RDH Architects convert old post office to bookless library with new wraparound glazing
RDH Architects have converted an old derelict post office in the Candian city of Cambridge, Ontario, into a bookless library with new glass volumes that are cantilevered over the adjacent Grand River.
The Idea Exchange provides a free community hub with spaces for learning, creativity, meeting and socialising.
The $11.1m (US$8.4m, €7.6m, £6.5m) project combined contemporary additions and design with restored elements of the original building, which was built in 1885.
Visitors are welcomed into the building through a glass-box entrance and up a glass-walled staircase that provides close-up views of restored masonry elements.
They are led through into a newly added 9,000sq ft (840sq m) glazed pavilion with table and lounge seating that functions as a space for work and gathering.
Its floor-to-ceiling glazing extends out over the water and allows views into the building, making the facility more approachable for other potential visitors, as well as views out over the surrounding area.
Original window openings have been converted to provide access between the new pavilion and the old structure, with bridges connecting to the two.
The lower level houses a black box theatre, film and audio recording suites, laptop dispensing and gaming areas and music recording and performance facilities, while the second level contains a children’s discovery centre.
A new floating glass room for meetings and teaching, an exterior rooftop terrace and a green roof overlook the river and provide more close-up views of the restored building elements.
Finally, a makerspace braced by steel trusses that are arranged in star shapes and that have been adapted to hold strips of lighting is housed in the building's peaked attic.
RDH Architects library CanadaEurope's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
Tom Walker exploresthe storybehind TottenhamHotspur’sgroundbreakingnew footballstadium