The last thing Siamak Hariri wants is for people to parse language when it comes to whether Barrie gets a performing arts centre (PAC) or a community cultural hub (CCB).
The founding partner of Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA) says he wants whatever is built to be a "cultural hangout" which brings the community together.
HPA was retained by the city to review recommendations by a performing arts centre task force that released a report nearly a year ago that called for a 66,500-square-foot facility with two theatres - 900 and 350 seats respectively - as well as a 5,000 square-foot multipurpose room at a cost of $53.1 million, to be built on the site of the now-demolished W.A. Fisher auditorium property on Dunlop Street West.
Hariri says people should turn the clock back to when his firm designed the MacLaren Art Centre (MAC) in downtown Barrie.
"Is it a cultural hub or is that a museum?" he asks.
Hariri credits William Moore of the MAC for being a visionary.
"You get a home, then you get food, and then you go upstairs and just like any other good museum, you get lots of spaces for good art," says Hariri. "But it's not your typical museum. It has a little courtyard, has children's classes and art classes, and a speaker's series."
He says with any cultural project today, diversity must be embraced, and not just as a token gesture.
In other words, a facility that offers just "retail entertainment," where people purchase tickets to a show, won't fly.
Hariri says Barrie needs a cultural hub where there is activity all the time and not just when the lights come on to entertain.
He zeroes in on his conversations with young people during public open houses in April.
"I want to design something for the young people because they are going to use it more, and they are the ones that have the long view," Hariri explains. "We want a place like this because they can do what they love to do, which is music and arts and performance."
HPA is recommending a 600-seat theatre, a screening room, a recital hall, as well as teaching and learning spaces.
As for downsizing the number of theatres and seats, says Hariri, those numbers are driven by economics.
"This has to do with if you make it too big, it's empty," he says. "Empty doesn't work, and it doesn't work from an architectural point of view. There is nothing worse than a restaurant that's designed too big, because it dies."
"This is not up to us. This is something that someone in the industry and in the business industry tells us is the sweet spot and we design it."
The HPA report states that a community hub would cost less than a PAC, resulting "in one-time savings of millions of dollars."
Hariri says flushing out the capital and operating costs is the next part of the planning state
It's anticipated money for a facility will be covered by the city, Ottawa and the provincial government on a one-third basis, with the rest to be fundraised.
The city wants a performing arts venue downtown, which the HPA report says would be part of the revitalization of the core.
Talk about a modern performing arts venue in Barrie has dragged on for what must seem like an eternity for the arts community, as the city seeks to replace the Georgian Theatre, and build upon what is a much smaller operation currently at The Five Points Theatre. The Fisher Auditorium which was located on Dunlop Street West downtown met its maker via the wrecking ball in 2017.
As far as Hariri is concerned, this is showtime for the city to get it right.
"It's a wonderful moment for Barrie because it's really a kind of coming-of-age moment for any great city when you are not using gymnasiums and auditoriums for cultural events."
Banner image supplied - Hariri Pontarini Architects
