An advance look at Mulock Park’s Skate Pavilion

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Gearing up for Mulock Park’s opening (second post in a series)

Nestled into the hillside, the Skate Pavilion and Cedar Circle’s ice rink/​water-play area are lower in elevation than Mulock House, which is the focal point of the landscape in this part of Mulock Park.

The Skate Pavilion, a structure key to transforming former private estate lands into the Town of Newmarket’s Mulock Park, gets its close-up in our second in a series of posts leading up to the late-summer opening of this all-ages community destination.

The pergola bridging the Skate Pavilion’s west volume (shown) and east volume leads to Mulock Park’s skate trail/​walking trail and will serve year-round as a shaded seating canopy.

In addition to public washrooms, the Skate Pavilion houses mechanical and ice-surfacing equipment for “Cedar Circle,” a woodland skate trail/​walking trail and winter rink/​summer water-play pad. Our starting point in designing this building was to consider how it would relate to the heritage Mulock House – the site’s newly restored and renovated historic home, featuring a gallery in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario and food services space. Set into the landscape downhill from the house, the curved Skate Pavilion frames the park’s amphitheatre-bordered rink/​wet plaza, contributing to a sheltering sense of enclosure in this part of the site. The pergola that connects the pavilion’s divided volumes marks the entry to the 340-metre skate trail and serves year-round as a shaded seating canopy. The Skate Pavilion plays a pivotal role in helping visitors navigate the 6.47-hectare park, but at the same time, its split massing and modest cedar-shake cladding ensure that the grand old house retains pride of place. From the upper floors of Mulock House, visitors will see the Skate Pavilion’s green roofs.

The presence of the pavilion diminishes quickly as you move to the adjacent walnut grove.

Media: Are you interested in covering this story? Please reach out to Town of Newmarket at corporatecommunications@newmarket.ca for more information.