Project shows diagonal parking works
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By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
Republished with permission courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.
There’s something counterintuitive about adding cars to a street to make it a better place for pedestrians, but that’s what happened in downtown Winnipeg when an old idea recently became new.
Image: Diagonal parking instructions eased drivers into the pilot project. (Supplied)
Strong fire-safety measures critical
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By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
Republished with permission courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.
In June, the world watched in disbelief as soaring flames and columns of thick smoke ravaged Grenfell Tower in London. Dramatic images and heartbreaking reports of desperate residents trapped inside streamed across social media. So far, at least 80 people are believed to have lost their lives in the tragedy.
The source of the fire appears to have been a refrigerator inside one of the units on the fourth floor. From there, the flames spread rapidly, and within half an hour, the fire was out of control.
Image: (Natalie Oxford) Grenfell Tower burning in the early morning hours.
Time for feds to help preserve heritage buildings
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By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
Republished with permission courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.
For several decades after the Second World War, many Canadians considered the old buildings in their cities to be symbols of decline, representing a lack of progress. Many cities, throughout the 1960s and ’70s, developed grand plans to replace historic downtown neighbourhoods with freeways, parking lots and mega-projects. In one generation, more than one-fifth of Canada’s historic buildings were demolished.
Image: (Brent Bellamy) Historic buildings that survived the Modernist demolition craze, such as Winnipeg’s popular Exchange District, are highly valued.
Examining five pillars of a big-picture plan
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By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
Republished with permission courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.
The recent release of Canada’s 2016 census was like catnip for us statistics nerds. Across the country, we slouched at our computers into the early hours, poring over everything from aggregate dissemination areas to census agglomerations.
Image: (Brent Bellamy) The capital region’s sprawling growth is encroaching on important farmland and affecting other natural resources.
Give Union Bank Tower the Crown
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By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
Republished with permission courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.
Union Bank Tower has quietly watched over Winnipeg from the bend in Main Street for 113 years. Symbolic of a more optimistic time, its full significance has been lost in our civic memory. If this elegant building stood in one of Canada’s more confident cities, it might adorn postcards and tourist brochures. In Winnipeg, a small bronze plaque on its facade timidly boasts, "The city’s first skyscraper." A deeper investigation, however, reveals it likely deserves to be celebrated with the much loftier title of "Canada’s first skyscraper."
Image: (Brent Bellamy) Winnipeg’s Union Bank Tower can rightfully claim to be Canada’s first skyscraper.
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.
