The design for the new Borden Park Pavilion draws from the historical use of the park as an entertainment destination with an informal and playful shape, and also from the larger adjacent community, where a mature urban forest and nearby river valley inform the pavilion's relationship to the rest of the park. Situated off the terminus of the promenade leading from the existing west parking lot, the pavilion serves as a hub and main entry point for visitors to the park.
The perforated horizontal roof plane is evocative of the mottled light that penetrates through a forest canopy, while the random pattern of wood columns creates an experience of walking amongst trees. This "built forest" offers shelter, protection and comfort within the park; a place of respite within the otherwise chaotic bustle of the city.
The playfulness of the pavilion's gentle round form is echoed in the proposed landscape components. Similar to the rectilinear roof plane, the landscape treatment at the pavilion edge also responds to the seemingly haphazard spacing of the columns. Serpentine concrete retaining walls create informal hard surface gathering spaces for year-round use and gently sloping grassed areas suggest that the building was set down on the site and the landscape has risen up to meet it. Strategically located wooden "stumps" are placed around the enclosed building and along the path to the wading pool and playground to reinforce the forest inspired design and reach out to the greater park environs. Differing in heights and girths, the stumps provide comfortable and permanent resting and meeting places.
The palette of materials is elemental, consisting primarily of concrete, wood, and glass. The exterior concrete wall bears the marks of its wood formwork, creating a tactile and robust skin around the private washroom component of the building. In contrast, the interior concrete floor is polished to a smooth and durable finish. The interior public areas of the pavilion are encased in glass for a transparency that allows visual continuity across the entire pavilion footprint. During the summer, this glazing around the cafe and concession area opens up to allow visitors and fresh breezes to flow in and out.
When seen at night, the pavilion softly illuminates the nearby paths, serving as a lantern within the forest, and extending warmth, security, and comfort out to park visitors.
Colour has been used as an expression of Edmonton's climate, where roof perforations progress from green to yellow to orange in honour of the changing seasons, where blue steel columns collect rainwater for washroom use, and brightly coloured furniture is kept safely behind glass during the winter and "blooms" out into the exterior spaces with the arrival of warm weather.
(From competitor's text)
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