FORT LASALLE RENOVATION AND ADDITION

TRUTH, DUTY, VALOUR

A dorm building reorganized by flights and squadrons completes a lean and spartan but resonant courtyard on the campus of the Royal Military College in Kingston.

CAMPUS / FORT

In the tradition of the great military campuses of the world the Royal Military College in Kingston is uniquely sited and charged with its own unique persona. It sits on a land promontory adjacent to the city’s first fort – Fort Frederick – across the harbour from downtown Kingston.

STRONG AND SPARTAN

The project involves renovating and adding to Fort Lasalle, one of the college’s older stone dorms. The language of the new building, which completes a courtyard against the existing building, is strong, direct and muscular with punched windows set in rough, split-faced limestone walls.

SQUADRONS AND FLIGHTS

The residential suites inside, stairwells and social spaces are all organized and calibrated to respond to the social and strategic structure of squadrons and flights – the organizational matrix of cadet life at RMC.

MATERIALITY

The building is clad with a mechanically split limestone from a local quarry. In this way the stone can be laid up in unit masonry sizes at modest cost by masons. The random cleft vertical edges shimmer in the light to produce an exotic surface effect.