Location: Haliburton, ON
Final Construction Cost: $2,000,000
Architect of Record: Invizij Architects Inc
This schematic design is for an environmental stewardship camp. Located on over 1000 acres of expansive forest and nestled along a lake in Haliburton, Ontario. It provides year-round camping and outdoor education to people of all ages and abilities.
The environmental stewardship camp is designed to provide lodging and amenity for a summer residential camp, while also providing for schools and other user groups throughout the year. Located in an open field at the base of the west hillside, the three building forms are designed to respond to the site. The post and beam foundations raise the building of the ground in order to maintain the natural landscape – in keeping with the ethos of the program. The utilization of wood as the primary building material and cladding, further ingrains the building into its environment nestled within the trees.
The central building is a multi-purpose room designed to provide a classroom setting. Flowing out from the multi-purpose room is a centralized covered deck, providing an informal meeting space for the adjacent residential buildings. Two identical residential buildings are mirrored on either side of the multi-purpose building creating a symmetrical plan. Each residential building will contain a sleeping area and common space, with adjacent washrooms and shower facilities.
The project is designed to be net-zero through a combination of high-performance building envelopes and mechanical and electrical systems. An abundance of natural light and passive ventilation will be available through the use of strategically placed windows. In the residential buildings the use of clerestory windows provides dramatic natural light deep into the building, reducing the requirement on electrical lighting. The buildings will incorporate a photovoltaic system, which is designed to provide 100% of the electrical load for these buildings, rendering them net-zero energy. The utilization of renewable resources in the construction of the building will reduce the amount of carbon produced, and further the camps mandate of eco-consciousness.
The buildings are designed in relation with the teachings that will be instilled on the future generation of campers, and will provide a lead example for how humans can responsibly integrate ourselves within the environment and provide stewardship for generations to come.
