FORT YORK VISITOR CENTRE: storied ground
Design Concept:
We embrace the dynamism-of scale, temporality, purpose and experience which has been the most consistent condition of this National Historic Site. Fort York was conceived as a strategic response to the defensive advantages of the site's natural landform and sought to enhance existing topography with earthworks. Our proposal for the Visitor Centre employs-a similar strategy blurs the distinction between landscape and built form to create an engaging ground for discovery of the site's historical panorama of stories. Elucidated in the panels and accompanying docu¬ments are six key thrusts of our proposal.
Landscapes: Reimagining the Site's Terrain of Stories
Encompassing the entire Military Reserve, the design locates the Visitor Centre at the hub of a comprehensive system of reorganized pathways and places that will marry a "trail of history" for visitors with new activity spaces for community use and events. It situates the entry level of the Centre at the former lakeside, adjacent to a paved forecourt organizing access by transit, bus, automobile and bicycle. A band of shale beach and linear ponds reestablishes a perceptual link to the past and provides a distinctive new urban amenity, dramatizing arrival. On the Garrison Creek plateau, primacy of place and presence is given to the horizontal earthworks of the Fort by clearing and then broadening the foreground space of the Common southward over green roofs to the new Centre. Vehicular service to the Fort is integrated into a new pathway network, circumnavigating the Common. Removal of the existing Garrison Road bridge allows its earth-work to be reshaped, along with excavation material from the Centre, to form a gentle upward slope to the Common, providing both an elevated prospect for viewing the Fort and the illusion of greater length when viewed from the Fort. Consolidation and augmentation of the forested north and west edges screens out visual clutter and provides a con¬templative setting for the historic military cemetery. Archaeological discoveries, such as the former Ordnance Yard, are revealed and reinterpreted as places for public archaeology activities.
Earthworks: Retracing the Site's Spirit of Place
The form of the Visitor Centre traces and negotiates three large scale structuring elements - the lake, the Garrison Creek plateau, and the Gardiner Expressway - each of which has defined and then redefined the topographic character of the site. The new Visitor Centre extends from the archaeological zone under the Common into the column field of the Gardiner, following an alignment that recalls the former top of bank of the original shore line. Arrival to the Fort is dramatized by sloped walkways cut through the turf roofs of the Centre and surface of the Common. Based on the form of a shock wave recalling the earth shaking explosion of the Grand Magazine in 1813, the roofs peel up in successive undulations to open the Centre out to the Common. Small square cuts in the turf surface provide windows to archaeological investigations, while large circular cuts provide servicing access to the Gardiner 'bents', as well as day lighting courts for the Centre.
Exhibits: Uncovering Stories Below the Surface
Our concept of Stories Below the Surface is inspired by the reality that much of the Fort's history is buried or remains obscured by change. Although the Threshold Gallery is anticipated to be separately designed by an exhibition designer, it is a fundamental goal of our design to create a dialogue between new elements and existing artifacts in order to conceptually integrate the overall visitor experience. Thus, tectonic materials and forms have been strategically selected to enhance awareness of the phenomenal character of site and heritage elements as well as stimulate tactile engagement of visitors. In addition to conceiving architectural features as integral supports for exhibitry, the design, embraces the fact that Fort York is an active archaeology site and provides a structure to integrate artifacts.
Builtworks: Creating an Immersive Terrain of Experience
Below and above the roof, architectural and landscape elements combine to create an engaging multilevel terrain for interpretation, conviviality and contemplation. The components of orientation, multimedia, gallery, retail, food-service and support areas located on the ground floor are contained by rammed earth retaining walls dug into the disturbed soil adjacent to the archaeological zone and by curving glazed walls opening out to the street. Stacked timber walls in white and charcoal, and Corten steel panels complement the other materials and speak to the straightforwardness of military architecture. Meeting, activity and office areas are organized by a combination of drywall partitioning, timber feature walls and by glazing where they overlook the galleries and exterior space. Two luminous volumes over the Treasury and main entry area will create nighttime pathway lanterns and frame views to the Fort.
Environment: Integrating Systems Seen and Unseen
Our approach to environmental design combines initiatives to maximize performance with recovery of the site's hydrological history. Starting with a well protected and insulated building envelope, rammed earth walls and concrete structure add durability with thermal mass for passive solar harvesting and natural cooling. Subfloor displacement ventilation and radiant heating and cooling maximize environmental control, comfort, air quality, and acoustical quality. Combined with Geo-exchange (ground-source heat pumps), the low operating temperature requirements of the radiant system results in high efficiency and minimization of carbon emissions. In addition to daylighting and providing opportunities for natural ventilation, the glazed drums contain "gravel gardens" for the display of three dimensional exhibits and serve as first treatment for rainwater from the Gardiner road deck. The tumbled shale gravel proposed for the drums and linear Beach along the edge of Fort York Boulevard is inspired by the original pebble beach of the old shoreline. Water for the pond system will be organically treated in a bioswale system with emerging wetland species that will be a feature marking the vehicular entry to the Centre.
Place: Orchestrating Drama with Calibrated Reserve
Our conceptual approach endeavours to achieve three primary goals: make strategic, elegantly simple architectural and landscape interventions that return primacy of place to the site's many wonderful and often subtle or hidden heritage assets; re-imagine the terrain of the Visitor Centre and site as an inspiring meeting place for the stories of generations, past, present, and future; and orchestrate new materials, forms, and spaces in concert with heritage resources to enhance the drama of visitor experience and create a memorable spirit of place, one that is both unique to Toronto and appealing to visitors the world over.
(From competitor's text)
The approach in this proposal was considered to be quite creative in that it was located almost entirely below the Gardiner Expressway. This approach would minimize encroachments on the Fort York Common area. The programme of the Visitor Centre as proposed ‘weaves' through and around the vertical supports of the elevated Expressway, while maintaining open areas for maintenance to the existing structure.
The accessible ‘green roof' resulting from this design strategy would effectively extend the landscaped space of the Common, which would be desirable. While this proposal would minimize the amount of new building visible from the perspective of the historic Fort, some Jury members were more convinced about the views of the new building from the north and east than from Fort York Boulevard, and they questioned the appearance of the ‘public face' from the south.
(From jury report)
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