| Montgomery Sisam Architects | |
|---|---|
| Practice information | |
| Firm type | Canadian Architectural Firm |
| Founders | David Sisam, Terry Montgomery |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Significant works and honors | |
| Awards | Royal Architectural Institute of Canada: Architectural Firm Award (2011) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Montgomery Sisam Architects is a mid-sized Canadian architectural firm with a focus on long-term care, residential, education, healthcare, and justice sectors. The firm was recognized by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) for accumulating a diverse team, with a staff of 40 members from 12 countries. [1]
The Toronto-based Canadian firm, Montgomery Sisam Architects was established in 1978. [2]
This building was designed to create an atmosphere of comfort for families that had to live within the building as their sick children undergo long-term treatment at the Hospital for Sick Children nearby. In addition to the suites for residential purposes, the building facilitates a kitchen, dining room, living room, library, fitness room, administrative offices, and support spaces to accommodate the atmosphere of a 'home' for families. The government of Ontario partnered with Toronto's Ronald McDonald House to create a total investment of a one-time capital grant for $9 million concerning the expansion of the infrastructure to serve up to 80 families. [3] The building was completed in 2011 and designed with part of the focus on spaces in-between, such as; the courtyard, gallery, patio, etc... [4] When speaking in terms of healthcare, these non-clinical spaces can help with recovery and mental state depending on the way their intended purpose is designed to be used. The research analysis conducted before designing the Ronald McDonald House Toronto (RMHT) was based upon five main topics that were defined by Cresswell(1998), biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case studies. [5] A case study showed that some families, particularly children, felt a sense of fear and isolation from the outside world due to their treatments and illnesses, such as hair loss due to chemotherapy. Thus to create an environment of inclusion, the courtyard was designed for creating a comfortable environment where children can talk to one another while providing a feeling of biophilia.
In 2011 Toronto Public Health issued a document called Healthy Toronto by Design, which was to address the problems of health care design in an urban city. The article stated the definition of a healthy city was a place with diverse culture, education, health care, food, housing, public transit, recreation, built and natural environments. [6] Going along the lines of diversity, Montgomery Sisam looked upon projects involving a minority of the elderly care. Completed in 2006, the 49,250 square feet long-term care facility, situated in Barrie, ON, was designed to home and service the hearing-impaired elderly. [7] Recognizing the client the building was meant to aid, the community centre focuses on the material, finishes, fixtures, signage, and lighting as its core objectives. The building is oriented in areas that optimize solar gains throughout all seasons. There are ribbon windows placed at altering elevations on the walls located in various directions of the cardinal directions. It is situated in an urban setting in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, where there is the ease of access to numerous amenities. Located right next to a plethora of vegetation and multiple courtyards with open space to accommodate their sight senses. The long-term care centre was designed to create an atmosphere of comfort by forming the building in the shape of traditional chalets and cottages built entirely of wood in the Lake Simcoe area of Toronto. [8]
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