Valley
07-22-2006, 05:36 PM
Kingston's Market Square redevelopment has recently been unveiled. But its a largely a disappointing and costly exercise in urban design.
Many of the small details do not seem to fit or enhance the original 19th century architecture of City Hall and the square:
# The single largest defining feature on the Square seems to be the Zamboni hut which has appeared as an ill fitting accretion to City Hall
# Street lighting seems to be have been pulled from Disneyland's Main Street in Yesteryear
# Bland concrete bollards at some street corners seem to serve no particular purpose
# Coloured concrete paving stones and granite curbs seem to poorly complement the original limestone grandeur of City Hall
# Benches seem to be non-existent
# There is little in the way of landscaping, for example, a few large trees at the perimeter of the Square would help to give it more definition
Overall it seems that little or no consideration was given to design detailing which directly reflects Kingston's built heritage
See the City of Kingston description of the Market Square development at the following location: http://www.cityofkingston.ca/business/marketsquare/
For an example of how this sensitive urban design issue might have been handled, see the review below on the recently revamped Princes' Gate area at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition eastern enntrance (photos attached):
The new Princes' Gates
This `project of small gestures' is a big hit, writes
Christopher Hume
Toronto Star July 20, 2006
The Princes' Gates haven't moved, but suddenly it's as if they were somewhere different.
With yesterday's unveiling of a $1 million improvement program, the landmark entrance to Exhibition Place is once again part of the city and a space for people, rather than a monument isolated by the automobile.
Above all, however, the project is a testament to the power of the detail — in this case, nothing more than trees, bollards, benches, lighting and paving. One could walk past the new piazza and not notice what's new, only that it is new.
Rarely has Toronto seen a civic transformation scheme as subtle as this. And yet it succeeds, quite beautifully. And the gates themselves, a handsome neo-classical structure opened in 1927, have never looked better.
Designed by Sering + Sistema Duemila of Milan and Toronto's MBTW Group, the square is as much a celebration of the twinning of the two cities as it is an act of urban reclamation.
The driving force was Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone and the Italian Chamber of Commerce, who were intent on bringing a taste of Milanese sophistication to the city.
"The challenge was taking a no man's land and giving it life," says Italian architect Federico Pella. "It cannot be too spectacular; that would have killed the gates. The subject here is the gates. This is a project of small gestures."
The most striking of these gestures are rectangular benches made of black Italian marble and light grey Canadian granite. On each, the name of a province and an image of its provincial tree are engraved. Simple and elegant, durable and practical, they express the essence of the project.
So, too, do the removable stainless steel bollards that serve as vehicular barriers. Though they couldn't be more basic, they are clean, crisp and illustrative of the unrealized (in Toronto) aesthetic potential of even the most unsung elements of the civic infrastructure.
Then there's the paving, arranged in patterns, checkerboard and stripes, of light and dark, with various mottos inscribed; though memorable in its own right, what's most remarkable is that it replaces asphalt, which made the place look more like a parking lot than the grand entrance to the country's oldest exhibition.
The most designerly features are eight X-shaped light fixtures that run along Strachan Ave. Ground lighting will also have a big role in the square. As for Strachan, it has been reduced from four lanes to three, bicycle lanes added and utility poles buried. This helps enormously to lessen the sense that the gates and the piazza are marooned in a sea of car-filled highways.
East of Strachan, trees have been planted. They still have years to go before they become a significant element, but they're in the ground.
It's worth keeping in mind that the area around the new square is quickly being transformed into a highrise neighbourhood. Condo towers are under construction in almost every direction; this means that the Princes' Gates will mark the entrance to the new residential enclave almost as much as they do the Ex.
"I think it's brilliant," said the clearly elated mayor of Toronto, David Miller. "I love it."
As Miller also observed, the scheme could serve as a model for hundreds of similar small-scale projects throughout the city. The point is that it was done *****ly and modestly; indeed, much of the stuff it involves is normally handled by the public works department. In other words, if the city brought the same level of attention to the work it does routinely — building sidewalks, planting trees, installing benches — we could transform Toronto, bit by bit, detail by detail.
At the same time, it should be noted that there are other aspects of the Princes' Gates project — including a row of lighting columns along Lake Shore Blvd. W. and a "viewing hill" east of Strachan — that have yet to be done. The changes unveiled yesterday are the first step in an ambitious strategy aimed at remaking the entire precinct.
As Pantalone said, "We have to beg, borrow and steal to do this kind of thing. I call it well-planned incrementalism."
He refused to be specific about when or even if the second phase would be built. In the poor-little-rich burg that is Toronto, we have money to spend on everything but the city.
Click the thumbnail below for the 2002 design concept for Market Square:
Many of the small details do not seem to fit or enhance the original 19th century architecture of City Hall and the square:
# The single largest defining feature on the Square seems to be the Zamboni hut which has appeared as an ill fitting accretion to City Hall
# Street lighting seems to be have been pulled from Disneyland's Main Street in Yesteryear
# Bland concrete bollards at some street corners seem to serve no particular purpose
# Coloured concrete paving stones and granite curbs seem to poorly complement the original limestone grandeur of City Hall
# Benches seem to be non-existent
# There is little in the way of landscaping, for example, a few large trees at the perimeter of the Square would help to give it more definition
Overall it seems that little or no consideration was given to design detailing which directly reflects Kingston's built heritage
See the City of Kingston description of the Market Square development at the following location: http://www.cityofkingston.ca/business/marketsquare/
For an example of how this sensitive urban design issue might have been handled, see the review below on the recently revamped Princes' Gate area at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition eastern enntrance (photos attached):
The new Princes' Gates
This `project of small gestures' is a big hit, writes
Christopher Hume
Toronto Star July 20, 2006
The Princes' Gates haven't moved, but suddenly it's as if they were somewhere different.
With yesterday's unveiling of a $1 million improvement program, the landmark entrance to Exhibition Place is once again part of the city and a space for people, rather than a monument isolated by the automobile.
Above all, however, the project is a testament to the power of the detail — in this case, nothing more than trees, bollards, benches, lighting and paving. One could walk past the new piazza and not notice what's new, only that it is new.
Rarely has Toronto seen a civic transformation scheme as subtle as this. And yet it succeeds, quite beautifully. And the gates themselves, a handsome neo-classical structure opened in 1927, have never looked better.
Designed by Sering + Sistema Duemila of Milan and Toronto's MBTW Group, the square is as much a celebration of the twinning of the two cities as it is an act of urban reclamation.
The driving force was Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone and the Italian Chamber of Commerce, who were intent on bringing a taste of Milanese sophistication to the city.
"The challenge was taking a no man's land and giving it life," says Italian architect Federico Pella. "It cannot be too spectacular; that would have killed the gates. The subject here is the gates. This is a project of small gestures."
The most striking of these gestures are rectangular benches made of black Italian marble and light grey Canadian granite. On each, the name of a province and an image of its provincial tree are engraved. Simple and elegant, durable and practical, they express the essence of the project.
So, too, do the removable stainless steel bollards that serve as vehicular barriers. Though they couldn't be more basic, they are clean, crisp and illustrative of the unrealized (in Toronto) aesthetic potential of even the most unsung elements of the civic infrastructure.
Then there's the paving, arranged in patterns, checkerboard and stripes, of light and dark, with various mottos inscribed; though memorable in its own right, what's most remarkable is that it replaces asphalt, which made the place look more like a parking lot than the grand entrance to the country's oldest exhibition.
The most designerly features are eight X-shaped light fixtures that run along Strachan Ave. Ground lighting will also have a big role in the square. As for Strachan, it has been reduced from four lanes to three, bicycle lanes added and utility poles buried. This helps enormously to lessen the sense that the gates and the piazza are marooned in a sea of car-filled highways.
East of Strachan, trees have been planted. They still have years to go before they become a significant element, but they're in the ground.
It's worth keeping in mind that the area around the new square is quickly being transformed into a highrise neighbourhood. Condo towers are under construction in almost every direction; this means that the Princes' Gates will mark the entrance to the new residential enclave almost as much as they do the Ex.
"I think it's brilliant," said the clearly elated mayor of Toronto, David Miller. "I love it."
As Miller also observed, the scheme could serve as a model for hundreds of similar small-scale projects throughout the city. The point is that it was done *****ly and modestly; indeed, much of the stuff it involves is normally handled by the public works department. In other words, if the city brought the same level of attention to the work it does routinely — building sidewalks, planting trees, installing benches — we could transform Toronto, bit by bit, detail by detail.
At the same time, it should be noted that there are other aspects of the Princes' Gates project — including a row of lighting columns along Lake Shore Blvd. W. and a "viewing hill" east of Strachan — that have yet to be done. The changes unveiled yesterday are the first step in an ambitious strategy aimed at remaking the entire precinct.
As Pantalone said, "We have to beg, borrow and steal to do this kind of thing. I call it well-planned incrementalism."
He refused to be specific about when or even if the second phase would be built. In the poor-little-rich burg that is Toronto, we have money to spend on everything but the city.
Click the thumbnail below for the 2002 design concept for Market Square: