2024 CSLA Awards to OALA Members
2024 | Small Scale Public Landscapes
Sheffield Park
space2place design inc.
One of the most anticipated new parks in Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain neighbourhood, Sheffield Park goes beyond what is commonly offered in a neighbourhood park of this scale. Through inventive use of the site’s challenging terrain, the park creates a well-defined spatial hierarchy with a rich diversity of experiences for park users of all ages and abilities.
With accessibility being a key driver of the design, the park is organized around seamlessly integrated ramps that create a sense of place at the park’s centre. The terrain is specifically designed to accommodate a wide range of ages, merging interactive, custom-designed, and preassembled elements. Malleable materials and water complement the terrain by promoting inquiry-based learning and fostering inventiveness through play.
Overall, Sheffield Park contributes a significant diversity of programs and spaces to the neighbourhood, while providing access to people of all abilities from the surrounding community.
Bow to Bluff
O2 Planning and Design
Initiated in 2012 as a community-led endeavor, Bow to Bluff has evolved into a movement and identity celebrating the power of place transforming over time. The community drove the project through extensive and innovative engagement methods such as a shop front, sounding boards, community walks and events with an Iron-Sketch. The resulting Bow to Bluff Urban Design Framework (2012) set the stage for fundraising and the City of Calgary to implement the plan updated in 2017.
Three small parks are stitched together along the corridor by complimentary programming, storytelling and a vibrant common design vocabulary drawn from the distinct community vernacular. At the Bow end of the corridor, Bow Landing Park blends gathering spaces with community gardens and a skate park. Harvest Park provides a mid-corridor place with barbeques, harvest tables, ping-pong tables and a bocce court. At the Bluff end, Play Park is equipped with a sandbox, play structure, toy box and mini houses for the young families of the community.
Sheguiandah First Nation Community Court
ERA ARCHITECTS & EMILY KEWAGESHIG
The Sheguiandah First Nation Community Court is a groundbreaking community-led project situated at the heart of the Sheguiandah First Nation on Manitoulin Island (Mnidoo Mnising). As the project’s landscape architect, ERA Architects collaborated with Anishnaabe artist Emily Kewageshing in revitalizing an existing deteriorated sports court into a dynamic place with basketball, skateboarding, landscape-integrated seating, a fire pit zone, lighting, and new native plantings. The project was a partnership between Sheguiandah First Nation, NBA Canada, Toronto Raptors, MLSE Foundation, Ellis Don, and key project advisor United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising. The impact of the court has been transformative, giving Sheguiandah First Nation a dynamic place to play, gather, garden and exercise at the heart of their community.
