Review the shortlist gallery of entries and then vote on your favourite!
003 "Terminal Square" at Waterfront Station | |  | flickr |
The area between the CPR station and the downtown waterfront looms large in the founding of the modern city of Vancouver, being the terminus of the transcontinental railway that connected this country to the Pacific Ocean, and with the proximity to the original settlement of Gastown. It is currently the terminus of the Seabus ferry to the North Shore, the West Coast Express commuter train, as well as adjacent to the original Expo Line Skytrain terminus and the soon to be completed terminus for the new Canada Line. Vancouver is at a point where we need to develop a serious infrastructure to support cycling as a significant means of transportation... | |||
006 "Terry Fox Memorial Plaza & BC Place Development" at Northeast False Creek |  |  | flickr |
| The concept for the Terry Fox Memorial Plaza and BC Place Development design proposal is to create a large pedestrian plaza, which will reach out to the surrounding areas, providing a connection between the downtown core and seawall. The existing underutilized BC Place, which is surrounded by open parking lots, acts as a barrier between two vibrant Vancouver arteries, Robson Street and the Seawall. Developing the area between these two main pedestrian arteries will be essential to creating the new heart of Vancouver. The square or in this case the plaza, will receive a constant influx of people from the connection of these two main pedestrian routes and is essential to the success of this gathering space... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 016 "Terminal Square" at Waterfront Station
|  |  | flickr |
| Today the City of Vancouver has a number of public squares and gathering places that are successfully used for various special events. However the city lacks that everyday gathering place that would be a focal point of the city’s life; a place that would draw people and promote expression and interaction. But to become a Grand Gathering Place from scratch, it has to be more than a venue for art, performance and public gathering. It has to be meaningful and unique to the city, having an identity so strong and the image so distinct, that regardless of its novelty, it would anchor itself in people’s minds and become a symbol of the city. Generally main gathering places around the world were planned when the city began and naturally evolved over the long periods of time. They were often purposefully placed in the center of the city so that the city grew around them, focused on the square. The identity of the space was then strengthened over the years of use. That way the square was not only central, but also grounded in history and tradition... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 017 "Waterfront Square" at Waterfront Station |  |  | flickr |
Waterfront Square has two major components. We create a large plaza at the elevation of the intersection of Granville and Cordova Streets, by removing the top floor of the parkade on the west side of Waterfront Station. This would allow the North Shore mountains and Burrard Inlet, currently hidden by the parkade entrance, to become the background of the square. As people walk towards the water, they would enjoy 180 degree views of historic Gastown, the dramatic working port and the historic railyard. The first trans-Canadian train arrived there, leading to the founding of Vancouver. The plaza would be heavily activated with a stage for public events, and edged with food service and entertainment facilities. A retractable glass roof would cover much of the plaza. The west end of Waterfront Station would be restored to its heritage configuration. The heritage Sinclair Centre across Cordova Street would be restored by removing the pedestrian bridge attached to its east side... | |||
| 018 "RE:Connection" at Portside (CRAB) Park |  |  | flickr |
| Amongst its great feats of urbanism, Vancouver finds itself socially segmented whether by class or convenience. RE:Connection harnesses future technology and new community space to bring people together in action and celebration. It stitches the heart of Gastown to a seawall extension to CRAB Park (Portside Park) and south across the neighbourhood to False Creek. Racing across the rail yards and Waterfront Road it plunges into Burrard Inlet to connect the vital urban story of Vancouver to the land and sea that sustains it. RE:Connection features a beacon illuminating virtual/visual connections across the city. A mesh of video and light takes images from key public spaces all over the city, as well as individuals so thousands more can join those present at the bridge. This project endeavours to reconsider and reclaim the spectre of video surveillance by harnessing it for democratic action. It democratizes access to technology and collectivizes the public forum. This bridge is about reclaiming infrastructure as place, reminding us of our privileges, remembering our history and reconnecting people throughout Vancouver... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 025 "Rainmaker Square & Rain Garden" at Main and Kingsway |  |  | flickr |
What does it mean to live in Vancouver? The short answer: rain and traffic congestion. How can we turn our city’s shortcomings into opportunities? My approach to this design was to give Vancouver a car free, social gathering place that celebrates what makes Vancouver unique: its landscape, mild climate, and the rain. The design concepts behind Rainmaker Square and Rain Garden explore sense of place, the function of ecological systems, and human urban systems. These three concepts are not separate, but come together as one in my design. I found that the synthesis of these concepts, which we often see as disparate, are the key to creating usable, livable, and lovable public spaces in our city. Rainmaker Square and Rain Garden are two urban spaces that are interconnected. Rain Garden is a place that permits more passive activities (e.g. reading, lounging, quiet contemplation, savouring a morning coffee etc.), while Rainmaker Square promotes more active uses (music concerts, demonstrations, exhibitions, theatre etc.). The two sites form a complete public place where a range of activities can take place simultaneously in the heart of the city... | |||
| 028 "Robson Reinvented" at Robson Square |  |  | flickr |
| The Design seeks to pedestrianize Robson Street between Hornby and Howe Street and raise the current sub-grade plaza up to street level. These 2 changes will provide the platform from which a great urban focal point, a civic gathering place can be created. The current below grade plaza areas not only fragment the flow and legibility of Robson Square but they also suffer from a lack of light and connectivity to the street. The focus of the design proposal is the "great outdoor room" : a large glass covered pedestrian plaza that occupies the reclaimed portion of Robson Street... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 031 "Vancouver Carpet" at Robson Square |  |  | flickr |
| The recent decision to move the Vancouver Art Gallery to False Creek reinforces a peculiar preference: Vancouverites live at the edge of urbanity, not within it. This oddly proud Vancouver trait of looking outward only exacerbates the hollowness of the core, both geographically and culturally. We question the wisdom of abandoning the VAG's role in the heart of the city and believe that a simple shift in building program and investment in a new civic space will dissolve the hole in the Vancouver donut and give us an energetic new "living room" for Vancouver's downtown... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 050 "Rain Garden Square" at Granville Street Bridge (North Side) |  |  | flickr |
All Vancouverites can relate to rain. The abundance of rain is a fact of life for urban rainforest dwellers throughout the year. We work in it, we play in it; rain is part of our lives, yet we don’t truly recognize it. Quebec celebrates its winter. Tucson celebrates its sun. So why don’t we celebrate Vancouver’s rain? The intent of this proposal is to: create a outdoor public gathering space for year-round use, with design features that support a wide range of civic, cultural, and leisure activities; reprogram a piece of urban infrastructure intended for the car and transform it into a public space; celebrate rain as a valuable and precious resource... | |||
| 069 "City Green" at Larwill Park |  |  | flickr |
| City Green is located in Vancouver’s Downtown District, with proximity to transportation corridors and noteworthy urban destinations such as: B.C. Place Stadium, G.M. Place, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, CBC Regional Broadcast Centre, Vancouver Library, Vancouver Community College, Regiment Square, Stadium – Chinatown SkyTrain Station, Bus and bike routes (within 200m of major transit routes), Residential live work neighbourhood and commercial developments, Mount Seymour view corridor. The Square, 688 Cambie Street, is currently a City owned parking lot. Vancouver’s Official Community Plan identifies the lot as Zone C – which permits parks and open space use. The site selection is a feasible proposition and is ideally situated to attract year round every day use, as well as special events to compliment nearby sports and entertainment venues... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 070 "Robson Square 2" at Robson Square/Sears block |  |  | flickr |
| The design concept originates from a desire to find a site at the junction of key pedestrian routes within the City’s downtown. The concept evolved through an analysis of prominent pedestrian patterns, revealing this site as a significant location. Along one axis is Robson Street - arguably the most dynamic street within downtown due to a high level of pedestrian activity. Along the other axis is Granville Street - currently undergoing public realm upgrades that will make it a key public amenity and build upon the energy that this street already possesses. This submission responds to these key pedestrian desire lines and proposes a square that will build upon the continued success these streets, while providing a much needed public space that gleans its energy from surrounding uses including the VAG, a new Vancouver City Centre (VCC) transit station, Robson Square and proposed ‘edge’ buildings. Fundamental to the design is the introduction of a transit walkway through the square, connecting the new VCC station with the existing Robson Square thereby re-energizing this iconic public space... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 092 "Sea Square" at Robson Square/Sears block |  |  | flickr |
| ...for a public square, “The Public Square”, to be successful it must be located where the people are. We examined many sites in and around downtown Vancouver. Many had great potential, but had few people on the surrounding streets. Some had lots of people but poor sun exposure or poor surrounding architecture. A square isn’t just a square. It is defined by the elements which surround it and the people who occupy it. The corner of Robson and Granville is the cross-roads between downtown businesses, shopping, residential and cultural zones. It is thriving with pedestrian activity and is welcoming to all. But it has one enormous problem. It has been desecrated with a huge monolithic white box that dehumanizes the space. Removing this giant eyesore would be a massive improvement by itself. But returning the space to the people would be a dramatic and positive change for downtown and the citizens of Vancouver. The location has good sun exposure and wonderful vistas of some of Vancouver’s most stunning architecture. It can be relatively intimate for smaller crowds or expandable to encompass Robson Square and Granville Mall... read full PDF Rationale (new window) | |||
| 107 "At a Crossroad of Culture and Time" at Keefer & Columbia |  |  | flickr |
At a Crossroad of Culture and Time: a plaza of multicultural programming that celebrates the urban history and multicultural fabric of Vancouver. At the intersection of Keefer and Columbia Streets, a portion which is currently the Chinatown Memorial Plaza (or Keefer Triangle). For my proposal, I have included two pieces of privately owned property which is a out-of-use garage and a parking lot. The site is situated at the southwestern edge of the Chinatown neighbourhood, outside the Chinese Cultural Museum and adjacent to Keefer Street where Chinatown Night Market takes place during summer months... | |||
