THE NEW LANSDOWNE : PROBLEM SOLVING - PART 3

 When it comes to the current plans of the Aberdeen Pavilion in the New Lansdowne, the design documents state that it will be a "major visual and programmatic amenity that will enhance the imageability of the entire redevelopment site" and the plan is also to keep it as a "multi-purpose, all-season, public exhibit hall and meeting space". Based on this, I see two main problems that should to be addressed in order for the designers to achieve their goal :

1. There's not enough visual focus on the Aberdeen Pavillion 
2. The Aberdeen Pavillion has no clearly defined function or identity

Making the Aberdeen Pavilion the focal point

One of the most identifiable buildings in Lansdowne Park is the Aberdeen Pavilion. It's the first image that comes to mind when you think of the area, so much so that it's now part of the New Lansdowne logo. Therefore it's only natural to want to preserve the view of the building from Bank Street. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.  

If you take a closer look at the latest elevations, the new buildings have been positioned in such a way that a good portion of the Aberdeen building will be hidden and lost behind. Why not give the building a little more breathing space by widening the road and keeping the area symmetrical? It shouldn't be too hard to do and would make a big difference. Attention to details like this improves the quality of  the design.

Also, notice how little space there is for cars and much space they are taking at the same time. There's one parking lane and one traffic lane on each side. Considering the number of retail stores that are expected to be there, it would most likely always look like this and take away from the design of the space. A better solution would be to move the Aberdeen Way underground and create an underpass to keep the area in front of the building for pedestrians, terraces and bikes. There would be an opportunity to widen the sidewalk as well and keep them equal on both side of the building.

The Aberdeen Market : Giving the Pavilion a Clear Purpose 

In order for the Aberdeen Pavilion to take centre stage, it needs an identity, a clear purpose for being there. Otherwise it won't be much different that what it already is : a large under-appreciated open space, most likely to be hidden behind old burgundy chairs and flimsy black curtains.

The Arberdeen Pavilion has great architectural features. It'a a large clear span steel frame with pressed metal exterior cladding. The interior space has a great tall ceiling and lots of windows letting in a great amount of natural light. This space would be perfect for a permanent market.

So what we need there is not only a permanent farmer's market, but a culinary destination, much like the San Miguel Market in Madrid, Spain. A place where you can not only buy fresh local food, but you can also eat freshly prepared dishes, try local wine and beers too. It should be a place where locals and tourists can gather and experience food and enjoy life.

Check out the video below of the San Miguel Market to give you a better idea.

The Aberdeen Market could also be a place where chefs from around the world come and compete to create dishes based on local ingredients. Imagine the good this would do for the city. Twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, we bring top chefs from around the world to compete and prepare creative dishes based on local food. we could create two annual festivals around this. I think such a function would be a lot more successful that a simple multi-purpose building. 

Souce : Wikipedia | Niagara Cooks | Ciao Chow (flickr) | Home and Design Show (flickr) | Mercado De San Miguel | Madrid.com | 

THE NEW LANSDOWNE : PROBLEM SOLVING - PART 2

Let's take a look at the Aberdeen Square, which is located right beside the Aberdeen Pavilion. The design brief describes it as "a formal, paved plaza graced by the full north facade of the Aberdeen Pavilion. Its larger, contiguous space accommodates opportunities throughout the year, including the Farmers’ Market". 

What do you think of this location for the Farmers Market? I don't like it at all. There's nothing innovative or original about it at all. In fact, next to a newly built area, this will look cheap.  It's just a bunch of tents on a parking lot.

There's also an issue with the placement of the fountain. Unfortunately vendors typically tend to throw dirty water on the street in the Byward Market. I doubt it will be different in Lansdowne. What will most likely end up happening is that the fountain will get dirty or clogged. Then it won't be functional anymore and it will end up as a pit with random garbage in it. In the summer, you'll get a sea of random tents taking over the lot and in the winter it will be empty. 

There is a better solution. Why not build a permanent open air structure like the Convington Farmers Market in Virginia. It was designed and built by students and two teachers from the Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design. Their budget was only $150,000.00 and they made it happen. The project was awarded a 2011 Design Excellence Award from the Virginia Society AIA. How awesome is this!

References : Dezeen | City of Ottawa | Flickr | Local Tourist Ottawa 

THE NEW LANSDOWNE : PROBLEM SOLVING - PART 1

Although the 3D flyby animation of the future Lansdowne was interesting, I didn't find it particularly informative. By the end of the video, I still had many unanswered questions: "How is this going to work?", "Is this the best use of space?", "What about traffic?", etc. So I did a bit of research and found a couple preliminary plans and documents with a bit more information.

Let's just say there's room for improvement. The design for the New Lansdowne may not be the most innovative or inspiring design I've seen, but  that doesn't mean it will be a total flop. It just needs some serious tweaking to become a gem in the city. So let's take a closer look at the proposed layout for the new Lansdowne.

Lansdowne Park is currently an eyesore. It hasn't been properly maintained over the years and it shows (even its website!). One major issue with the current site is that it's essentially a huge grey asphalt desert, sprinkled with a couple tired buildings, devoid of any sorts of greenery or beauty. In other words, it's depressing and ugly. 

To solve this problem, the designers created 17 areas, identified in the picture above. When we compared it to the current layout , we can see that some of the asphalt areas will be replaced with greenery and the rest with buildings. Keep in mind that the light green areas shown above are still going to be roads.

So if you highlight them in red, you get a better idea of what the place will look like below.



It looks like the designers are proposing stone covered streets for a large portion of the site : a really really bad idea in Ottawa. It might work in other cities but not in Ottawa because this type of road needs a lot of proper maintenance and from what I've seen from the city's history of road maintenance, this is just asking for trouble. It's not something that the city is currently capable of handling properly. Just look at Sparks Street. Remember my post from 2009? It still has not be repaired, almost three years later. And this is only a pedestrian Street. Imagine how much worst it would be for a road after a year of multiple cars, trucks and buses. It wouldn't take too long before it's patched up with ugly asphalt above the stone covered road just like on Sparks street. It's a waste of money.




So why not opt for something better? Something that requires little to no maintenance, that can handle heavy traffic, snow removal trucks and salt, and that can relatively easily and inexpensively be repaired or replaced? What can be done instead without resorting to the typical grey asphalt road? Colored asphalt? It's simple and it works! It's most likely less expensive than stone covered roads, easier to maintain and easier to repair. It could even be green to go with the theme. Can someone pass this one to the design team?

Photos : City of Ottawa | Go Green | Ocean Power

THE NEW LANSDOWNE

In case you missed it, yesterday Open File posted a 3D flyover animation about the new design for  Lansdowne. First of all, it's MUCH better than what we have right now. There are some great design elements. I particularly like the terraces near the restaurants. Some parts remind me of the Byward Market, which is too bad because it would have been nice to see something different, more original. And it looks like the bicycles will have to share the road with cars near the stores. It would have been nice to have a dedicated bike lane instead. Who knows, maybe that could change last minute. Nevertheless, I think this it's what Lansdowne needs, despite what some naysayers may say. 

I see this as a lifestyle upgrade (as long as it's done right). The stadium would be awesome for open air concerts in the summer. Imagine Deadmau5, on a summer night with the stadium full of people and a cool light show. This would also be a great place for more events during Canada Day. Think of all the new possibilities. Now imagine if there was a metro that would bring you right in the middle of all this so you wouldn't have to use your car to get there ;) 

Let's hope this starts soon. This project is way overdue. 

Video : Untitled from OpenFile on Vimeo

Trends in Design : Night 4

Last week, for night four of the Trends in Design presentations, Rob Claireborne, lead architect of Lansdowne Park Stadium talked about the design process in architecture. What I got from his presentation is that "architecture is not just about form but about the gathering process over time" and it's that gathering process that gives you the inspiration to create something unique and interesting.


Of course the Lansdowne project was used as an example to explain that process. Based on Clairborne's knowledge of Ottawa, he knows that the current stadium and is not a pretty site. So for him it was important that the new site would make a good impression not only for the people living here but for all the visitors from all over the world. He was inspired by the movement of things around the stadium and wanted to create a stadium in a park. As opposed to the typical stadium surrounded by parking lots, the proposed stadium will be surrounded by trees and the goal is to have it open at all time for people to be able to enjoy the park as well.



I really like the wooden veil over the structure of the building, it's very organic. It definitely softens the look of the site. The wood to be used is called Alaskan Yellow Cedar. It's a Canadian tree that grows in BC and it's probably the strongest and most resistant tree we have here in Canada. It doesn't rot and has been used in various outdoor applications in Canada, including the awesome wave deck in Toronto (below). For the stadium the wood will "emerge of the landscape like trees dancing over the stadium".


The Frank Clair Stadium was apparently designed by the same company who constructed the Champlain Bridge in Montreal, so essentially "it's a bridge", as Claireborne pointed out. The shape of this building clashes with the Aberdeen building : Mid-century constructivism steel frame against a gentile Victorian facade. It doesn't work.


One thing I thought was a little concerning during the presentation is that the budget for the project is $85 million. Claireborne pointed out that a previous stadium project in New York cost $500 million and $700 million in Dallas. Typically, small neighborhood arenas cost $30-40 million. So the budget for Lansdowne is a bit of a challenge.

Nevertheless, it's a great change for Ottawa. Hopefully everything works out great and this will become a building for the city to be proud of... oh and hopefully whoever is designing the towers on the side of the stadium (I think they might be condos) come up with a better design than three gray towers, as shown in the picture below. To me they ruin the organic concept of the site and stick out like a sore thumb.



Photos: Cannon Design | Wikimedia Commons | skyscrapercity | OSMO Canada | MOOT |