Whistler Celebration Plaza

[mr.x]

Vancouver, BC. The Resort Municipality of Whistler recently awarded the design contract to Bing Thom Architects for the medals plaza for the 2010 Winter Games, as well as the closing ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

The intention will be to create a lasting and year-round legacy space for recreation, arts and culture and a permanent focal point for the Whistler community. Bing Thom Architects will be working with landscape architects, Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg.

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As the last undeveloped block of property in the Whistler Village, this site has long been reserved for public use. It will be first occupied during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as Whistler's medal celebration plaza. Once the Games are over, it will become a multi-seasonal playground with amphitheatre seating. Central to this public space will be a covered outdoor skating rink with a dynamic roof structure.

Designed to be a visible and unique outdoor structure, the roof of the pavilion grows from a central point, arching over to shelter ice skaters in the winter and various activity users when the rink is not in place. The radial branches projecting from the centre are glulam beams made from pine-beetle killed wood. The glulams are laced together structurally, then tied back to timber masts soaring 36 metres high.

Shadows cast from the structure's arrangement will capture the sense of being in the forest. This feeling is enhanced by the pavilion's lack of walls and support beams. This modern organic form will give the pavilion an identify that will remain in people's memories.

During the 2010 Games, there will be stadium seating for 8,000 at the plaza.

http://www.bingthomarchitects.com/




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[excel]

wow that is pretty crazy. thanks for the models.

[Yume-sama]

Well... isn't that... interesting...

[johnjimbc]

Now that is wicked cool. It will look great on camera as well. Very memorable spot, and something to rival iconic images from other games.

I'm quite impressed.

[northwest2k]

Looks like someone made that little diorama with their lunch

Note the banana slices on chop sticks and the pulled apart cheese string in the middle

[dreambrother808]

*trying to bite my tongue when it comes to some people's predictably smug and short-sighted comments*

great stuff. love the spirit, even just from this rudimentary model.

[clooless]

Looks like someone made that little diorama with their lunch

Note the banana slices on chop sticks and the pulled apart cheese string in the middle

It's the architect's interpretation of what the roof of BC Place will look like after they light the torch.

[raggedy13]

Thanks mr.x2, great stuff. I really like the looks of it. The model is a bit crude at this point but I think it will make for an iconic setting for the medal ceremonies and will be a great long-term public space for Whistler.

I love Bing Thom's current obsession with wood. It just seems like a really multi-functional yet classy design element that is really underutilized in contemporary international architecture. I'm glad Vancouver has and will continue to showcase it so extensively.

[mr.x]

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[johnjimbc]

At the risk of asking something really silly, it appears the final design is substantially different than the conceptual one?

I think it will be fine. But the first sketches looked iconic and interesting. The new plans looks nice but rather pedestrian, i.e. a little public space and plaza area with a small amphitheatre section.

[sacrifice333]

I heard that the budget for this is in trouble and that VANOC is considering having all medal ceremonies at BC Place... any truth to this?

[johnjimbc]

It depends on what you mean by "this."

There is another thread here somewhere that talks about the fact that VANOC has suggested they may move all medal ceremonies to Vancouver because of operational money concerns (with some hints - from my reading / opinion - that they are upset with Whistler efforts to help control costs on housing workers, etc).

My understanding Whistler is upset because the funds for the plaza themselves were already secured and moving forward.

So I think it is an operational budget concern, not a construction cost concern, unless there is more to the story. I find it interesting nothing more seems to have come out about it since it's been a month or more since the first reports came out.

[sacrifice333]

Hmmm... it would be pretty sat if they didn't do anything further since the trees have already been cut down.