South Common Community Centre and Library

The redevelopment of the South Common Community Centre and Library is transforming a more than 40-year-old community facility into a modern hub for recreation, learning and community life in Mississauga, Ontario. The 2-storey project combines new construction with the renewal of the existing facility, creating expanded spaces for aquatics, fitness, recreation and library programming.

The project uses a hybrid structural system combining mass timber, steel and concrete, allowing each material to be used where its structural and architectural characteristics are most effective. The renewed facility is also being designed to meet the City of Mississauga’s Corporate Green Building Standard, with improved energy efficiency, accessibility and connections between indoor and outdoor spaces. 

Building With Mass Timber
Mass timber is used extensively throughout the South Common Community Centre, including CLT panels from Element5 and large-span glulam elements from HASSLACHER. The timber works alongside steel and concrete to create a hybrid structure that meets the varied requirements of the community centre’s library, recreation, gymnasium and aquatic spaces.

The project demonstrates the versatility of mass timber within complex hybrid construction. Prefabricated timber components are integrated with structural steel and concrete, requiring careful coordination between materials with very different tolerances and installation requirements. This approach also contributes to the project’s sustainability goals while allowing exposed wood to bring warmth and visual character to the new public spaces.

One of the building’s most dramatic features is the pool area, where exceptionally large glulam beams span approximately 75.5 feet. 

Their scale required careful transportation, sequencing and crane planning on the constrained site, illustrating both the possibilities and logistical considerations of using large-scale mass timber in complex public buildings.