The Roundhouse Community Centre was originally built as a repair shop for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1884 and through the last century it saw many temporary uses. As part of the negotiations surrounding the redevelopment of the Expo Lands in 1991, the developer agreed to retrofit the Roundhouse as a Community Centre.

VIA Architecture directed the judicious installation and siting of four new components - the centre, the gymnasium, the entry court, and the pavilion. Each added piece is intended to restore the Roundhouse as the crossroads at the centre of a community and balances a simple direct response to function within the larger whole. The assemblage of all these forms gives the building both a historic and modern-day presence within the new urban landscape.

A new infill connection between the gymnasium and the machine shop becomes the main entry from Pacific Boulevard which leads through a lounge cafe to the bayside entrance off David Lam Park. This informal space becomes the meeting place for the centre users and connects the experiences of the Roundhouse. Beyond its function as a meeting place, the 'Centre' of the Roundhouse addresses the desire for a focus of affection in the community.

The gymnasium is conceived as a robust addition - both in form and in the ability to accommodate a variety of uses. The gym bookends a southern forecourt adjacent to David Lam Park and articulated storage rooms along the western face provide a pedestrian scale for a public lane connection to Pacific. Designed as a simple volume, the interior space can be subdivided and used for a range of activities - from pick-up basketball to ballet class.

Winner of the 1997 Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Rehabilitated Commercial Project, and the 2001 Lieutenant Governor's Award.

VIA Architecture's work was also featured in a publication produced by the City of Vancouver, "Vancouver's Urban Design: A Decade of Achievements" (December 1999). Click to view City of Vancouver's "Urban Design in Vancouver" web page. Click to view the 'Roundhouse Community Centre' chapter in pdf format.