Ottawa police have commissioned Carleton industrial design students to design a new unfurling system that will consistently and respectfully display flags and banners at police headquarters on Elgin Street.
The Ottawa police flag and banner program allows cultural and religious groups, such as the Sikh, who will be hanging a saffron, triangular shaped flag – the Nishan Sahib – for Baisakhi on April 16, to temporarily hang their flag or banner in the foyer of the police station.
The flag and banner program aims to raise awareness of cultural or religious events.
Currently, they use curtain rods, twine, and fishing line to hang and unfurl flags and banners of various sizes, typically from the second floor balcony.
Groups usually choose to have a ceremony at the police station, as well.
Zoye Coburn, who works in the diversity and race relations section for the Ottawa police, says the flag and banner program has surged in popularity since it was first introduced in 2006.
She says they want a more standardized unfurling system to show respect for various cultures and religions.
“There wasn’t any consistency on having the flags displayed,” says Coburn. “We wanted, as well, (for them) to be displayed in a professional manner, consistent with the building itself.”
Carleton industrial design students have divided into groups of four, which will each propose two unfurling concepts.
“I think the biggest aspect is the whole ceremony part of it,” says Laura Van Staveren, an industrial design student.
Van Staveren says sometimes at ceremonies, flowers or confetti are rolled in the flags and banners.
The hardest part, she says, is designing a mechanism that is functional and aesthetically pleasing in the space.
Industrial design student Emma Miskew says the police want a design that will allow them to unfurl vertically hung flags or horizontally hung banners while remaining on ground level.
A smooth and easy-to-use unfurling system will make the ceremonies classier, she says. They must also be cost-effective.
Coburn says the winning design will be chosen by a selection committee consisting of a building engineer, a member of the diversity and race relations section and an Ottawa police executive office member.
Roy Tubman, a police facility supervisor for the city of Ottawa, says the force is looking for something universal and simple.
“We’re looking for something which is portable, something that can be used with repeatability,” he adds.
Coburn says, ideally, they would like to have the unfurling system before the number of upcoming events in the summer.