Performing Arts Centre
Natural building space for the performing arts
2008 Sustainable Building & Design project
The municipality of Centre Hastings had an old baseball diamond in a corner of a downtown park that was quickly becoming a revitalized community hub featuring a skate park, playground and splash pad. The community wanted to add a performing arts space featuring indoor and outdoor stages to provide a cultural venue for the town.
The building celebrates the town’s rich natural resources, with almost every material for the building coming from a 50 km radius of the site. Local hemp, timber, clay and stone feature prominently in the unique octagonal structure that has become a much-loved fixture in the town.
Unique structural system made from round hemp bales and earth plaster
Earthbag foundation system with rammed earth tire piers
Straw bale, hempcrete, straw/clay and recycled denim insulation
Rammed earth floor slab with geothermal hydronic heating and floating wood floors
Green roof and round timber frame cover for outdoor stage area
View this project from start to finish!
Flip through our project e-book and visit our BLOG for posts related to this project
Explore our other projects
Geneva Park Duplex Family Cabin
2019 Sustainable Building & Design project- Small, affordable, healthy, climate-positive… this is what the Geneva Park YMCA wanted for their new duplex family cabin. Our answer to these needs is a sweet little two-unit cottage that blends the best conventional materials with some great natural building innovations…
Refacing an Addition
2018 Sustainable Building & Design project- When the City of Peterborough allowed accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on downtown lots to increase density, the owner of this empty, 100 year old concrete block garage envisioned a new living space…
Ecology Park Building
2018 Natural Building Intensive project- The Ecology Park is a five acre showcase of sustainable landscape ideas and resources operated by Peterborough GreenUP. When they needed a programming hub to provide shelter…