Canmore Civic Centre opens to rave reviews from Canmore Community

by Kamal Yalbir

The newly opened Canmore Civic Centre was greeted with open arms as it creates the new hub of social, cultural and civic life in Canmore. The civic centre was built to house the municipal government, Council chambers, and provide the new home for the Canmore Museum and Geo-Sciences Centre. It will serve various functions as a multi-purpose community space, exhibition hall, and public meeting place to address the changing needs of a vibrant and growing community. The 2 storey, 25,000 sqft building was designed with a strong 'Green Building' agenda and is applying for a Silver LEEDT Certification.

Designed by a forward thinking team at Marshall Tittemore Architects the new civic centre houses a number of key civic departments that were in need of new space to keep pace with the thriving community's unprecedented growth. The innovative design was derived from the strong environmental position taken by the design team. From the beginning the designers were very sensitive to their site and the strong environmental protectionist attitude that is prevalent in the Town of Canmore. Those who choose to live in Canmore, want to preserve the natural beauty that drew them there in the first place.

The clean lines of the building are derived from an elegant composition of a rich material palette consisting of wood, steel, glass and concrete. The buildings final composition reflects an integrated approach between the architecture and engineering. Forging a strong relationship that would see the development of a building suited to the needs of an environmentally sensitive community. The original design of the building moves beyond the just the aesthetics and offers a healthy indoor environment, an energy efficient building with ample natural lighting that also serves to create a strong connection between indoor space and outdoor space.

This new building is at the heart of a re-development strategy for the Ninth Street Corridor. This new urban artifact showcases the new direction that Canmore is leading for development in the Bow Valley Corridor. Blending sustainable development with a careful preservation strategy will help to keep Canmore a leader in the Bow Valley Corridor.