Dartmouth North Community Centre

The Dartmouth North Community Centre renovation transforms an aging recreational facility into an accessible civic hub organized around the idea of a central interior street. This new public spine links the community centre’s diverse program spaces — dance studios, gathering areas, reception, and recreation rooms — directly to the adjacent library, creating a clear and welcoming route through the building.

The intervention was made possible through the insertion of a new steel structure that opened and reorganized the interior. New solid timber columns were intentionally expressed throughout the project, introducing warmth and tactility against the industrial frame. Portions of the existing roof were carved away to create greater vertical height along the interior street, while skylights inserted between the existing roof joists bring natural light deep into the building.

Accessibility and inclusion were central to the renovation, including universally accessible genderless washrooms and fully barrier-free circulation throughout the facility.