The Central Administration Project (CAP) by Thier+Curran Architects is a uniquely designed building that was created with smaller elements to fit its modest hometown, while maintaining civic dignity.
Photo Credit: Tom Arban
Located just south of Hamilton in Cayuga, Ontario, the project has been sensitively scaled and massed to ensure contextual fit of a large building in a small town. Where it is adjacent to single family dwellings to the west, the building was intentionally reduced to a single storey to relate better to its neighbours.
Facing south towards the arena, civic gravitas is provided by a new civic plaza that is defined by stone walls and paving stones that leads to the main entrance. A seating cluster, feature planters for stormwater retention and county agricultural plantings break down the scale of the plaza, while a walkway provides a pedestrian link from the CAP to the arena. Extensive new trees surround the CAP, including along the upgraded Chippewa Street and between the building and the parking area, helping to soften the transition from landscaped to hard surfaces. Photo Credit: Tom Arban
Despite a tight site, the architecture team created a high quality workplace for the CAP staff, a civic beacon for the County and a dignified but not elaborate Council Chamber used also as a Courtroom. The Council Chamber / POA Courtroom and support spaces are pulled to the southeast and expressed on the exterior as a fitting focal element.
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