Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario

The museum is laid out in the form of two parallel strips offset from each other on either side of a narrow glass-roofed spine. The entrance is marked by a suspended steel canopy and six free-standing concrete cylinders – gas-fired light columns that bear an abstract resemblance to totem poles. The two-storey exhibition space in the rear tract is articulated by three geometric concrete elements that serve as individual display units. The materials – brickwork, concrete, wood, steel and glass – were left in their natural state and are not meant to provide a neutral background for the exhibits. The ample level of daylight in the museum spaces made it possible to design a relatively simple lighting system.