Markham Markham Centre Elementary School | 12.6m | 3s | YRDSB | MC Architects

Paclo

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Markham Centre Elementary School (AKA "Uptown Markham, Zone 3 Block 6"): a proposed 3-storey elementary school designed by MC Architects for York Region District School Board on the north side of Rougeside Promenade, west of Warden Avenue and south of Highway 7 in Markham's Unionville area.

Rendering from the SPA package:
A308 Perspective-0.jpg


Site in context of Uptown Markham, this is Block 6:
A004 Context Plan-2.jpg
 
is that underground parking for staff? that's kinda... cool :)

I'd be interested to see what is in the Block 6, is that a track and field top right? whats the rest of it, cant really tell...
 
So I rarely check out this thread...........but thanks to some Spam I needed to report; I investigate; only to find @Paclo helpfully offering a link to the SPA package but then not posting the render of the school contained therein:

1697024763523.png


The dominance of the car here is really unfortunate, otherwise, with the exception of the understated entrance, I'm somewhat taken by the 1950's modernism here. Normally I find it too spare, but the the little canopies on the ground, plus the contrasting colour of the secondary brick to me makes it work quite well.

Plant list is a bit heavy on non-natives:

1697025017635.png


Yes to the Sugar Maple and Serviceberry, why English Oak when we have 4 native oaks that would do fine here? Blue Spruce should be the native White Spruce; they chose a non-native juniper (native to European and Asian Mountains) instead of the the native....yeah, not great.
 
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So I rarely check out this thread...........but thanks to some Spam I needed to report; I investigate; only to find @Paclo helpfully offering a link to the SPA package but then not posting the render of the school contained therein:

View attachment 512326

I'm somewhat taken by the 1950's modernism here. Normally I find it too spare, but the the little canopies on the ground, plus the contrasting colour of the secondary brick to me makes it work

That’s slander of 1950s public school architecture! This is a brick box, agreed, but every aspect of it is a mess. The large dimensions of the brick itself; the size, arrangement, and lights of the windows; the lack of alignment across the façade, and within each element; the lack of prominence of the front entry…

Honestly, just horrendous design. And that’s before you even get into the site plan.
 
That’s slander of 1950s public school architecture! This is a brick box, agreed, but every aspect of it is a mess. The large dimensions of the brick itself; the size, arrangement, and lights of the windows; the lack of alignment across the façade, and within each element; the lack of prominence of the front entry…

Honestly, just horrendous design. And that’s before you even get into the site plan.

We agree entirely on the front entry and the site plan.

Not sure what you mean by 'lights of the windows'.

I don't think it's brilliant by any means; but I did like the design intent on the 50's - eseque portion.

The problems though are consequential.
 
So I rarely check out this thread...........but thanks to some Spam I needed to report; I investigate; only to find @Paclo helpfully offering a link to the SPA package but then not posting the render of the school contained therein:

View attachment 512326

The dominance of the car here is really unfortunate, otherwise, with the exception of the understated entrance, I'm somewhat taken by the 1950's modernism here. Normally I find it too spare, but the the little canopies on the ground, plus the contrasting colour of the secondary brick to me makes it work quite well.

Plant list is a bit heavy on non-natives:

View attachment 512327

Yes to the Sugar Maple and Serviceberry, why English Oak when we have 4 native oaks that would do fine here? Blue Spruce should be the native White Spruce; they chose a non-native juniper (native to European and Asian Mountains) instead of the the native....yeah, not great.
Bush honeysuckle (diervilla) is a great native alternative to spirea; real underrated shrub that deserves to be used more often. No landscaping plan is complete without some Karl Foerester reed grass either lol
 

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