This summer, the Town of Newmarket gained a new community space, thanks to Atelier Kastelic Buffey (AKB), co-founded in 2004 by Daniels alumna Kelly Buffey (MArch 2007).

Tasked with bringing the community together and reinvigorating the town's historic district, AKB architects Buffey and Aaron Finbow created a unique solution: the Story Pod.

The dynamic wooden pavilion reflects AKB's thoughtful approach to architecture and continues the municipality's plan to use contemporary design as a means to revitalize the town's historic centre. The aesthetic design uses vertical slats of varrying spacing to create a rhythm that changes as users move around the pod. During the day, when two of the walls pivot open, visitors are invited to take or leave something from the book stacks and enjoy the built-in seating. At night, when the doors are closed, the Story Pod becomes a lantern as ambient lighting glows through the lattice work.

The focus of the project is community. Beyond providing a central hub for people to gather, AKB undertook the project pro bono. “We were inspired by the agenda of literacy,” Buffey told The Globe and Mail, “and also we were excited to create a place of exchange – of books and of ideas.”

AKB's aesthetic, ecological and economical approach resulted in an elegant design, easily built by a volunteer construction crew with minimal production waste.

The Story Pod was installed in August and has since become a busy meeting place. It is enjoyed by community members of all ages and was featured in The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star.

“It’s amazing,” Buffey says, “that such a small project could have such a broad reach.” Sometimes it is exactly the little things that bring people together.