The renovated lodge includes a new slope-side façade, which encapsulates the existing building?s heavy timber structure.
PROJECT The Osler Bluff Ski Club Clubhouse, Town of the Blue Mountains, Ontario
ARCHITECT Williamson Williamson
TEXT Elsa Lam
PHOTOS doublespace photography
In 1949, two friends who had tired of the long lines at Quebec?s ski hills set out to found a new ski club north of Toronto. When looking for a site, the pair heard from local farmers that the Niagara Escarpment?s best snow conditions were found on the slopes above Poplar Sideroad, near Collingwood.
The recent renovation of Osler?s clubhouse, completed by Toronto-based firm Williamson Williamson, is similarly attuned to the local context, with materials and a design tailored to its cottage-country setting. Based on a masterplan completed by predecessor firm Williamson Chong in 2014, the design renovates the existing 1970s lodge and adds a new bay to the pleated-roof structure. The addition extends the main-level dining room, housing childcare and auxiliary spaces below. It foregrounds a dramatic pair of Y-shaped wood-and-steel columns?a contemporary version of the heavy timber columns of the original structure.
A Y-shaped column?s elegant curve is inspired by early hand-carved skis.
The decision to renovate rather than rebuild was a matter of budget and wanting to keep the spirit of the existing clubhouse, but it was not a simple task. ?Renovations are incredibly complicated,? says architect Betsy Wi...