ilicon Island is a unique, architectural-renovation of the former Cape Breton County Municipal Courthouse. The former Courthouse, a Modernist-style, landmark icon, was abandoned several years ago. An innovative, public/private partnership between the local Municipality, the Provincial and Federal governments, and a private-sector group known as Silicon Island Inc., have agreed to establish the Silicon Island Digital Art and Innovation Centre. The agreement calls for the investment of government monies to renovate the former courthouse facility; while the private-sector partner commits to providing state-of-the art, high tech, tenant-rental facilities to small, digital-media companies, at below current market rates. Silicon Island Inc. will assist these small, creative businesses to grow and thrive in the burgeoning digital media industry, through the provision of administrative, marketing, innovation/incubation support, and facility-management services. Furthermore, the project will conserve a local, architectural, landmark/icon, and promote the development of the downtown core and Boardwalk initiative.

Trifos Design Consultants’ architectural mandate is to rehabilitate the thirty-five year-old structure to become a state-of-the-art,

The original, Courthouse structure was constructed in 1963, in the High-Modernist Style. Designed by the architectural firm of Napier and Napier, the extravagant, exterior, architectural detailing included frameless corner windows; copper spandrel panels; stainless-steel window mullions; and white, smooth-finish, precast-concrete cladding panels. Interior details include a two-storey, marble-clad atrium; Portland cement, terrazzo flooring; frameless, safety-glass doors; and modernist stair and balcony detailing. The building is surrounded by a security moat, upon which rests a temple-like colonnade of slender, two storey-high columns. The building is situated in the picturesque heart of industrial Cape Breton, overlooking the scenic Wentworth Park.

The cluster of companies to be housed within the facility are predominantly engaged in various aspects of creative, digital-media/arts. Some of Silicon Island’s tenant companies are to be as follows:

McKenzie College (multimedia educators)
CD Ed (online multimedia education)
Chatsubo Design (Web Authors)
CB Net (Internet-Service Providers)
Portage Technologies (CD-Rom Developers)
Voyageur Interactive Technologies (CD-Rom Developers)
Virtual Media Productions (Digital Animation)
MediaSpark Solutions (Software Developers and Graphic Design)
Folkus Design (CD-Rom Developers and Video Production)
ADI Nolan Davis (Environmental Engineering)
Crew Productions (Video Production)
Trifos Design Consultants (Architects and Interior Designers)
Zeppelin Signs (Signage Designers)

The capital cost of the Project is approximately $2.8 million. Project completion is scheduled for Summer of 1998.

"These architectural fly-by animation clips formed a part of a 15-minute video production, produced in 1995, which highlighted the work of Silicon Island’s Founding Members. This co-operative, “showcase” video proved to be critical in asserting the collective strengths and talents of the cluster. Furthermore, the video was extremely influential in helping to convince the Government and Economic Development authorities, of the rationale and viability of this unique project."

This logo was designed and submitted in response to a recent design competition sponsored by Silicon Island, seeking entries for their new corporate logo. The design was influenced by early-modern, Russian Constructivist, poster designs which typically featured exaggerated building perspective, high-contrast colours and bold graphics. The dot over the “i” was purposely emboldened, similar to Iomega’s (Zip and Jaz Drives) logo/motif. Although the logo was generally well received by the selection committee, it was not deemed to be suitable for small-scale reproduction. The committee felt that the complexity of the graphics would be obscured when reduced to less than half an inch (when appearing on Member Companies letterhead or business cards). The logo was digitally produced utilizing Archicad and Canvas 5.0. The logo application montages were created with Adobe Photoshop."

Video Interview with Spyro Trifos on the design of Silicon Island. [11450k]