A 147-year-old wooden ceiling crowns a new culinary-focused, park-adjacent community hub, created within Aurora?s former armoury building. Photo by Remi Carreiro
?Every small town has a military shed,? says architect Jim Burkitt. He?s met me at the Aurora Armoury, just north of Toronto?a recent transformation of one of those sheds, led by Gow Hastings Architects, where Burkitt is Design Director.
The Town of Aurora?s armoury building dates back to 1874, when a wood structure was constructed to support the local military unit, the Queen?s York Rangers. Infantry used the building for meetings and drills; the adjacent Town Park doubled as their parade ground. In the early 1900s, a thick concrete floor was added, allowing military equipment to be brought into the building for training cadets. Now, the building has been converted from the country?s oldest active drill shed to the town?s newest community hub. To do this, the Town formed an unusual partnership with Niagara College?s Canadian Food and Wine Institute, which operates the building as a teaching space for aspiring chefs and community members, a catering service for park users, and a venue for weddings and other special events.
For the central event area?which hosts up to 200 guests?the architects exposed the building?s original post and beam structure. This majestic space emerged part by design, part by luck: the architects didn?t know what they would find when they removed the drywall ceiling, which had hung under th...