Decoding Nature + Urban Species

The Urban Strategy of Decoding Nature
-In addition to a cold winter climate, this historically important site of Portage and Main has always been climatically violent due to the wind tunnels and shadow formations caused by the high-rise structures. Our design is therefore an inversed, positive form based on our readings of the negative effects upon the site. It is a decoding of negative natural effects to create positive urban effects through design.

Intensified Urbanity / Wild City
-Our proposal intensifies the public / private programmatic mix, integrating site uses for year round and all day activities. The underground spaces are opened up to the sky, creating bright interior spaces.

Unified Landscape
-The landscape strategy is one that can grow and mutate continually based on local climatic factors. Using regional materials, integrating water features and local vegetation, the landscape is viewed as a dynamic prairie ecology that can sustainably replace the concrete landscape of the existing urban core.

Architectural Devices
-The Underground entry structures serve to fuse all 3 levels of the city. They unify the site's verticality, and act as doors to the urban junction. Each of the entries are sited to maximize urban visibility. They propose further to continue the underground network across multiple local streets while maintaining direct links to the ground level.