This architectural prescription targets North America's 'epidemic of loneliness'

In a swath of fields in the suburbs north of Toronto, the first sign of what is expected to become a bustling new community is now visible, emerging from a cluster of trees.

Vaughan city leaders opened a 90,000-square-foot facility in the Carrville neighborhood featuring two pools, a library branch, conference rooms, a basketball court, a jogging track and more. The Carrville Community Centre is expected to serve as a hub of activity for the new residents moving into a planned housing subdivision across the street. A new school and new church are also planned for the surrounding parcels.

The community center, designed by architects at Perkins & Will, doesn't look like the rest of Vaughan. The main entrance is covered by a wide, metal-sheathed canopy with an edge that bends at unusual angles. A ribbon of floor-to-ceiling windows wraps around the entire building. Opposite the main entrance, a plaza features a splashing water fountain for kids and a recreational platform for roller skating in the summer and ice skating in winter.

In the main lobby, a new branch of Vaughan Public Libraries is highlighted by a wood-paneled vestibule, with brightly colored fabric stools just outside the door leading into the library space. Large windows provide a view that overlooks the two pools: one for swimming laps, and the other for teaching swim lessons.

The design was informed by the fact that there isn't anything surrounding the Carrville Community Centre, at least not yet, Jon Loewen, a design principal at Perkins & Will, said during a recent building tour.

"We asked ourselves, 'How do you make a place where there isn't a place?'" Loewen told CoStar News.

The Carrville facility is the latest addition to Perkins & Will's extensive portfolio of community centers, which also includes facilities in Mississauga, Ontario, and Dallas and El Paso, Texas. The design teams at Perkins & Will emphasize how people of all ages can utilize the facilities.

"These facilities are multigenerational," Loewen said. "You can use them for different reasons throughout your life."

A description of Perkins & Will's community center group on the firm's website makes a more dramatic point about the importance of the development.

"We are in the grips of an epidemic of loneliness. Our societal resilience is weakening to dangerously low levels and there is an urgency to address these challenges," according to the firm. "Community centers occupy an important role by becoming creators of community connection and thereby raising their value and purpose."

The new Carrville community center was specifically designed not to look and feel like a traditional community center, Loewen said. For example, the main information desk, located just inside the main lobby, is not immediately visible. But after taking a few steps inside the building, an opening in the floor reveals a large "Info" sign installed on a wall on the lower floor, hovering over the actual information desk.

With all its amenities, the Carrville community center functions much the same as a branch of the YMCA. But, unlike the YMCA, the city of Vaughan's new community center doesn't charge fees or require memberships.

"The YMCA is a great deal but it's not free," Loewen said.

Another of the firm's recently opened community centers, called the East Bayfront Community Recreation Centre, is located at the base of a tower at Hines' Aqualuna development project in Toronto.

Next up for the Perkins & Will community center design group is a new facility west of Vaughan in Brampton. The city of Brampton recently hired a construction manager for the project.

Distinctive buildings have their own stories. Snapshots is an occasional feature showcasing one of them.