November 17, 2009
(Calgary, Alberta) – And then there were three. The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and its 10 member advisory committee today announced the three design submissions selected to move forward to the next stage of the competition for the new St. Patrick’s Island pedestrian bridge in East Village. The bridge will link St. Patrick’s Island with East Village to the south and the Bow River pathway system to the north. It will provide improved linkages to many different nearby communities including East Village, Inglewood and Bridgeland, and when combined with the improved pedestrian and cyclist connectivity of the Fourth Street Underpass, will play an important role in improving sustainable transportation and recreational linkages throughout the east end of downtown and the Beltline.
The call for preliminary concepts attracted international attention. The finalists were chosen from 33 submissions received from around the world, and displayed a wide variety of ideas and concepts for consideration. The finalists are:
The advisory committee is comprised of community residents from East Village, Inglewood and Bridgeland, Calgary business leaders, architects, engineers and CMLC management. The group found the six-week process of determining a shortlist for CMLC’s Board of Directors quite engaging and challenging. Over 2000, public comments solicited through a website blog and three open house events, played an important role in informing the committee’s recommendation.
“It was a tough decision because each submission was compelling in its own way,” said Chris Ollenberger, CMLC President and CEO. “The three finalists were chosen because they’re respectful, elegant and functional, and offer different attributes for consideration. The advisory committee agreed that the bridge should be simple and elegant, and that the scale of the structure, in relation to the site and its surroundings, be complimentary and not be overwhelming. Public commentary also supported this direction and we believe that we have three strong, feasible concepts to move forward with.”
The committee was helped in its decision by Stantec Consulting Ltd. The firm produced a technical overview for each submission -33 in total- to compare every concept against the criteria described in the ‘Request for Submission’ document released in mid August. The next step in the selection process requires each team to advance its concept to the next level by January 29, 2010. In recognition of the three finalists making it to this stage, CMLC will pay each finalist a stipend of $50,000 upon submission of their advanced concepts.
“Producing detailed designs from the concepts, with support drawings and models requires time, money and the focused attention of a team of engineers, architects and designers,” said Ollenberger. “We felt it was important and necessary to provide a modest stipend to provide some assistance to the three finalists.”
CMLC has asked the advisory committee to continue to provide assistance through the next stage of the design competition and to make a final recommendation to the company’s Board of Directors in the first quarter of 2010 upon receiving the advanced works by the finalists. Upon receipt and initial review of the work from the finalists, CMLC will host a public presentation by each of the finalists so that Calgarians can hear firsthand the inspiration behind each submission. Subsequently, the teams will then individually meet with the advisory committee for a detailed presentation of their submissions.
“We are very excited by the possibilities that each of the three final concepts presents for the potential of St. Patrick’s Island as a key park space for all Calgarians,” said Ollenberger. “The debate amongst the advisory committee was intense and interesting. We believe that the time has been well spent, and the advisory committee is looking forward to the evolution of the three concepts. Starting today, we invite the public to comment on the three finalists through the CMLC website”.
