This community center forms the architectural focus for the well known Village by the Arboretum retirement community in Guelph, Ontario. The design objective for the center was to mitigate the mass of the building by articulating the principal spaces as distinctive architectural elements within the whole without one element dominating the other. Pitched roofs were imperative but it was also important to avoid an overbearing monolithic roof. As a result the hall, foyer, lounge, rooms and natatorium achieve a respectful scale in relation to one another and in turn the whole complex respects the domestic scale of the surrounding dwellings. The architectural style hints at Richardsonian insofar as mass-produced housing construction techniques allow. The building achieves a significant traditional and stately presence through economical and very common construction means.