Emilie Lapointe, Centretown News
Newly designed skate chalets on the Rideau Canal have won an international design award. A Centretown architectural firm has gained international recognition for its design of the Rideau Canal skate chalets.
CSV Architects, based on Somerset Street West, won a bronze award from the International Association of Sports and Leisure Facilities and the International Olympic Committee in October.
Fourteen other state-of-the-art designs were awarded in the bronze category, including the Archery Hall and Boxing Club in Tokyo, Japan, and the London Shooting Venue built for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
“As you can imagine, it’s pretty special. It’s an honour,” says Anthony Leaning, principle architect at CSV architects, who went to Cologne, Germany, to accept the award on behalf of the firm.
The International Association of Sports and Leisure Facilities and the International Olympic Committee said in a video presentation shown at the award ceremony that the Rideau Canal skate chalets, “show perfectly that even in sensitive environments it is possible to find solutions that make leisure activities more attracactive.”
The new chalets saw their first season in 2011/2012, replacing the original chalets that had been used since skating on the Rideau Canal began in the 1970s.
The total cost for the new chalets, commissioned by National Capital Commission, was $5.24 million – about $750,000 for each of the seven structures.
The price tag was controversial to some residents at the time it was originally announced.
“The facilities, all universally accessible, were constructed using durable low maintenance materials, reducing medium and long term costs, and able to accommodate the one million visits received each skateway season,” says NCC spokesperson Jasmine Leduc in response to a question about the cost.
Leaning says there were numerous design requirements from the NCC, including barrier free access, environmental and energy efficiency, and size and weight limitations to make the chalets easy to transport to the canal each season.
“It was certainly stricter than you’d get with most projects. But because it’s an important site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they were looking for something that would reflect well on international visitors,” Leaning says.
The design concept for the chalets pays homage to the traditions of the canal as a waterway.
“The idea of the steel curved ribs of the roof, harken back a little bit to boats in a way, as well as the wood slats across the steel ribs on the interior,” Leaning says.
He adds that the design incorporates elements of skating throughout the structure from the the curved brackets supporting benches and the arched handrails along the outside ramps to the swirls on the glass that depict the grooves made by skates on the ice itself.
“The shapes and the way they splay is sort of like a skater moving along the canal,” says Leaning.
The chalet’s design also contributes to the social dynamic of the canal, Leaning says.
“That is perhaps the best explanation for why we chose to make them all glass along the front. If you’re trying to rendezvous with someone, it’s also a lot easier to try and meet up while they wait inside,” he says.
Leaning says the visibility created by the glass façade also contributes to making the space feel safe.
“You create an open, visible world for people and people feel safer,” he says.
Jantine Van Kregten, spokesperson for Ottawa Tourism says the international recognition for the design raises the city’s profile internationally.
“These are the best of the best in what they do around the world so being in that company with Olympic venues and very high profile venues definitely adds to our reputation internationally,” she says.
Van Kregten says many of the travel media she welcomes from around the world come to Ottawa during the skating season.
“I won’t say their entire experience is tied to how nice the chalet is but it definitely adds to the experience of being on the canal when you can put on your skates in a well designed, brightly lit, warm space, rather than huddled on a park bench in the wind,” she says.