Charlottetown – The Island’s best architecture is getting some well deserved attention at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. The winning entries in the inaugural Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence in Architecture are on display in the Centre’s concourse.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence in Architecture recognizes outstanding design by Prince Edward Island architects. This new award is administered by the Architect’s Association of Prince Edward Island and will be awarded every two years.
In 2008 the Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence in Architecture was awarded to the architectural firm of Bergmark Guimond Hammarlund Jones for the Jean Canfield Building on University Avenue in Charlottetown. Green issues are increasingly important in all aspects of society and architecture is no exception. The Canfield building is one Canada’s most ecologically mindful buildings. But Green Architecture has less to do with traditional aspects of design and more to do with an elegant use of materials and techniques employed to lessen the environmental impact of a building.
The jury awarded an Honourable Mention to another submission, the Ark, designed and built in 1976 by David Bergmark and Ole Hammarlund. This remarkable building presaged what is now known as Sustainable Architecture; it was an ecologically designed bio-shelter wind powered and solar heated. The Ark contained a research laboratory, a living unit, a small commercial greenhouse and a fish farm.
These and four other entries will be on display at the Confederation Centre until December 24.
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Media contact: Dan Wall, publicist, Confederation Centre of the Arts, phone (902) 628-6135
Email: confederationcentre.com, web www.confederationcentre.com