July 21, 2010

LETT ARCHITECTS INC.

A new community theatre will be built at the Five Points intersection in downtown Barrie.

Dalton Company begins construction on theatre project in Barrie, Ontario

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The Dalton Company Ltd. has started construction on a $4 million community theatre in the heart of Barrie’s downtown. The 10,000-square-foot facility is expected to act as a catalyst for development in the area.

Designed by Lett Architects Inc. in association with Salter Pilon Architecture, the theatre boasts a flexible stage area, lighting and sound operator’s booth, artists’ green room/lounge and performers’ dressing/locker rooms with showers.

Other facilities include accessible public washrooms, office space, kitchenette and catering space, costume and equipment rooms, box office, reception area and coatcheck. The building will accommodate a variety of productions, from plays, concerts and dance performances to film and video presentations.

The flexible studio space seats up to 200. Seating can be reconfigured, depending on the type of event.

From an architectural perspective, lobby spaces act as “beacons” for the events within, said project architect Michael Gallant of Lett Architects. Large, 18-foot glazed walls “dramatically cut into the façade” and highlight the front entry.

Gallant, whose firm collaborated with Trevelyan Architect Inc. on the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in Peterborough, said the design of the Barrie project enables a wide range of technical possibilities to be incorporated.

These include a complete catwalk grid, technical “gallery” and the separate sound and light booth.

“Materiality, lighting and scale all play integral roles in creating a lasting architectural element within the downtown Barrie community,” Gallant said.

The project team includes structural engineers Read Jones Christoffersen and mechanical-electrical engineers Merber Corp.

Funding is being provided under the Canada Cultural Spaces program. Substantial completion is scheduled for March, 2011. The theatre is located at the corner of Bayfield and Dunlop streets.

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