St. Patrick's Island Park
Calgary
AB
Award Category:
Sustainable Development
Calgary Municipal Land Corporation
St. Patrick’s Island is a reinvigorated 31-acre regional island park in the Bow River just a stone’s throw from East Village in Calgary. In 2010, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) embarked on a master planning process to turn the under-utilized park space into a destination for all Calgarians to enjoy. The $20-million project was guided by a vigorous public engagement program that informed the design of the park. The park opened July 2015 and has seen thousands of visitors a month. New York-based W Architecture and Denver-based Civitas were selected by CMLC as partner landscape design leads.
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Photos extended in courtesy by CMLC
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"The strength of this project is in the degree to which it successfully transformed an abandoned piece of urban fabric with a reinvigorated pedestrian-friendly public realm. Technical expertise is evident in the design and artful integration of floodplain management and habitat restoration. Additional notable features include rejuvenating underused areas of the river, the reuse of materials and the introduction of flood diverting channels. The jury was particularly impressed with outreach and engagement in the development of the design. They saw it as a positive example of how design processes can educate community members about sustainability values and can empower them to take ownership of the long-term stewardship of a natural resource and public amenity."