The Coptic District
The Coptic District
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Location
Mississauga, Ontario
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Client
Almega Asset Management
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Dates
2019 - Present
- Expertise
- Urban Design, Religious Buildings
Treaty Lands
Head of the Lake Purchase Treaty 14 (1806)
Indigenous Rights Holders
Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation
Historical Occupation
Anishinaabe, Attiwonderonk, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat
*Treaty, territory and historical occupation information has been included for educational purposes, and is meant to show respect for these caregivers. This information is not intended to be a finite view, nor is it intended to represent legal rights or definitive boundaries. To learn more about these matters, please contact the nations in question.
This masterplan is a high-level, comprehensive design vision for a campus -approach to community in Mississauga, Ontario. The plan for this new district includes the renovation and expansion of the Canadian Coptic Centre and the Church of the Virgin Mary & St. Athanasius and the development of the adjacent land.
SvN's proposal follows a carefully structured phasing strategy. The most immediate consideration is that the church congregation will increase to over two thousand people. Therefore, the proposal's initial phase involves short-term interior renovations to the existing facility, a new diocese building, and upgraded landscaping that will carry forward to the final state. The development to follow will consider the long-term expansion of the worship space and its outreach programs such as an event centre, church support functions and low-rise seniors' residences.
As a catalyst for founding a community-oriented development, the next phase will consider creating a state of the art recreation centre and elementary school for children from preschool to grade 8. Lastly, the final phase will add density to the site, offering a broad range of commercial, residential, and community-oriented uses in mid-rise buildings of varying typologies.
In unifying the growth of the religious programming with the development of the site as a whole, this plan envisions Mississauga's vibrant Coptic District: a diverse community fundamentally engaged with both the city and the evolving Church at its centre.