Leah Houston, executive director of the Toronto non-profit Mabelle Arts, has never cared for the maxim “If you build it, they will come.” The saying, she says, leaves a lot of questions unanswered. For instance, who’s “they”? If you don’t know the people you’re building for, how can you be sure you’re meeting their needs?
In 2018, Mabelle Arts began collaborating with LGA Architectural Partners, a Toronto firm, to design the Belle, 120-square-metre sculptural pavilion at the centre of the Mabelle community — a West Toronto neighbourhood comprising a cluster of towers inhabited mostly by newcomers and low-income residents. Builders broke ground on the Belle in 2023, and the centre had its official opening last fall. But really,...
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A Tiny but Mighty Pavilion for Mabelle Arts in Toronto
The Belle, a Seussian pavilion for the
West End Toronto cultural hub, was designed by LGA Architectural Partners for and with its diverse community.