Let's build a city we can love - Urban design must develop a connection with people
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The stars of the romantic comedy Sex and the City spent six seasons searching for love. Relationships came and went, Big, Aidan and the Russian, but the love affair that remained constant was the one they had with their city. Their emotional connection to the vibrancy, character and style of New York was the show's consistent thread.
Marking the end of the 2010 Cultural Capital celebrations, the Winnipeg Arts Council invited former Vancouver senior community planner Larry Beasley to the My City is Still Breathing Symposium to discuss how this type of urban love affair can be a defining factor in the image, physical expression and economy of a city.
2010: a year of civic progress - We didn't build any skyscrapers; we built smaller, better projects
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As the calendar turned to 2011, year-end reflections and "best of 2010" countdowns dominated the media. It has become a New Year's tradition to solve the difficult questions such as who had the better album, Kanye West or Arcade Fire, or was The King's Speech a better movie than Inception?
How then will 2010 be remembered in Winnipeg? Should we look back on its development as a countdown of highlights or should Mr. Blackwell put us on his worst dressed list?
Cube Winnipeg in the Exchange District
Petrify the Exchange District?
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By: Stacy Dyck M.Arch., LEED AP, MRAIC
The City of Winnipeg cares about the future of Winnipeg’s Exchange District. That is a fact.
Recent press related to the insertion of contemporary design into the Exchange has sparked discussion over the future of the City’s historic gem. Positive or negative, the press surrounding the opening of the Cube in Old Market square has increased historic awareness in the City.
The truth is that the buildings of the Exchange District have fallen into disrepair. Mortar has crumbed and the intricate detailing that characterizes the historic giants of the warehouse district have begun to fade away as a result of years of deferred maintenance and apathy in times when the area was not desirable to start a business or live.
Density makes cities richer - Yards at Fort Rouge: bringing in more people helps economy, taxes
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In December of 2002, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy released a document entitled Let's Worry about Stagnation, not Sprawl. It concluded that because Winnipeg had maintained its density in comparison to other cities, urban sprawl should not be a public concern. Planning policies that promoted density were dismissed as "an unnecessary prescription for a problem that doesn't exist in Winnipeg."
How times have changed.
While it may have been true that after decades of slow growth Winnipeg had until then managed to avoid the sprawling suburban development that was beginning to define cities across Canada, in the eight years since, we have more than caught up to the others. With a population increase of nearly 50,000 people over that time, a wave of new auto-centric, low density suburbs are today pushing the city's edges outwards in every direction.
Urban gems helping city shine - Local designers thrive, inspire
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The recent global economic downturn has had a devastating effect on the architecture industry in North America. Nearly one-quarter of all jobs in the profession have been lost in the United States and with construction dropping by 25 per cent last year alone, Canadian firms have also been hit hard.
Seemingly against this global trend, Winnipeg's architecture community has been flourishing in recent years. Several new firms have opened and many others have expanded their business in Winnipeg and abroad. While megaprojects designed by acclaimed international architects rightfully receive much of the fanfare, local designers have seized this period of growth to do imaginative work on smaller projects that are transforming the city's neighbourhoods.
Number TEN Blog
Number TEN Inspired! captures the knowledge, passion and ideas of our award winning architects, interior designers and supporting staff, as they navigate through the complexities of the modern design landscape. We are creative problem solvers, advocates for better ways of doing things, and observers of all that is interesting and noteworthy in our field. This blog is our effort to share our knowledge and ideas in a way that resonates with everyone. Whether you work in the industry as an architect, interior designer, building manager, property developer, or are just someone with an interest in creativity and new ways of doing things, this blog has something for you.
