Poppy Plaza

[mersar]

Just noticed this up on the U of C home page:

Public space design wins awards
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/utoday/january25-2010/memorial
January 25th, 2010

These artistic renderings were part of the design submission by marc boutin architectural collaboration inc.

The design of one of Calgary’s newest public spaces, led by a Faculty of Environmental Design professor and several alumni, has won two prestigious awards: the Canadian Architect Award of Merit and the City of Calgary’s Mayor’s Urban Design Award.

The Poppy Plaza is the first of many public spaces to be created as part of the second phase of Memorial Drive: Landscape of Memory, a City of Calgary effort led by the marc boutin architectural collaborative inc (MBAC) and Stantec Consulting. MBAC is the firm of Marc Boutin, a Faculty of Environmental Design professor, and includes several EVDS alumni including Mike DeBoer, Jerry Hacker, Sean Knight, Tony Leong, Mauricio Rosa, Kristin St. Arnault and Nick Standeven.

“The project’s goal is to revamp Memorial Drive and develop a space that commemorates Canada’s role during wartime, while offering a much needed contribution to the city’s fledgling public realm,” says Boutin.

The existing site is characterized as a residual green space, adjacent to the intersection of Memorial Drive and 10th Street. North of the site is the Kensington neighbourhood and south of the site is the Bow River. While the site’s grade slopes steeply southward to the river, it lacks an appropriate connection to the water.

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Another project thats part of the upgrades being done along Memorial Drive. Personally I think it looks good and will change the current feeling of the pathway along there which is very utilitarian right now.