User:TDixon16/sandbox/Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture

About
Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture is a multi-disciplinary firm located in Sudbury, Ontario. The firm is comprised of three architectural partners as well as a small team of designers, technologists, interns, and administrators. Their services include: renderings, animations, master planning, programming, project management, interior design, furniture and signage consults, building code and fire safety review, as well as feasibility considerations. The original firm, which was established first in 1964 at 225 Larch Street, has since grown; changing hands, and facades. The firm is now led by partners: Rick Yallowega, Louis Bélanger, and Amber Salach.

The Partners
Rick Yallowega is the founding partner at YBSA, he joined the firm in 1985 after graduating from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He leads the design and has been awarded for his work on post-secondary education, tourism, and laboratory projects. Louis Bélanger holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Waterloo and has spent over 25 years establishing the firm. He leads the design of healthcare, institutional, educational, and residential buildings. Amber Salach joined the firm in 2007 with a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Carleton University. Amber was Sudbury’s first licensed and practicing female architect. She is also the first female partner in the history of the firm. She is known for designing community buildings, working with the public, for her volunteer work, and being chair of Northern Ontario Society of Architects (NOSA).

History
Throughout the 55+ years 225 Larch Street has been an architectural firm, the names have changed, but the architecture completed remains a legacy. This firm was founded with principals of quality and diversity and these remained throughout the name changes. In 1965: Townend Stefura Baleshta Architects, 1979: Townend Stefura Baleshta Nicholls Architects, 1993: Nicholls Yallowega Bélanger Architects, 2006: Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architects, and finally in 2015: Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture.

Design Philosophy And Style
The commitment to the founding principals and values drive the decision making of the firm, looking at projects not only through the designers lens, but also through the lens of business owners and community citizens. Their projects portray a strong sense of sustainability consideration, wood innovation, and connection to place. This is recognized through the awards won along with how the buildings function for the community. In the Place Des Arts design the use of COR-TEN Steel is to reflect the mining of the ore connecting this project to Northern Ontario. Laurentian University's Student Centre was awarded by Wood WORKS for their innovative use of wood in the design. Another Wood WORKS award was won for the use of wood in St. David Catholic Elementary School. This school also fully utilizes all aspects of the site. Cliff Fielding Research, Innovation, and Engineering building was designed for the Laurentian engineering community with sustainability considerations, but also featuring an exposed rock wall to connect to the mining aspect of the program and Sudbury.

Notable Projects
YBSA has a large body of diversified projects that have been recently completed, are in the works, and some in which are projects completed before the firm changed to Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture and are noted chronologically. Some of these historical projects and landmarks are important to note as they remain a legacy that helped shape the firm, and Northern Ontario landscape in which YBSA is continuing to do.


 * Place Des Arts is designed in collaboration with Moriyama and Teshima Architects to be a 40,000 square foot four storey multi-disciplinary arts centre home to eight French-language cultural organizations. It will house a concert hall, multifunction studio, contemporary art gallery, a bistro with a terrace, a gift and book shop, an arts centre for early childhood with a playground, and office spaces. The outside is made of COR-TEN steel, as the weathering colours reflect the ore found in Northern Ontario. It will cost $30 million to complete and is set to open for the 2021 performance season.




 * Laurentian University SGA Student Centre is the first standalone student-owned building in Sudbury and was designed in collaboration with Gow Hastings Architects on Laurentian University’s campus. It was built with sustainability in mind and is divided into two areas: the lobby and lower level. The lobby is open to the public and houses a coffee shop, club rooms, and a dental hygienist, while the lower level is accessed only by SGA students and features an atrium, games room, and study areas.




 * Saint David Catholic Elementary School is a one storey, wood-framed structure housing an elementary school with large exposed glue laminated timber. The wood material allowed for operation cost savings based on it’s thermal performance, playing in integral part in energy conservation. The project drew inspiration from the surrounding landscape (hills, creeks, rocks, and forests).




 * Cliff Fielding Research, Innovation, and Engineering Building is a 60,000 square foot building designed to be a bright, welcoming space for students at Laurentian's Bharti School of Engineering. It allows for more space to work, house equipment, and the potential to expand the program. The building took two years to construct consisting of three levels with four capstone labs. The design also features an exposed rock wall for students to get an idea about what their future in mining entails.


 * Red Oak Long Term Care Facility
 * Maison Mcculloch Hospice
 * Manitoulin Secondary School
 * Ècole Èlementaire Catholique St.Denis
 * Holy Cross Elementary School
 * Holy Trinity Elementary School
 * Northern Ontario School of Medicine
 * St. Charles College
 * St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School
 * E’cole Secondaire Du Sacré-Coeur
 * Northern Water Sports Centre
 * Technica Group Shop and Office Facility
 * Willet Green Millet Centre
 * Science North
 * Health Sciences North
 * Our Lady of Hope Parish
 * Princess Anne Public School
 * Ajax Downs and Slots
 * Cambrian College Student Centre
 * Brantford Casino
 * Countryside arena
 * Dynamic Earth
 * Malaysia Health Development Project
 * Paroisse Ste-Anne Des Pins
 * Paroisse Ste-Marguerite d’Youville
 * South End Community Library
 * Sudbury Secondary School Redevelopment

Awards

 * 2021 Ontario’s Wood Works Northern Ontario Excellence Award for Laurentian University Student Centre (in collaboration with Gow Hastings Architects)
 * 2019 Company of the Year recipient of the Bell Business Excellence Award
 * 2018 Sudbury Design Award for Laurentian University Student Centre (in collaboration with Gow Hastings Architects)
 * 2018 Sudbury Design Award for Place Des Arts Du Grand Sudbury
 * 2017 Ontario’s Wood Works Institutional Wood Design Award under $10M for St. David Catholic Elementary School
 * 2017 OAA Landmark Award for The Fielding Memorial Chapel of St. Mark that was originally designed by Towend, Stefura, Baleshta & Pfister
 * 2016 Sudbury Design Award for the Northern Water Sports Centre