STATEMENT OF DESIGN INTENT
The Proposal for the Victoria Park Amenity Building is rooted in an understanding and celebration of the natural landscape of the Saskatchewan River Valley, one of the most significant and extensive natural recreation areas in any Canadian city. The design follows in the regional modern tradition of the Mayfair Park Pavilions (Bittorf and Wensley Architects) of 1968, harnessing the potential of the river valley for sports and activity, while carefully engaging the natural patterns of sun position, wind direction and snow fall and build-up. The design explores current technologies of parametric design and modular building construction, and seeks to engage a high level of environmental performance through the deployment of these technologies alongside time tested regional building strategies. Flexible activity spaces create a permeable perimeter around a core of service spaces and meeting rooms, all arrayed beneath long sky-lit vaults. The building registers changing light and views through serrated elevations of concrete and glass.
The Victoria Park Amenity Building will provide a focus for recreational as well as competitive sporting activities within the broad parkland valley that sweeps through the centre of the City of Edmonton.
DESIGN CONCEPTS
The following design concepts are central to the Victoria Park Amenity building project.
Consolidation of services and amenities to one central location in the park. The project will give an identifiable symbolic central hub to the park that recognizes and addresses the general recreating public as well as the more high performance and sports oriented user groups.
The project will address the need for a symbolic centre to the park
The simple and legible ordering system of the building translates directly into convenience and simplicity (legibility) in the planning, while solving a range of diverse spatial and programmatic requirements
The building creates an ambiance for a pleasurable experience in the park in all seasons primarily through the direct engagement with natural light in all of its different daily and seasonal manifestations.
The building rhythms and intervals of construction act as an interface between the cycles of natural process and seasonal change on the one hand, and the routines and repetitions of athletic movement of the park users, either training for competitive sports or during casual activity on the other.
The linear nature of building form with central core or program spine in combination with overhead vaulting lends itself to phasing and to re-programming. Under a phasing strategy, phase one (from gridlines A-G) would remain open and in operation over the construction of phase 2, the extension of the building to its currently planned dimension (gridlines G-L). This building configuration could easily accept future as of yet unplanned phases, either by further linear extension, through perpendicular additions or via addition of parallel adjacent elements. As a park building, the structure fits with the natural environment of the park, registered to the land and with an attention to solar orientation for building performance as well as optimum exposures for sunlight during activities within and near the building. In addition, the vaulted roofs and overhangs present monumental end conditions as well as more scaled down prospects that relate to both access, city views and adjacent programs/ activities.
The building compliments the landscape and fits to its profile, but does not attempt to become the landscape. As a pavilion, it is architectural; considered for its facades and roof forms, its human users and versatile program spaces as well as for its material and architectural expression.
The building takes advantage of the near and far views of nature as well as to the distant views and orientations to the city beyond: the city centre to the NE; the University of Alberta to the south.
The building is designed to operate effectively and comfortably in drastically different seasons. It will perform on warm summer days, its mass producing cool climatic conditions in the flex spaces. Under the duress of extreme cold, a significant measure of insulation value will be gained through the passive climate control measures of massive insulated walls with intermittent glazing, and lightweight fiber-re-enforced precast roof/ vault modules. The core of the building is further insulated from the extremes of the outdoor temperature by the still airspaces of the surrounding inner flex spaces.
The project understands the relationship between exterior, outer interior, and inner core as being based upon a gradient of climatic potentials. In particular, the outer interior will act as a buffer zone between the exterior and the inner areas.
In simple terms, this project hinges upon the development of a contemporary architecture that speaks to the region, the people, and the rich local history of architecture in Edmonton.
The building will accommodate viewing of sporting and recreational events taking place on the ice and in the vicinity, from the vantage point of broad interior areas oriented to the adjacent skating oval; from underneath the broad overhangs of the roof, and from upon the parallel and perpendicular landscape features that circumvent the building.
The building that allows for easy orientation and access; it makes it possible for parents to keep track of their kids.
SUMMARY OF CONCEPTS
Figure in landscape
- Building is a pavilion in the tradition of architectural garden buildings; event! exposition buildings.
Linear Building
- Very simple organization
- Simple figure with local deviations
- Good for phasing- phase 1 in use during construction of phase 2
- Linear bldg presents side condition and end condition- Sides: filter of light and energies of sport;
End condition: monumental/ symbolic; entry
Core-Perimeter relationship: Building within a building
lnner 'core'- very functional, cheapest and very robust construction; practical; full measure of environmental controls; partial basement for mechanical and services; stacked program with 2nd floor
- Outer 'Flex' space: Semi permeable for users and climatic conditions; mediates climate of inner core
- Provides for all-important hang-out space- the most important recreational program; also convertible for events ... registration tables etc
Landscape Strategy
- Landscape elements that engage in natural process- walls that collect snow; mediate between snow plough/ ice clearing and snow stacking on one hand and the natural drift and accumulation of snow on the other
- Building roof- snow collection In the valleys; form of vaults with long gently curving profiles resonates with skating, skiing; drifting snow.
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
Vaults/ Construction
- Outer vault material is fiber re-enforced concrete
- Control the seams such that they produce a regular minor rhythm - not unlike the serrated facade.
- If the vaults are also fiber re-enforced insulated pre-cast modules
Climate Control: Building within a building
- The outer interior will be less climate controlled than the inner 'core'.
- It creates a kind of flexible ambient space- interesting lighting conditions; transition from real outdoors to the more highly programmed inner interior spaces...
Landscape Strategy
- Approach to the Building
- Registration of the Winter Skating Oval
- Capture of snow; engagement of drifts; natural process
- Shaping of landscape elements to align with linear approach path for skiers in winter
Building Elevation Detail
- Serrated bays
- Exposed concrete as an exterior finish
Planning; Distribution of interior spaces
- Training Room Upstairs
- Ceiling distinct profile- Wood panels at upper training room
(From competitor's text)
12 scanned / 11 viewable
- Presentation Panel
- Presentation Panel
- Perspective
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- Site Plan
- Plan
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- Construction detail
