WDC unveils options for Cable Wharf redesign
Posted Jun 10, 2011 05:26:30 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Waterfront Development Corporation has unveiled three very different concepts for the redevelopment of the Cable Wharf on the Halifax Waterfront.
The three designs were revealed at a public presentation Thursday evening and now the WDC is asking the public to weigh in on the elements they like best.
All three designs are very modern but follow different themes.
The design by WHW is focused on bringing nature back into the city. Architect John Crace tells news 95.7 the main element of his firm’s proposal is an urban estuary.
“That theme is built around mixing the fresh water coming off the water and the city with the tidal water coming in from the harbour,” he said. “Estuaries are typically very rich and biodiverse, so lots of creatures are going to be living there and it’s a chance to bring a little of the natural environment into the city.”
Also in the plan is a six story building with high ceilings and a roof covered in grass.
“The building is very much a green building, so it’s not necessarily drawing any energy off the grid,” he said. “It’s drawing heat from the sea and the ground and the sun, and capturing rainwater through its green rooves. Everything about the building is moving buildings towards being more natural.”
Teal and Breakhouse also propose a glass building to replace the Nova Scotia Crystal store, theirs reaching nine storeys tall.
“The building is currently conceived as an office building, but it could be a residential or a mix of residential and office building,” said architect Thomas Emodi. “It has a big public room and a public roof which grows blueberries on top of it.”
Emodi says the firm’s focus while creating the design was to maximize the density of urban life.
“The more people you have here, the more succesful the urban life will be,” he said. “And the more urban life you have here, the more succesful the building will be.”
Ekistics presented a design based on the theme “Light up the Town.” Architect Rob LeBlanc says it reflects the history of settlement along the waterfront.
“Back when Cornwallis landed, he brought with him the tradition that when there was special occasions or naval victories, there was a tradition of lighting the town,” he explained.
Predictably, the design includes lots of added lighting to the waterfront as well as the unusual “Theatre of Light.”
“It’s the whole idea of projection technologies,” he explained. “It’s a new technology that’s really caught on in the last couple of years where you’re projecting onto a building surface.”
All three designs are available for review on the WDC website, along with a short form for entering your comments.
