Umbrella to cover robson square
'The Clam,' the brainchild of Premier Campbell, controversial addition to a city landmark
Miro Cernetig
Vancouver Sun
Monday, January 07, 2008
It's hard not to love Robson Square, that landmark of modernist concrete with a waterfall created by Arthur Erickson in the heart of downtown Vancouver. But our political leaders are aiming to improve upon the master architect's work.
Plans are now circulating inside the provincial cabinet to erect a giant wooden roof over the square. It's a secret project, being fast-tracked by Premier Gordon Campbell himself. Only a select few have yet seen it.
But if the provincial cabinet greenlights it, as it likely will in the next few days or weeks, it's going to be a controversial addition to the city skyline.
The artist's drawings I've seen bring to mind a giant wooden clamshell arching between the steps of the art gallery and Erickson's famous waterfall, covering Robson Street.
Truth be told, it also seems a bit like a giant outdoor skating arena, with a roof but no walls, suddenly going up in the middle of the city.
The skating rink, already on the site but underground and no longer used for skating, is to be refurbished. Looking up from its surface, people will see a complex sort of wooden latticework -- a design from northern Europe, I understand -- that you often see on large wooden buildings.
The premier's plan is to have the massive roof built by the 2010 Olympics, for celebrations during the Games. And -- here's where things get interesting -- keep "the clam" around permanently. It's hard to say whether this thing is a stroke of architectural brilliance or a disaster in the making.
It's always hard to predict response to such public projects. This may turn out to be our version of New York's Rockefeller Centre, a great urban square that also has a skating rink, or an eyesore.
But it might be a good idea to get this bold concept -- which won't come cheap, incidentally -- out for some public input. If built, this will change the look and feel of downtown Vancouver's skyline for years to come.
The premier's idea is primarily inspired by the Olympics. He wants to have a roofed public space -- another so-called Olympic livesite -- where the public will gather free of charge during the Games and watch events on giant screens and celebrate as a community. The idea -- also being worked on with the federal government -- is to perhaps link up similar venues set up in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, Parliament Hill, Montreal's Vanier Park and other similar locations around the country and province. CTV, the official broadcaster of the Olympics, would likely be in charge of the video feeds.
Another part of the plan, however, is business.
The province hopes to show the world a signature piece of "wood" architecture from Vancouver. This is a theme the province has been pushing hard, to try to stimulate sales and new markets for the beleaguered forestry industry. The B.C. pavilion being built near Tiananmen Square for the Beijing Olympics is going to have a massive wooden facade. A similar log house was a hit in Turin, Italy during the last Winter Olympics.
An even better idea -- I'd say it's the one that should go ahead even if the roof idea collapses -- is that the province will also set up a permanent Asia-Pacific centre on the edge of Robson Street. It will be near where the current Sears store is and is intended to be a high-tech centre to facilitate trade with Asia and build cultural and commercial ties across the Pacific. It's a wonder we don't already have such an institution given this province's links to Asia.
Still, erecting a massive wooden umbrella above Robson Square, despite some of its potential merits, also raises a lot of issues.
Will it detract from the wonderful design of Erickson? Robson Square is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vancouver. Can engineers even build such a heavy structure on the current site? Will it attract the homeless, who want to get out of the winter's rain? And if we need an enclosed area for Olympics celebrations, can't we just save millions of dollars by putting up a temporary tent for a few weeks? Another thing you've got to wonder is whether such a massive structure can be built in time.
This giant roof, which would entail a major overhaul of Robson Square, would have to be approved by the province and then go through Vancouver's planning department and city council. Olympic organizing officials insist there would be enough labour to get the job done on an accelerated schedule, now that construction on Games venues is winding down. But it's anyone's guess if the city and province's bureaucrats, not always known for easy cooperation, could actually get this built in time for 2010.
mcernetig@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
Prev
Linear Mode
