The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University continues to win awards as the architects who designed the facility were recently recognized for their outstanding work.

Ottawa-based N45 Architecture Inc., in association with Snøhetta Architecture Design Planning, an international design firm with offices in Oslo, Norway and New York City, were presented with the inaugural Lieutenant Governor’s Award at the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Celebration of Excellence in May.

“We are very honoured to receive the OAA Lieutenant Governor’s Award,” Robert Matthews, partner at N45 Architecture Inc., says in a media release. “The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts was designed not only as a beautiful place for the public to enjoy music, but as a versatile space for the students of Queen’s University’s music, drama, film studies and fine arts departments to learn and experiment. We were inspired by Kingston’s geography and wanted to make sure the building related to its environment. The main performance hall is wrapped in wood reminiscent of the rock you see throughout the city.” 

Also receiving recognition is Queen’s University’s marketing department for the video it created for the September 2014 grand opening of the Isabel.

The video team received a bronze Circle of Excellence Award in the General Information Long Videos category from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), an international competition that attracted 3,200 entries from 700 institutions worldwide, as well as a second bronze in the Best Use of Multimedia category of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education's Prix D'Excellence.

“A lot of heart and soul went into the creation of the Isabel grand opening video produced for the opening event at Queen’s held in September 2014,” says Helena Debnam, Executive Director, Marketing, University Relations. “It is a great honour to win a CASE award such as this, particularly given its international recognition and scope in higher education. This award is a testament to those in the Marketing, University Relations and North Summit Productions, who were involved in the creation, coordination and planning of this video – and also significantly the late Jerry Doiron.”

Mr. Doiron, the inaugural director of the Isabel, passed away on Oct. 9, 2014.  

The video features before and after images as well as drone footage and footage captured from a ferry travelling along the lake. A wide array of stakeholders were interviewed including professors, students, project managers and architects, including lead architect Craig Dykers, who was not available until the day before the opening.

The video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywTSrcKcsZk

The design of the Isabel incorporated the best features of the world’s greatest facilities and combines them with advances in modern technology to create a world-class building. The 80,000-square-foot facility features an acoustically superior 560-seat concert hall and a 100-seat studio theatre, as well as an art and media lab, a film screening room, laboratories, classrooms and rehearsal space.

The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts was made possible by a transformational gift from Alfred Bader (Sc’45, Arts’46, MSc’47, LLD’86) and his wife Isabel (LLD’07) as well as the financial backing of the federal and provincial governments, the City of Kingston and additional philanthropic support. The Isabel is a hub for artistic study, creation, exhibition and performance at Queen’s. It is home to the Department of Film and Media and also provides learning and working space for the university’s other creative arts disciplines.