Great communities are made up of great places. These places offer a diverse combination of things to do through high quality, abundant, and well connected systems of publicly accessible open spaces. An examination of the Queen Street statistics and demographics suggests a desire to implement the open space as not just a 15% requirement, but as an absolute necessity in the structuring of the block.
The strategy I selected is entitled SHIFT which investigates creating multiple levels of connected open spaces. An architectural topography generated through the multiple levels can create dynamic open spaces that are further articulated though the architectural arrangement at grade and above. This notion of above/below allows the person to participate in the space, while simultaneously spectating in the adjacent spaces, whether they exist above or below them.
This concept is implemented in the formal and ideological design of the Queen Street site. Formally, two bars run parallel to Queen and Richmond Street. One of the bars is shifted above the heritage building, framing the building but also creating a visual representation of the concept, as one is aware that activities occur above, as they exist below. This idea is further reflected in the architecture above the bar, which appear to float, alleviating the massive quality of the dense towers. Similarly, shifting the floor plates creates a relationship between each floor.
The plaza is split along the central heritage building plane. This split implements a change in height in the space, which allows for the continuation and permeation of the retail space into the centre of the block, and at multiple levels. Similarly, in plan, the park space across Richmond Street is reflected in the design of the block. However, the park space exists on the second level in the design, therefore appropriating the park into the block through visual continuity rather than a physical adjacency.
The circulation aims to enhance this concept evident through the staircase and beacons that elevate or submerge into the various levels of the site, including parking. Overall, the proposal presents a dynamic series of connected open spaces, ranging in size, use, and proximity to grade, that produces community vitality through an abundance of uses, whether participating physically or visually.