Walker Sports and Abilities Centre

Thorold, Ontario 

In association with MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA). 

The Walker Sports and Abilities Centre (Niagara 2022 Canada Games Park) served as the central hub and venue during the 2022 Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario, and - after the Games have ended - for Brock University and the wider community. Given these dual timelines, the Centre was designed both to serve large public events and gatherings and to foster the surrounding campus's continued evolution, directing new growth to the south and ensuring the Centre's continuing economic sustainability. 

Together with their supporting spaces, the Centre's three main sports halls - a glazed quadruple gymnasium, a 1,000-seat spectator arena and a practice arena - comprise over 210,000 square feet, all topped by a triangular canopy folded to meet the various height requirements of the spaces below. At the fissure between the sports halls, a central axis connects a new ceremonial plaza entrance to the north and parking to the south, carving out a social space that offers interior circulation and lobby views into the athletics halls. This central sky-lit atrium also connects a range of programmed spaces distributed across two storeys, including rehab and training centres, administrative offices and meeting rooms. 

*Winner of the Outstanding Achievement in Architecture - 2022 Niagara Biennial Design Awards* 

*Winner of a 2022 Ontario Concrete Award* 

*Winner Athletic Business Architectural Showcase 2023 - Facilities of Merit Design Award*