CITY, CULTURE, HERITAGE, NATURE, LANDSCAPE, PROGRAM and COMMUNITY - these are the design elements that inspired the work of our team. The result is an architecture unique to the City of Winnipeg that fosters inclusivity, community, collaboration and creativity, inspiring by means of poetics and functionality.
Our proposal seeks to awaken the dormant geometry of the site and bring to life the Market Lands and its surroundings. We draw a direct line from the Old Market to create a continuity of experience. This "urban bowtie" is both physical and conceptual in nature as it opens and connects the site to the adjacent urban framework. A spherical object acts an urban marker, a reflection of both its origins and the city's future. The diagonal nature of the bowtie produces moments of intensity and engagement at the four corners of the site and breaks down the scale of the block to create a richly layered and adaptable place that invites and enlivens the Exchange District.
The design is driven by the desire to free the ground plane, thereby creating a gradient of experience across the whole site, in all seasons, during all times of the day. In doing so, we create a confluence of culture, food and life, a cultivated plane to nourish and nurture the residential stem that grows from this cultural medium. This cultural double sens is the force that activates and gives life to the project.
Within the open ground plane, the market, cultural and residential programs are free to mingle and interact. The diagonal structural grid system provides operational flexibility for a year-round diversity of functions and activities, both indoor and outdoor. The programmatic forces within this organizational strategy culminate at a winter garden, the symbolic point at which interior and exterior spaces come together.
Our sustainability ethos is that this project must operate with a reduced environmental footprint but must also create highly productive spaces that people want to inhabit. To achieve this, we utilize the form of the building and site to work in harmony with nature. Green roofs, integrated solar panels and high-efficiency smart building systems are not components but rather are part of our overall philosophy: we work to integrate high-quality design with sustainability and architectural excellence.
Ultimately, our proposal is about creating a sense of belonging, making both a destination and an authentic living experience that are open and connected. Our innovative approach to the ground plane and the intersection of program transforms the site into a dynamic, multi-faceted urban experience for residents and visitors alike.
(Competitor's text)
Saucier + Perrotte Architects, Montreal
The Jury was impressed with the 'bow tie' bold angled direction of the east building edge that followed the Albert Street angle from the south. The new park proposed in the east triangle was a compelling proposal and served well to open the northern site to the south and Old Market Square. The parallelogram structural system was seen as a creative structural theme. There was general delight at the placement of the market directly on William with overflow stalls to progress along the angled market going north. Also, the positive identity of The Gallery along Princess Street provided a solid connection with the street. The fly-by illustrations shown at the public presentation provided an excellent understanding of the proposal.
The central criticism of the Jury was that the proposed design seemed out of place with the scale and character of The Exchange District. It is a very crisp modernist form that would be a solid asset in a more commercial part of Winnipeg's downtown. The exposed concrete form, fully glazed housing block and extended podium is not a massing consistent with buildings in The Exchange. In addition, there was concern about the proposed 15 storey height and the need to obtain height variances due to the compact residential floor-plates. The description of the design of the high, compact tower limiting sun shadows on buildings on the north site was not fully accepted by the Jury as the height of this building would demand even greater height from more northern future buildings. The Jury was confused about the proposed interface between the market and the gallery and the ability to access the upper gallery separately from the lower level. There was also the concern that the Market design was not a standalone function and that it was absorbed into the overall building. Finally, there was also a question about the ability of this complex concrete building to meet the project budget.
(From jury report)
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