Batchawana Bay Rest Area

Batchawana Bay is an existing rest stop facility located on Highway 17 and the shores of Lake Superior. The rest stop sits between two sides of Batchawana Bay Provincial Park, making it a popular destination for campers and travelers alike to stop. Furthermore, when portions of the Northern Ontario highways close in the winter, Batchawana is the last amenity available. The existing building itself is a very charming and idiosyncratic structure. The proposed design looks to renovate the existing facility with new windows and doors, a new roof and exterior cladding with increased insulation, upgrading the mechanical system and electrical fixtures, PVs, and new interior finishes — bringing the building to Zero Carbon standards. The renovation approach reduces the embodied carbon embedded in new construction and maintains the charm and character of a well loved and well used building in the region. In our design we have tried to play on the existing motifs — a peculiar ocular window above the entrance and the incorporation of the existing artworks on the site.