Noor Cultural Centre
The Noor Cultural Centre is an Islamic cultural centre located in the Don Mills neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the east side of the Don Valley Parkway just north of Eglinton Avenue.
Building
The building originally was the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and was designed and built in 1963 by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama; it was his first institutional project.[1] 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.[1]
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. It was then redesigned in 2003 by Moriyama and it became today's Noor Cultural Centre.[1]
References
External links
Coordinates: 43°43′35″N 79°19′44″W / 43.72626°N 79.329°W