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| Jean Canlfield Building—Bergmark Guimond Hammerlund Jones, architects |
As lay people—non-architects, I mean—we tend to admire buildings for form. It's like looking at a beautiful woman—who cares if her digestive system and her pancreas work as long as she's easy on the eyes?
But, of course, there's more to a building than that. And, in this age of many competing interests—energy efficiency, worker's comfort and safety, security, to name just a few—it's as if functionality has become a new esthetic. Where we might admire Province House for it's graceful columns and humble grandeur, we are called on to admire new buildings for how well they work.
Which brings us to the Jean Canfield Building in Charlottetown. Popularly known as “the new federal building,” it sits in the corner of Euston and University, in the spot that could be described as the entrance to downtown Charlottetown. It, and the Atlantic Technology Centre, are your first big hello when you enter the heart of the city. And both were designed by the same firm—Bergmark Guimond Hammarlund Jones.
David Bergmark is uncomfortable with the notion that his firm is the new Smith Brothers and Wright of Charlottetown. That firm—notably architect Isaac Smith—designed Province House and Fanningbank, two of the city's signature buildings.
And Bergmark points out, his firm is as well known as a designer of small buildings as of large ones. Nonetheless, he and BGHJ partner Silva Stojak say the building's form was an important part of its design and they were acutely aware of the building's role in the city. The aforementioned competing interests—and the stringent guidelines set down by the federal government—made the building's esthetic appeal a special challenge. But, both say, the building's prominent place was an important consideration.
The materials on the exterior, for example, mirror some of the surrounding buildings. There is the same beige stone of the Atlantic Technology Centre on the building's entrance, which also mirrors the stone on Province House. The brick mirrors the exterior on BDC place, which is visible from the University Avenue side of the building. And the open space and garden on Fitzroy Street pay homage to the fact that Fitzroy has a more residential feel than the other surrounding streets.
Here's another interesting feature: part of the building is actually on an angle and that angle corresponds to the angle in University Avenue. And. interestingly, that angle gives the building an optical illusion. Look straight down University from Euston and the angle is obvious. Look straight across University at the building and the angle seems to disappear.
But it is when the architects speak about the innovations in the buildings function that they become truly excited. In fact, the whole discussion seems to be more about a system than a building, albeit a complex and beautiful system. And that raises an interesting question, albeit one that has dogged architecture forever. Does form follow function or function, form? Are we willing to give up a building's grace notes for its green notes?
Bergmark and Stojak say yes. They argue that it is the innovative functions of this building that make it a stand out.
Next month, we'll look at some of the features of The Jean Canfield Building that challenge our thoughts about what's important in architecture.
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