Transforming Scadding Court Community Centre Through Collaborative Design

This exhibition highlights three exciting design projects that have transformed and rejuvenated the main lobby of Scadding Court Community Centre. Located at Bathurst and Dundas, Scadding Court is a vital City agency in downtown west Toronto offering diverse community, social, educational, and recreational programs. Serving over 500 people daily through 80+ annual programs, Scadding’s non-profit model fosters flexible partnerships and innovative community solutions.

For the renewal of this community space, students from Sheridan College’s Furniture program, St. Clements School and OCADU’s Participatory Design class collaborated with the Scadding Court community and Codesign to create new lobby furniture, an art installation, and accessible wayfinding.

The furniture created by Sheridan students and Codesign includes a bold 16 foot long undulating solid wood wall engraved with a map of the neighbourhood, colourful built in seating, a 12 foot long split-level community dining table surrounded by multi-level stools, spacious computer work stations, and a bright, transparent aquaponics area built from solid elm wood. Three large dandelion heads in seed, designed by St. Clements students and Codesign, hang from the ceiling in the centre of the lobby.  Fabricated from painted wood, acrylic rod and stiffened felt, these sculptures provide a striking metaphor for the tenacity and resilience of the Scadding Court community.  Accessible signage designed by OCADU’s Participatory Design class uses both words and icons to help facilitate wayfinding and direct visitors to the myriad of programs and services on offer.

The work in this exhibition is a perfect example of how public spaces can be re-imagined and re-energized when communities and design students work together.