MODERNIZING THE BEER STORE IN OTTAWA

Being from Montreal(Quebec) where you can buy alcohol pretty much anywhere (the SAQ, the supermarkets, the corner stores, the gas stations, etc.) the Beer Store is a bizarre and foreign concept to me. And the ones where you can't even get the beer yourself are even weirder. But ever since I first went to a Beer Store in Ottawa, I always thought it would be neat to revisit its concept, modernize its design and turn it into a boutique store specializing in various types of beers from all over the world.  

On a recent trip to the Distillery District in Toronto, I discovered that my vision already exists! There's actually a Beer Boutique and it looks amazing. 

The design is a mix of rustic and modern style with brick walls and old wooden shelves. Everything is displayed neatly and you can pick up your own beer. It's also very clean and doesn't smell!  Check out the light under the shelves reflecting on the floor. 

How awesome is the design of the cash area? It's simple but effective. Notice the industrial looking light fixture above the main display table. It goes very well with the style of the area which is a refurbished /moderrnized industrial victorian style.


It's not a huge store, but they managed to add really neat displays in various parts of the store.



I would love to redesign a Beer Store in Ottawa. I already thought of the color scheme that I think would suit the Westboro area very well (shown below). I'm thinking a new location on Richmond Rd, west of Churchills would be great. The American Apparel Store, located on the corner of Roosevelt, is closing, perhaps it's a great opportunity!


Photos : MoOt | Contemporist | Freddy in Space | Think Good | 

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

MEANWHILE IN KAZAKHSTAN...

Still on the topic of metros, today I found out that Almaty, also known as the "city of apples", in Kazakhstan is now home to the newest metro in the world. The Almaty Metro is a 8.5 km subway system (with plans to expand in the future).  The city's population is slightly over 1.4 millions. It took a little while for the metro to open its doors on December 1st, 2011. This was mostly due to the fall of USSR. It is currently used by 30,000 passengers each day.

The Almaty looks really nice and is wheelchair, bicycle and dog-friendly. The design of the stations in a a mix of modern and traditional. I really like the use of the blue. The uniforms are really cute too. For more photos head over to English Russia.

Photos : English Russia

A METRO PROPOSAL FOR OTTAWA - PART 2

 

This is how I picture the first metro map in Ottawa. Imagine how pleasant it would be to go see a concert at the Scotia Bank Place from your home in Orleans without having to drive in traffic, or how enjoyable it would be to leave your home in Kanata in the winter for a night out in the market without having to find parking. 

A proper metro system should connect all the universities and colleges to downtown as well as important locations such as the Scotia Bank Place, the airport, the train station and the Casino. Having an underground metro system in Ottawa would greatly increase the mobility of people and connectivity between places. It would most likely boost the economy as well, since it would be easier, faster and cheaper for people to move around the city without needing a car.

If I was to design a metro map for Ottawa, I would start with 7 lines. Here's what I envision :

The Red Line

There would be a main line going from Kanata to Orleans. This would greatly alleviate the traffic on the 417 and allow the many people who live in the suburbs and work downtown to commute a lot faster and easier. (No more cursing at the bus driver who didn't stop for you). This line would connect the Scotia Bank Place, the Kanata Centrum, the Bayshore Mall, Tunney's Pasture, the University of Ottawa, La Cite Collegiale, Place d'Orleans Mall and the Shenkman Art Centre. The Red Line would also be connected to five other lines running North-South.


The Orange Line
 
The Orange Line would run parallel to the red line but a little more to the North. It would connect the War Museum, Spark Street Mall (a nicer one), the Parliament, the Rideau Center and Beechwood. The Orange Line would also be connected to three other lines running North-South.

The Purple Line

The purple line would go from Bells Corner, pass through IKEA, Algonquin College, Carleton University, Spark Street all the way to the Casino in Gatineau : very practical for people living in Gatineau and working in Ottawa. 

The Yellow Line

The Yellow Line would be the main North-South line, connecting the airport to downtown and a portion of Gatineau as well. This would considerably alleviate traffic specially considering the fact that there's only one main road from downtown to the new CE Centre. This line would run along Bank Street and would would most likely boost the businesses in the area and help with traffic along Lansdowne.

The Teal Line

The Teal line would connect the Byward Market to the metro system as well as St-Paul University. It could eventually expand further south to include areas such as Greenboro and Leitrim. 

The Blue Line

The main purpose of the Blue Line would be to connect the train station to the subway system. This line could also be expanded depending on the need for it.

The Green Line

The Green line would mostly run along St-Laurent, giving better access to a lot of the retailers along the street, including the St-Laurent Mall and also connect tourist attractions such as the RCMP musical ride and the Ottawa Science Museum. 

So there you have it! Metro's have been around since 1863 (in London). There are now over 183 metros around the world. The largest one (423 km) is in Shanghai (China) and the smallest one (1.8 km) is in Haifa (Israel). However the one with the most station is in New York (468 stations, 368 km)

The current proposed metro system for Ottawa (76 stations, 63 km) would be comparable to the one in Montreal  built in 1966 (73 stations, 69 km). Given that we're in the 21st century however, the system would have to be a lot more technologically advanced. 

Reference : World Metro Database 

A PLAYFUL TRAFFIC LIGHT

Designer Li Ming Hsing came up with a really interesting concept to keep pedestrians occupied while waiting for their light to turn green. Instead of a boring red hand and a countdown, you see an animated figure instructing pedestrian to do various stretches and watching on both sides before crossing.

Wouldn't that be neat to have something like this somewhere in the city? Imagine the smile on people's faces when they see a group of people on the corner of the street performing yoga poses, tai chi poses or dance moves. There's so much that could be done do with this! Check out the whole sequence in the video below. 

Horizon 2067 : A sign for change?

About a month ago, I mentioned that the NCC was also interested in knowing what citizens would like in Ottawa and that they were starting a new project, Horizon 2067, to that effect. Today the group held their first event about the future of the Nation's Capital at the Ottawa Convention Centre. I attended the presentation entitled "Creating a more representative and vibrant capital" to see what was it was all about,  and thought I'd share my findings with you.

Upon my arrival, I was surprised to see what looked like a big media production. Literally: Lights, Camera , Action! Lots of spotlights in the front for the speakers and other guests, cameras in front and in the back, tables reserved for the medias, and posters in the back with NCC staff describing the seven challenges NCC would like to take on over the next years. In fact, Rogers TV was also there and they will be showcasing this event on TV this Sunday. There were quite a few people present, but I can't say how many were members of the public and how many were NCC staff.





For the opening speeches, Marie Lemay, CEO of the NCC, talked about what they have done in the past and the former minister of foreign affairs, Lawrence Cannon, talked about some of his observations while traveling in Asia and made some comparisons with Ottawa.  The moderator for this event was Rebecca Makonnen, current TV and Radio host for Radio-Canada.


The panel consisted of  George Hazel (chairman of MRC McLean Hazel Ltd), Florence K (artist, signer-songwriter), Stephen Lewis (professor at Ryerson University) and Richard Florida (senior editor of The Atlantic and professor at the University of Toronto). The panelists had interesting views and ideas for Ottawa. They each did a short presentation and then they had a discussion between them moderated by Makonnen.  The discussion almost turned into a left wing vs right wing political debate between Lewis and Florida. Good thing there was a moderator.


Here are some of the great ideas I noted from the panelists during their presentation:

From George Hazel's presentation :

• NCC getting the opinion of the public was a great initiative to help Ottawa grow. In fact a similar exercise was conducted in Australia in the 80s and had a great turn out from it. What stuck in my mind was the fact that Australia did this 30 years ago! That's how behind we are. Never mind the fact that the plans are for 2067. But at least it's a start. 
• "Cities are about people and that it's people that make a city work." So what people want and need should be taken under consideration when aiming to build a better city. 
• It is important to maximize the number of parks, community centers and businesses and minimize number of large roads and parking spaces. This promotes more interaction between people, makes for a better community and a more attractive city. 
• The canal and the river are underutilized assets. Most cities around the world would love to have such great features. 
• There should be more use of technology in the city like and like an app for smartphones to find out about the next bus schedule, dynamic parking like in San Francisco, etc.
• The bus system should be the same in Ottawa and Gatineau to the people riding them. In London, the buses are run by various companies but they all look the same to the public. 
• Don't underestimate the power of public chairs. Chairs invite people who are tired to take a break, take in the scenery and stay in the city. If they are tired and they are no places to sit and rest, they'll just go home. 

From Florence K's presentation :

• Attractions such as concert halls and museums are too far apart from one another, which makes it difficult for tourists and citizens to enjoy them. They should be more centrally located.
• Canada Day should be upgraded to Canada Week. With all the tourists coming from many places we're missing an opportunity to make it a bigger and better event. A lot of effort is put into it every year and it's kind of sad to have it jam packed only one day. 

From Stephen Lewis' presentation :

• It's important to build from the community up and not the opposite. In order words, building a better city starts with the people not the government. 
• Ottawa should build upon its current identity and become an internationally recognized conference centre where people from around the world could gather to talk about various topics that matters to the world. Ottawa could be the city of international dialog.   

From Richard Florida's presentation :

• Ottawa should be a capital that others can learn from.
• Openness to diversity is very important. Diversity is one of the key factors in increasing the level of happiness of a community and you need diversity to fuel creativity.  
• Having a community care about its beauty is also very important to the success of a city. I guess it builds up self-esteem on a city level. 

From the discussion session: 

• Arrival points such as the airport, the bus station and the train station are the "shop windows" of a city. (Did they read my blog? ). Our airport is better than some but could be better. There's nothing interesting around it or on the way to the city. Think about places like Grand Central Station in New York. We have a long way to go. 
• To promote more movement between Ottawa and Gatineau, the areas around the bridges should be more pedestrian friendly. This would build stronger relations between the two areas of the nation's capital and in turn make the city better. There should be things that entice people to want to cross the bridge and explore as opposed to see the river as a divide between two provinces. 
• The Embassies should be have more presence. We have so many of them, they should be part of Ottawa's identity. Perhaps with a Canada Week they would be able to participate as well. Also, it would be interesting to have embassies invite artists or chefs from their countries to some sort of international festival in Ottawa. 
• We need to build more communities. New York is a city of community that seamlessly fits together. 
• We should not look to the government for solutions or to take action. This is a major problem in Ottawa. People and businesses should take the lead instead. 

All in all it was an interesting presentation. There was a good turnout. It's unfortunate that the public could not participate in the discussion. It sort of goes against NCC's statement saying that they "want to hear about [our] values, aspirations and stories, and about how [we] think [we] should be represented in Canada's Capital." Consequently, I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical of the outcome. It's nice to hear people talk about the possibilities and hear new ideas, but what actions will be taken from that? Will it take 56 years to implement? Will this end up as a dusty shelved report? Right besides the Sparks Street Mall Vocation Study?  

I keep going back to the mess that is Sparks Street, which to me is a benchmark. How many years have they been studying Sparks Street? There's a new NCC website, photo opts on flickr, and a TV show coming this Sunday on Rogers TV, but I think what we need are less talk more action. I really side with Richard Florida on this one: If we want change, we can't wait on the government, we have to do it ourselves. Now who wants to makeover Spark Street?

Photos : MOOT | roonsari |

Smart Solution for OC Transpo

photo: Public Transit in Ottawa

If you've taken the bus in a busy downtown area like the Rideau Center or Albert Street, you've probably experienced the frustration of having to run and find your bus somewhere in the long line of buses, hopefully before it left. If that's the case, you might appreciate this solution from designers Chae-woo Park & Tae-eun Kim of Hongik University in Seoul, Korea. They came up with a very clever and simple solution to help people get to their bus a little quicker.

When the buses are in line, it's hard to see their number since they are located in front of the bus, and therefore hidden. By adding a "Folding Plate", a folding number plate that sticks out to the side as the bus door opens, it's easier to find your bus number and to get to it faster. Check out the following demo from the two designers presented for the 2010 Graduation Exhibition Probono.

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Trends in Design : Night 3

The third night of the Trends in Design series was really interesting. This time the speaker was Julian Goss, program chair of the industrial design department at the Ontario College of Art and Design. He's also a teacher, a consultant, a designer and a very fun speaker to listen to.



After giving us a bit on info on his background, he started with sculpture in Glasgow, he walked us through the history of design, highlighting the major eras of industrial design from the 50s until today as well as where we might be heading. According to Goss, globalization has impacted design in general. It was also interesting to find out that from the outside (he's originally from Scotland) Canada is "the most awesome and confusing country" when it comes to design and "NAFTA decimated product design". Nevertheless, companies such as RIM, Cervélo and Teknion are great Canadian companies that deserve a bit of the spotlight.

Canadian War Museum

I recently went to check out the "new" Canadian War Museum. And although the exposition was interesting and informative, the building's architecture got my attention. What a beautiful building! It's very modern, minimalist and understated : perfect for a war museum.

I did a little research to find out more about the building and learned that this project was a joint venture between Moriyama & Teshima Architects from Toronto and Griffiths Rankin Cook from Ottawa. Apparently, the vision behind the concept was to create a space that would hint at the oppressive atmosphere of the battlefield by incorporating a bit of brutalism in the architecture. So there's a lot of raw concrete walls both inside and outside the building. I also like how they broke up the concrete with angled glass walls.



The lobby is very spacious and minimalist.



I love the starting room reminds me of some sort of military command center.



The best room to me was the "Regeneration Hall". It's this angular room with very a high ceiling and angled walls where plaster casts from the Canadian National Vimy Memorial are shown. When you enter this room, you can hear an ethereal sound which adds to the experience of this space. I suspect that the shape of the room affects the architectural acoustics. I wonder if it was planned that way. The architects wanted to create a physical representation of hope for the future, so they designed the window to frame the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. I think it's a very well executed room.







I have to admit, I was disappointed with the look of the washrooms. I was expecting something along the same lines as the rest of the space: Modern, rough and minimalist. A long concrete sink for example would have been nice. I don't get the green and yellow. It reminds me of public school washroom from the 70s. Too bad.



I absolutely love the exterior of the building! There's a ramp that brings one up to the green roof (apparently the largest in North America), and you have a great view of the city.





There's also a very large open space that would be ideal for a great outdoor party. I would organize a party there if I could. The place is perfect for it! I already have some ideas of where everything would go : a DJ booth, a dance floor area, a lounge, an eating area... Maybe one day...



I noticed there was some pieces furniture on one side of the roof but I don't think they are appropriate for this kind of space.



Outdoor furniture that would complement this space should be angular and minimalist, a bit like the products from Qui est Paul. The white would look awesome against the gray concrete wall.






Photos: MOOT | Qui est Paul?