City Design Tour: Sudbury
Written by Davide Dorigo Associate RGD, Design de Plume
Davide Dorigo Associate RGD, President at Sudbury Design Society, shares his design experience with his city, Sudbury, Ontario.
What makes your city’s design scene special/unique?
For those unfamiliar with it, the city of Sudbury is actually a bunch of mining towns in a trenchcoat. It’s also the birthplace of design icons like the old Sudbury Transit, Science North, the Franco-Ontarian flag, Bruce Mau and Up Here, an award-winning arts and music festival responsible for turning an abandoned hospital into the biggest mural in the country. And, of course, it’s home to supportive institutions that punch well above their weight: Cambrian College, the Sudbury Design Society and local government and businesses, all working to turn this little Northern community into a hub of world-class design.
Is there a place/landmark in your city that helps inspire you as a designer?
No question, it’s Science North. When you visit a typical museum, you look at the exhibit or painting or whatever, read the card beside it, and then move on to the next one, the same basic experience for everybody. The magic of Science North is how it adapts to each visitor: not only are the exhibits interactive, but the Bluecoats, their charismatic science demonstrators, are always ready with cool facts and activities tailored to suit your interests. I’ve loved the place since I was a kid—even got my first job there—and their human-centric approach still influences my work to this day.
What do you wish your city had that designers would really love/benefit from?
It's the same thing designers everywhere want: a water park, duh. But we seriously need more things to do around here—variety is the bouillon of creativity, as the saying goes and luckily, Sudbury is full of people working to make it more interesting with projects like Up Here, the McEwen School of Architecture, Place des Arts, the planned downtown cultural hub and many, many more I don’t have room to list. Their efforts are already starting to pay off, and I think we’re going to see a real revitalization of the city’s urban character in the coming years.
Photographed by @magu_firm
Davide Dorigo Associate RGD
Design de Plume
