© GBCA 2024
PAMA
Peel Region Art Gallery, Museum & Archives
Through creative planning and thoughtful interventions, GBCA provided the new Peel Art Gallery, Museum + Archives with a state-of-the-art complex, while preserving the existing buildings on this established urban site. By means of new modern additions and carefully considered circulation routes, the formerly disparate group of historic buildings was stitched together and, at the same time, integrated into the larger urban context.
The Outcome
Providing a presence on Brampton’s Main Street was a foremost consideration. What the site had going for it was a prominent location near the core of the City, and a grouping of four significant buildings, including the former Peel County Courthouse (1866), Registry Office (1890), County Jail (1867), and Hydro Building (1958). What the site lacked was a public face onto Main Street and the adjacent City Hall and public park.
The conglomeration of existing structures and the spaces in between formed a key part of the sustainable strategies. A landscape plan introduced several out-door amenity spaces, some adjacent to the new permeable-paved parking area. Within the original jail walls, a new garden replaced asphalt, while a metal trellis will eventually be covered with vines providing a green backdrop. Other sustainable features include geo-thermal technology, a green roof, and high-performance glazing. The special preservation needs of the art gallery, with strict environmental controls, was achieved by means of a buffer zone between the existing building envelope and the environmentally sealed gallery/storage areas—in essence, a building within a building.