DESIGN OVERVIEW
Bound by the banks of the North Saskatchewan River and its escarpment, Victoria Park speaks to the romance inherent in turn of the century parks: a poetry that flows from its history, location, and seasonal activities. Surrounded by the Alberta Legislature Building, High Level Bridge and the University, the park becomes an urban room that opens upward through the tree canopy; an escape in the heart of Edmonton.
It is these qualities of space that spoke to us from this site. Similarly, it is these same attributes which are noticeably absent from the current facilities. The prose etched into the ice on winter nights by skaters is not well framed by the current ATCO trailers and bunker-like restrooms. The architecture of the park that will bookend a day of adventure and romance should speak to that same sense of poetry that abounds in this natural setting. Our endeavour lay in not only answering the brief put forth by the City, but also in strengthening the relationship between the park and its users, those who carve ice on skates, ski through snow, and meander the park's paths on foot or on bicycle in the summer. Our goal was to create a pavilion that responded to the lyrical nature of being within Victoria Park.
With different user groups accessing the site from predominately different points of arrival, we felt that the pavilion should actively respond to different user needs, while speaking to those users in clear and strong formal language. It is from these varied points of entry that users then find themselves under a common roof, on a single shared porch, enjoying a shared communal experience. As a public loggia, the pavilion extends to the boundaries of the site, retreating only from the south border in difference to the ice surface.
We propose that at this edge a lagoon be created during the winter months, joining the oval to pavilion trough a continuous ice surface. It is here that the roof of the pavilion dips down touching the ice to create a bench, a structural support, a marker of space. Skaters can take their first tentative steps onto the ice directly from the rubber floor, congregate under the pavilion's cover, and if they so choose proceed out onto the oval.
The pavilion enclosure pulls back further from the roofline at the southwest corner of the site, creating a place for meeting. This outdoor meeting room addresses both the formal and informal pOints of entry. At the northwest side, the structure again meets the ground, this time to create discreet shelter from the cool north winds. Here skiers, snowshoers and cyclists will be able to rent equipment, or make adjustments prior to venturing out onto the park trails beyond. At the Northwest corner the building's porch adjusts to the needs of the adjacent picnic areas and fire pits. Projecting to the site boundary, the roof's form invites park users to take shelter during inclement weather, or take respite from the July sun.
The building comprises a series of outdoor perimeter spaces that are sheltered by the pavilion's sculptural roof form. Careful consideration has been paid to the fluidity of these perimeter spaces in order to strengthen their relationship to the adjacent interior. A single reductive glass perimeter is drawn about the enclosed spaces, reaching from floor to ceiling in effort to appear as a stretched gossamer strip; thin between top roof plane and bottom floor datum. The high performance double glazed system is generously punctured with full height sliding panels in order to facilitate the movement of users without impeding the experiential transition in and throughout the building. This delicate skin allows ample daylight to penetrate the programmed rooms within, while at night acts as lens and diffuser for light to spill onto adjacent spaces, returning to the romantic notion of lantern within the landscape.
While the pavilion roof ebbs and flows as a response to adjacent activities, the ground plan of the pavilion is seen as a strict rationalization of the existing site conditions. Orthogonal edges define the building base while the plan is organized to respond directly and literally to the needs of the users. The material choice of colored rubber matting for the base is intended to suggest an experience underfoot not dissimilar to walking on natural groundcover while at the same time does not apologize for its machined qualities. This resonance between the natural poetic of the landscape and intention poetic of the pavilion serves to highlight the fundamental relationship of the park within the city.
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Though the project appears sculptural in form, the construction and realization of the project is easily achieved. The building's structure utilizes common construction techniques while the finish materials for the interior and exterior of the building are tried and true within the Edmonton environment. Mechanical systems are reduced through careful planning of the building form and thus reduce the impact of the pavilion on the environment. The proposed project also adheres to the City of Edmonton's documents for sustainable design, guidelines for universal accessibility and the principles of the Edmonton Design Committee.
It is proposed that the building's expressive roof be constructed from pre-cast concrete, and assembled on site. Such complex forms can be accomplished through the use of fabric formwork and high performance concrete. Based on further analysis, the building roof structure would be entirely made of concrete or a hybrid of horizontal spanning steel and sculpted concrete. It is proposed that the form be coated with a high-emissivity paint thereby meeting the requirements of LEED.
The building's envelope is that of a highly insulated roof, a perimeter of high performance curtain wall and an insulated slab on grade. The continuous glazing system along the perimeter will provide natural daylighting to the interior programme thereby reducing and in some cases eliminating the need for artificial lighting. Areas of privacy and security will be achieved within the glazing system by the use of obscure glass, thereby meeting the needs of the users without interrupting the language of the building. A further feature of the continuous perimeter exterior spaces is that of solar shading. In an effort to avoid summer solar heat gain, the glazing has been pulled further back from the roof edge, thereby protecting the spaces within. Similarly, the northern and eastern edges push closer to the perimeter. Passive cooling is achieved by the placement of the numerous openings for cross ventilation, further successful by the shallow depth of the building. While the site does contain heavy tree coverage, winter solar heat gain and reflected sunlight will be beneficial to the building.
The project's mechanical system is anticipated to be minimal, focusing on localized heating with no mechanical cooling in the summer. Further design of the project will analyze the viability of the ground source heating as well as solar electric and water heating for the building's use. Additionally, the building will be zoned such that spaces requiring heating in the winter months will be comfortable while capturing that heat for the tempering of spaces requiring a lower ambient temperature.
Further systems within the building include a rainwater harvesting system utilizing the form of the roof to gather rainfall that can be used for non-potable uses within the building. The building's main floor cover will be recycled rubber matting that is well suited to Edmonton's environment and provides a suitable surface for activities of skating, skiing and summer pastimes. This surface provides an experiential benefit as described above but is also extremely durable and through modular installation, can be replaced where and whenever needed.
In response to the brief's request for 1 % capital cost being allocated to art, it is proposed that a permanent plinth be commissioned for the "unknown sculpture", to be located as indicated in the plans. Every year an additional artist would be selected to erect a winter ice sculpture in this place to last the season. In the summer this podium would provide a focal point for possible live performances during festivals such as the Fringe, or simply act as an informal stage for day explorers.
PHASING AND BUDGET
It is proposed that the roof structure of the project be built in its entirety during the initial City funded phase along with the extent of interior enclosed spaces noted in Phase One. As indicated on the plans, the program housed in Phase Two would be added later and would attach directly to the principal structure. As such the costs associated with fundraising for the user-funded portion will be minimized to include only the additional envelope and interior finishings. All rough in of Zamboni and workshop utilities is to be done during the initial phase. The pavilion is projected to be constructed within the 2.31 million dollar budget outlined in the competition information.
CONCLUSION
Through careful consideration of the ground plane, environmental enclosure, and roof form the pavilion adjusts itself to the existing site conditions, amplifying and complimenting their innate beauties. Its simple structure serves to bring together different user groups while creating an iconic marker of place that both respects the existing context of the park as well as adding a new and dynamic element to this rich environment.
(From competitor's text)
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- Presentation Panel
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- Axonometric Drawing
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