1 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
This project will be a transformatjonal one for Downtown Sault Ste. Marie. A plaza that will be a four-season destjnatjon full of excitjng actjvitjes. Brook McIlroy’s task as the designers for this new plaza is to work closely with the community, Council and City stafg to advance concepts that refmect the fresh and excitjng energy building in Downtown. 2 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The Plaza design process will build on the growing awareness in the community of the importance of actjvity- based destjnatjons in the downtown, which began with the City of Sault Ste. Marie’s 2016 Downtown Strategy. 3 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Let’s begin by looking at the site and its context in Downtown. 4 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The site is bounded by Queen Street, Bay Street, Brock Street and Spring Street. The site is approximately 0.77 hectares or 1.9 acres in size. 5 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The site sits in the heart of downtown, due-north of City Hall and close to waterfront amenitjes. 6 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
It is within easy walking distance to many arts, culture and recreatjon destjnatjons in downtown. 7 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The site is well served by actjve transportatjon routes with the new Bay Street bike lane linking directly to the block and the waterfront hub trail close by. 8 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Notably the site is in a block with litule green space in the immediate area. This tells us that any new sofu landscape areas will be well received here. 9 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
There is abundant parking close by to the site, with large municipal lots immediately south and north of the plaza. There are hundreds of available public spots within a 5-minute walking radius of the site, indicated by the red circle on this plan. 10 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Zooming in to the block, we can see that the site is ringed by a variety of businesses. 11 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The City has recently purchased additjonal propertjes to provide betuer access to Bay Street and to house the relocated indoor market. The co- locatjon of the plaza and the indoor market is an excitjng development as they will support each other. 12 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Finally, it is important to note that this site is not fmat. There is a 2m elevatjon difgerence between Queen Street and Bay Street, which presents a challenge as the major elements in the square need to be fmat or level. You will see during the concept design portjon of this presentatjon how we have addressed the grade change in a creatjve and constructjve way. 13 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The following Case Studies have been used as benchmarks for sizing elements and placement within the site. 14 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The fjrst case study is Prince Arthur’s Landing in Thunder Bay, a project that Brook McIlroy acted as the lead designer for. 15 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
It includes a skatjng rink and splash pad with a thin layer – or scrim – of water. 16 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
And a lots of seatjng around the area because this area has been very popular. 17 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
18 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The second case study is Market Square in Guelph, located outside the new City Hall. 19 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
It also includes a splashpad with a scrim of water. 20 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
That transforms into a skatjng rink with coloured lightjng displays. 21 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The plaza now hosts community theater events in the splashpad! 22 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
23 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
The next case study is Riverwalk Commons in Newmarket. 24 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Which again includes a skatjng rink and splashpad with a scrim of water. 25 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
And a community stage and fmexible gathering area. 26 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
27 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Finally we’ll look at Pat Bayly Square in Ajax. 28 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Which has a skatjng rink and waterfeature along with a fmexible gathering area. 29 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
30 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
A size comparison with each of these case studies confjrms that this site is about the right size. 31 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Looking specifjcally at the skatjng rink / splashpad, 32 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
We can see that all of our case study rinks fjt comfortably on our site. 33 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Before our fjrm was involved, City Stafg conducted community engagement to develop ideas for what people wanted for the site. From this list, the skatjng rink/splashpad and fmexible event space emerged as the key elements for the square. This data also gave us a good idea of what events might occur in the plaza. 34 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Early work on the conceptual design included a stafg workshop to refjne the program and fjgure out where each element should be located on the site. It became clear during the workshop that there was an ideal arrangement for the plaza - the skatjng rink / splashpad should be next to Queen Street and the gathering area should be next to the future market building. The result – afuer many months of design and revision – is the plan you see here tonight. 35 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Let’s now look at the design ideas for the plaza. 36 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Our concept draws inspiratjon from the St. Mary’s River Rapids, a signifjcant geological feature that is intertwined with this City’s history. Formed during the last ice age as meltjng ice-waters breached a land dam near Gros Cap, the rapids became a focal point for the region’s fjrst inhabitants who called it Baa-wit-i-gong, or “place of the rapids”. The area has been a gathering and harvestjng place for people for centuries. 37 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Post-colonizatjon, Sault Ste. Marie became an industrial centre, owing to the St. Mary’s River, hydro power and regional resources. Today, the rapids remain an important experience in the City - with ships passing, fjsh and water-levels ebbing and fmowing. Our concept celebrates the dynamic St. Mary’s River Rapids, using their form as inspiratjon for the plaza design, with shapes, patuerns and storytelling within the space. 38 Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Civic Plaza - Concept Design Presentatjon September 29, 2020
Recommend
More recommend
