2B – Shrine of Nature

Oakbridge Park

Synthesis and Ideation by: KEWL Studios – Sam Kohlmann, Elliot Bellis, Kaitlin Wiebe, Taylor Legere

Developing the vision

Ecosystem service analysis

Concept development

Phase 1

 

Density analysis

Exploring circulation – THE KITE

Concept 1: THE TRIDGE

Developing the TRIDGE

Presenting the concept

Scale: 1:1500

Enter the grove

Cottonwood slide

Lighting feature – bird edition

Pros of TRIDGE:

• Ecological connectivity, particularly for birds
• Creek addresses drainage
• Indoor/outdoor amenities provide space for all ages
• Seasonal planting interest (winter garden)
• More recreational circulation
• Smaller material footprint

Cons of TRIDGE:

• Drainage and grading complex
• Safety and visibility concerns
• Programs separated
• Addresses primary desire line

Concept 2: THE BRAMP

Developing BRAMP

 

Presenting the concept

 

BRAMP from above

Canopy encroachment

Grove walk from the upper deck

Beelining to the bus, next to the bosque; NW

Skatepark under the BRAMP

Dogpark under BRAMP

Pros of Bramp:

• Responds to circulation
• Bridges towers with park and surrounding (public/private realm blurred)
• Provides year-round seasonal cover and programming
• Creek addresses existing drainage
• Maximizes view sheds
• Long-term structure

Cons of BRAMP:

• Shading of ground limits planting typologies
• Intensive design and higher carbon footprint to build

 

What do you think? Tridge or Bramp or both?

The project site: Columbia Park

Team members: Taylor Legere, Kaitlin Wiebe, Sam Kohlmann, Elliot Bellis

Site context

Brief history

Sources:

• Musqueam Indian Band, 2018
• JLS Entertainment, n.d.
• City of Vancouver, n.d.
• The Jewish Museum & Archives of BC, n.d.
  • 8000 years ago, səw̓q̓ʷeqsən main winter village for Musqueam at mouth of Fraser River
  • 4000 years ago, c̓əsnaʔəm – largest village as delta grew and river mouth moved
  • 1000 years ago, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm – people moved to present day Musqueam community
  • 1926 – golf course built near West 49th, and Cambie
  • After WWII, Jewish community of Vancouver moved from Strathcona to Oak Street and Community Centre was built at corner of 41st and Oak; blocks to the west became Vancouver’s Jewish neighbourhood
  • Bungalows (in Oakridge) built as a dwelling constructed during post WWII boom 
  • 1940s – Construction of three community facilities along Oak street including orthodox synagogue, conservative synagogue, and Jewish day school to serve booming post-war population
  • 1950s – Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) develops land holdings for residential and commercial use which sees a community development boom
  • 1955 – Oakridge shopping centre construction plans announced (first shopping centre built in Vancouver)
  • 1960 – Oakridge mall completed and young families move to neighbourhood; Chinese market gardens important food resource supplying vegetables from international sources throughout Vancouver including near Oakridge mall site 

Community demographics

Source: City of Vancouver, 2016

• 13,030 people live in Oakridge with a change of 4.7% in the past 5 years
• Majority of dwellings are apartments (42%) followed by 38% single-detatched house. The proportion of single-detatched house is more than double the average for the City of Vancouver (15%)
• The predominant languages spoken are Mandarin and Cantonese (48%) compared to only 22% for the City of Vancouver as a whole. Other languages spoken include English (32%), and Punjabi (2%), Korean (2%), Tagalog (1.5%), and Japanese (1.4%)
• Only 27.4% are single-person households which is lower than the overall COV (39%)
• 18% are single parent families which is substantially higher than COV (4%)
• The majority age is between 40-64 (33%). There is a higher aount of people 65 + than in COV (22% compared to 16%).
• Only 39% are rented dwellings, lower than the City’s average of 53%
• The average rent is higher than COV overall ($1,494 compared to $1,296)
• Most buildings were built prior to 1980 (50%)
• Nearly double the average of Vancouver work from home (16% compared to 9%)
• Most people drive to work (58%) which is higher than COV (45%)
• Only 29% of people take transit, 5% walk to work, and 2% bike (compared to 6% bike in COV)

What is the existing research?

Initial observations

What are the multisensory experiences and key attributes?

 

West side looking west – Crows, small birds, construction

Southeast ambulance – crow

Northeast – jackhammer

Southwest – cars construction

Center – Police, jackhammer, crow, big truck

East – Seagull, construction, child

Overlay process and cube diagram

What are the opportunities and constraints?

What are the ecosystem service benefits?

Next steps: use i-Tree Canopy to estimate ecosystem service benefits (now and future)

What is the big challenge?

“With 30,000 new residences proposed along the Cambie Corridor, the current park lacks amenities and capacity to accomodate the growing population. Our big challenge will be to accomodate more visitors while balancing diverse recreation opportunities alongside an ecologically resilient and inclusive community in the face of climate change.”

What are the next steps?

• Developing a vision
• Selecting guiding principles
• Design, design, design!

 

 

History and Context

What did we observe at the site?

Cube Diagram

Opportunities and Constraints

Sections

Section A-A’ NOW

Section A-A’ FUTURE

Section B-B’ NOW

Section B-B’ FUTURE