Market Lands | A gateway to the city, a true hinge, an urban, architectural, social, cultural and sustainable statement
Market Lands is located in a unique area of the city where two iconic urban fabrics intersect. Acting as an urban hinge, the site visually ends and frames two powerful vistas from the Old Market Square and Market Avenue.
Market Square | Revealing significant traces of history
Once inhabited by Brown's Creek and Market Square, historical traces are revealed through the urban figure and the ground treatment of the contemporary intervention.
The urban figure | Bold simplicity
Reminiscent of the historic block morphology, the new market is inscribed on the historic traces of the market. The buildings north of the Square are oriented on the east-west grid, reconnecting with Elgin and Market Avenue.
The strategy of a porte cochere formalizes the connection to Chinatown to the north.
The two intersecting grids define the unifying urban carpet formalizing a true archetypal urban plaza framed by Red River College to the west, City Hall to the east and the new mixed-use building to the north. The development strategy rests on the definition of a complete and coherent urban ensemble as of phase 1 (South Parcel).
The Public Market | Showcasing civic vitality
The public market, the urban beacon of the new assembly, is composed of a glass box slanted and framed in resonance with the orientation of the two city grids. The permeable north and south walls showcase the internal activities in urban and event modes. Permanent kiosks are located on the south facade tapping into the visibility and animation of Princess, William and King Streets.
Suspended over the kiosks, an internal garden offers annual production possibilities transforming the market into an urban green house. To the north, the space of the open hall allows the market maximum flexibility for use in summer and winter. The space is designed as a framework to support the daily life of the city as well as year-round exhibitions and events promoting the social, institutional and cultural vitality of Winnipeg.
The Creative Hub | Cultural conversations
Framing the north-east corner of the plaza, the Urban Shaman Gallery responds to Old Market Square and the Cube, composing a strong axial cultural statement. The urban carpet surrounding the market building offers external exhibition spaces for the gallery adding to the internal hall's capacity.
The affordable housing building | Investing in quality of life
Composed of two slender sliding volumes defining the backdrop of the market place, the affordable housing building reveals the vertical community gardens on the south-west facade. Local masonry cladding wraps the residential units pixelated by balconies and railings. The layout of the units provides for flexibility and full universal accessibility. Louvered transoms to the corridor ensure through ventilation for all units.
Integrated Public Art | Producing visual and soundscapes
As the prominent tableau of the Market Lands, a two-dimensional work by an indigenous artist is proposed on the glass façade of the vertical community garden. An audio work, to be incorporated into the structure framing the market is also suggested, blending native and non-native content.
The transparent facade of the Urban Shaman Gallery and visibility on the Square, provides a window for the public into the revolving exhibitions within the space.
The Energy Hub | From the city to the object
More than technical, the retained sustainability strategies define places for people and compose an energy efficient ensemble. Through the reutilization of portions of the existing underground foundation, the market, the plaza and the multi-use building are all interconnected.
Through strategic implementation opportunities, the Market Lands will become a demonstration site showcasing state of the art, community-focused sustainability.
(Competitor's text)
Daoust Lestage Architects, Montreal
The Jury was most impressed with the clarity of the proposal - an elegant Market Building on a bold new square with a visibly sustainable residential building to the north of the site creating a strong, commendable and appreciated response to the context, particularly the urban grain and morphology of the site creating a clear continuation northward of the continuation of Albert Street and Old Market Square. The superb aerial illustration demonstrates the connection that the new market square provides to the Red River College heritage buildings on Princess Street and from Old Market Square and City Hall. The overwhelming feeling of the Jury was that of brightness and openness as it became clear that the entire project would be flooded in sunlight all day and all year, and that the new market would be open and fully exposed to the surrounding urban edges of Princess, William and King Streets.
The Jury found the team's proposal to place the new market building overtop of the historical shadow of the original market building very powerful and fitting for the project. The openness and daylight proposed for the glazed market demonstrated very positive design ideas. The Jury also had a strong connection to the simplicity of the market plaza with functional areas on all sides of the Market Building for market day expansions. They also liked the connections between the Market Building and the Cultural spaces opening into the plaza between the buildings. Most appealing to the Jury was the clear sustainability planning by Transsolar and the architectural team - the concept of the 'sliding volumes' of the mixed-use building with the solar atria winter gardens, cross ventilation and the hanging second-level greenhouse on the south half of the Market building were ingenious. The Jury also liked the simple massing of the separate buildings that seemed to fit into the massing of the surrounding districts. The Jury also appreciated the nod to a clear modernism reflecting the adjacent modernist city hall precinct. Also, the Jury thought the project was most feasible from financial and constructability viewpoints.
The Jury expressed some concern in a couple of areas including the need for a greater warmth and use of timber for surfaces treatment and structural systems in the Market Building. There was also a concern that the width of the Mixed-Use Building would block the sun to building on the north. However, the Jury felt that these concerns were easily addressed especially with a shift in the 'sliding' feature of the mixed-use building. The Jury felt that the architects could provide creative options to resolve these issues while maintaining the essential character of the proposal.
(From jury report)
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