patterns reinforce the vertical rhythm of the colonnade.

Port Credit Library. Photo: Tom Arban

The buildings' new interiors emphasize openness and transparency. Where walls between public spaces are required, most are made of structural glass. Low shelves and an open plan design also contribute to a sense of interior spaciousness in these modest branch facilities.