The most remarkable feature of Castle Downs District Park is its flat expanse of open grass playing fields, a prairie-like landscape plotted in the midst of a populated urban community. A simple gesture of slicing into this vast stretch of sod allows the field to be lifted over the pavilion, creating an ideal slope upon which various community activities can occur.
The site of the building in relation to the Castle Downs District Park master plan makes it an ideal place for an observation platform for soccer and cricket pitches to the north. A portion of the hill is terraced with stairs and fixed seating to accommodate those who may find the prospect of sitting upon the sod daunting or undesirable. The majority of the slope remains a grassy canvas for relaxed seating or playfulness. In winter months this slope invites the community to continue to enjoy the park by providing a safe slope for young tobogganers. In combination with continued efforts to create skating rinks, this will ensure the pavilion is an asset to the community all year round.
The event of placing this building in a well-used sporting park creates ample opportunity for a community node. Nestling the large storage program beneath the sod restores the entire footprint of the pavilion to the public realm. Tilting the sod up to the north and west creates a public courtyard to the south that is sheltered from the harsh cold winds and open to the warmth and light of the south sun. The courtyard is an inviting place with benches and planters that can host community functions or family picnics. It is a staging area for major events with direct access off the storage areas. Built-in outdoor ping pong tables invite playful activity and can be used as picnic tables.
The courtyard is the location envisioned for public art. The large area outlined for a planter could contain any range of three dimensional works such as sculptures or fountains. There is also opportunity for a pattern or image to be created on the patio surface that would be visible as one looked down upon it from the roof. Such an image could even wrap up into the exterior walls of the pavilion.
The community funded program is grouped with open parts of the stakeholder funded program such as meeting rooms and offices on the west end of the site. At the junction between the two programs a void is formed in the pavilion, creating a gateway from the public plaza to the playing fields to the north. This gateway is the opportunity to split the construction into phases. The city funded portion of the program, located on the west end of the site, can be built first. In this location it is in close proximity to parking as proposed in the master plan and has south and east solar access. The city funded portion of the program turns its back on the west to prevent overheating in the evening but provides a stage for community members to linger and enjoy the remaining rays of sun at the end of the day. Mechanical systems are placed on the north end of the building to easily connect to future phases of the building through the bridge in the roof structure.
The shelter enjoyed by the public in the courtyard is equally beneficial to the pavilion itself. The sloping grass roof creates a thick blanket against the cold north winds. The pavilion is exposed from its wrap on the south, allowing all spaces to be day lit and all regularly occupied spaces such as bathrooms, offices and meeting rooms to receive solar heat against interior thermal masses. In the summer time the grass roof continues to insulate against heat and overhangs the windows to prevent the enclosed spaces from overheating. Cool air is drawn into the building from the shaded gateway between the city funded and community funded portions of the program. Rain water is dealt with locally on the site with roof top vegetation and permeable pavers in the courtyard.
The building will be largely constructed of cast-in-place and precast concrete. This is a durable material that will withstand the test of weather and heavy use. It also performs a second function of thermal mass. To support the Ioads of earth and occupants, the roof
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