The individuals making up this creative class have a different set of values, work ethic, and understanding of collaboration across traditional lines. The importance of bringing together culture, science, heritage, and arts into one facility in flexible use space cannot be overstated. Such spaces are rare just as factories were rare at the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
THE RENEWED FACILITY WILL SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS:
- Artists performance spaces
- Artists studios
- Galleries
- Workshops
- Meeting rooms
- Community space
- Food service
- Heritage space celebrating Mississauga's contributions during the great wars
- University field offices for brownfield remediation and environmental studies
Artists in residence
The plans for the small arms building include artists living at the facility, this is an important aspect of the plan as it brings the building alive 24 hours a day seven days a week. The artists living at the facility have a double obligation to the community both as productive artists and as stewards of the building. Besides paying rent, producing artwork at the building and displaying their work in the flexible use spaces, the artists in residence bring the building alive.
Artists studios
The arts community of Mississauga are particularly excited about the possibilities of this aspect of the plan as many artists in Mississauga currently use nonconforming space as their studios. Typically, an artist will work in isolation in a room or basement of the house as studio space. Younger artists upon graduation from Mississauga arts schools tend to gravitate to Toronto due to the availability of an artistic community and artistic space. This building will attract and help Mississauga and Peel Region retain these talented and creative individuals.
Sciences
The building provides a unique opportunity to house students, researchers, and emerging practitioners in fields such as geothermal energy, brown field remediation and other emerging sciences. The Lakeview community has intense need in both these regards and having specialists and researchers in the community will both draw economic value and an improved standard of living.
Heritage
The heritage aspects of this building cannot be overstated; it is the last of its type of building in Canada’s urban setting and represents a unique opportunity to display the history of Lakeview and the people who built the community around the Small Arms Building. Much of that history involved the use and creation of state-of-the-art new technology such as the Curtiss flying boat and Canada's first airport.
