Quote:
Originally Posted by Buggys
Is # 11 the site of the former Carling building, or much bigger than the old building grounds?
|
Yes, #11 is the site of the old Sir John Carling Building, and the grounds immediately surrounding it, as well as the adjoining federal land immediately to the east (that many people think is a city park).
I personally think that this is the best site, as it is close to the old site (which makes for an easy transition), it's very close to the Ottawa downtown area, it's on the O-Train line with a station right across the street for easy public access, it isn't being used by anything useful right now and there are no plans for it yet, and it has views of and easy walking access to some beautiful treed grounds across the street, which has been proven to have a beneficial impact on health.
Yes, there's a height difference between the two sides of the site, but I think that creative architects and engineers can avoid constructing anything along the old fault line, instead placing the main hospital buildings on the upper level (where the Carling building used to be) and placing auxiliary buildings and/or parking on the lower level to the east. In fact leaving the treed escarpment between the two halves could be a design feature and buildings on both sides could be connected by a couple of overhead walkways.
I don't think that the fact that an old fault line is on the site is overly important. If a major earthquake ever occurred here, the existing Civic campus and sites #9 and #10 would surely be affected as well. And that hasn't concerned anybody yet that I'm aware of.
Threaded Mode