Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12Undergraduate students at Carleton are helping to bring architecture to the streets of Ottawa. Throughout their winter semester, two groups of students from the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism took part in an all-new project to design and build street-side parks for Ottawa’s Vanier and Glebe neighbourhoods. A concept first created in San Francisco, the city-wide initiative was established with the goal of repurposing up to 25 parking spaces around Ottawa into outdoor seating areas for the public to enjoy between spring and fall. Students took part in the project as part of Professor Johan Voordouw’s fourth year design-build studio. Having worked closely with the Vanier and Glebe Business Improvement Associations (BIA) to lay the groundwork for Carleton’s participation in the project, Voordouw was excited for his students to get the chance to share their designs with the Ottawa community. “In working with the BIAs, our students were able to pursue their unique visions for the program,” he says. “They were able to make their designs more human oriented by including comfortably shaded seating areas, considering the visual impact on the street, and providing space for multiple meeting opportunities.” The designs were penned over the winter term, with construction on the parklets occurring throughout the spring and early summer. The parklets were then transported for assembly at their destinations and officially unveiled in June. The street-side spots garnered widespread attention from city officials, with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and several city councilors even visiting Carleton to get an early look at the students’ designs while they were under construction. Watson also attended the grand opening of the Vanier parklet on Beechwood Avenue. The Vanier parklet, named Water Garden, was designed by then fourth year students Tori Hamatani, Trevor Whitten, Mitchell Gray and Simon Petepiece with the assistance of REMISZ Consulting Engineers Ltd. As a community gathering space, it features a specialized canopy designed to channel rainwater to pots of herbs and flowers. A second parklet, known as Nük was designed for the Glebe with the mindset of creating a space for people to stay connected through community events. Its design, produced by then fourth year students Ben Cottrill, Alex Marttinen and Jason Surkan with the assistance of Cleland Jardine Engineering Ltd., incorporates vegetation and soft ambient lighting and features a seating area and games table. After being enjoyed by the public over the course of the summer and early fall, the parklets were disassembled in late October to be stored over the winter, after which they will be reconstructed. By avoiding the harsh elements of Ottawa’s colder months, they are projected to have an extended lifespan of at least three or four years. Ottawa Parklets Bring Architecture to the Streets Rendering of a student designed parklet, known as Water Garden, located in Ottawa’s Vanier neighbourhood. Despite not being able to have the parklets up year- round, students were grateful for the chance to build upon their skills and work collaboratively with Ottawa community partners. “It’s really nice to see work coming out of the school being in the public eye because lots of great things happen here that we don’t always share with the rest of the world,” says Whitten. Professor Voordouw also believes his students benefited from the chance to work on the project from its initial stage of design through to consultation, planning, submission to the city and final construction. “It’s invaluable for students to have the opportunity to see the full arc of a project like this,” he says. “They experienced first-hand the effort and negotiation required to get something built by working collaboratively with a client, presenting and engaging with the public, developing drawings for building permits and considering the financial implications of their design ideas.” According to metrics collected by the City of Ottawa over the course of the summer, the overall program was well received by the public and the parklets were shown to improve local business activity. Given the findings, new parklets are likely to be added throughout the capital in the coming years. While Carleton is not yet involved in designing any additional parklets for 2017, Voordouw hopes to build upon the success of the existing parklets to further develop the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism’s ambitious design build program. “Based on our success in 2016, we’ve been approached by a number of new groups and are working on a couple of exciting projects related to Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration,” he says. “We’re very excited to be a part of that and hope that our students will continue to have the opportunity to work on a broad range of public and institutional initiatives.” 4 Winter 2016-2017