Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre

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The front of the building in the spring

The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) was designed and built in 1963, then redesigned in 2003 as the Noor Cultural Centre, by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama; his first insitutional project^[1]. It is located in the Don Mills neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the east side of the Don Valley Parkway just north of Eglinton Avenue.

1 Original design
2 Redesign in 2003
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Original design

The location and design of the building was carefully planned to support and honour the place of Japanese-Canadians in Canada. While the building materials are quite modern, the proportions of the building, the landscaping, and details are very traditionally Japanese.

The building also has elements designed to draw parallels to the experiences of those Canadians incarcerated during World War II - the 2 story windows in the main hall have lattice reminiscent of bars, and rain water is directed off the roof using chains attached to stones on the ground.

[edit] Redesign in 2003

Unfortunately over time the building was no longer large enough for the growing JCCC, and the estimated cost of an addition was prohibitive. In 2001 the Lakhani family purchased the building for an Islamic community centre.