Multi-use park chosen for Nepean Point makeover
By Tiffany Edwards
Having chosen a winning design for the redevelopment of Nepean Point — one of downtown Ottawa’s most prominent pieces of land — the National Capital Commission has made clear its intention to create a multi-use park behind the National Gallery.
With a view of Parliament, the Ottawa River and the Canadian Museum of History, Nepean Point is not only a key destination, but also carries significant history in the capital, said the NCC.
The federal agency, which controls virtually all of the Ottawa River shoreline in the central part of Ottawa-Gatineau, said the redesign will result in a 21st-century park where visitors and residents can come together to enjoy the view.
Accessibility from all areas, an art walk, an amphitheatre, a fire pit and a new bridge connecting Nepean Point and Major’s Hill Park over St. Patrick Street are a few of the features included in the design.
Developed for Canada’s Centennial in 1967, Nepean Point’s perimeter fence and Astrolabe Theatre need major repairs and no longer meet universal accessibility standards, said the NCC.
The NCC has allocated $6.7 million for the first phase of landscaping at the 2.5-hectare site between 2019 and 2021.
After 11 months of competition starting with 29 teams later shortlisted to four, the Rosenberg team’s “Big River Landscape” concept was chosen by a jury of five experts in mid-November.
The winning team is made up of Toronto-based Janet Rosenberg Studio and Patkau Architects from Vancouver. Rosenberg called it “the perfect marriage of bringing Canada together and certainly with some strong history of First Nations.”
Rosenberg said the design team hopes to focus on inclusivity with a “whispering point” where people can enjoy the vast river view and connect with the Indigenous history.
Their design received more than 60 per cent of support from the public, Rosenberg said.
“Our (design) was a very soft and gentle scheme, and what was there had a real meaning to it and to get that support, to be able to go forward with turning it into a very meaningful site . . .
“It’s the story of everybody coming together in our country that makes us strong and stand out, because it represents the values of what Canadians are about and (we hope) that this park with do that as well,” Rosenberg added.
With the art gallery being a part of the redevelopment, Rosenberg said the team wanted to create the art walk loop so that visitors can really experience that magnificent building, as well.
NGC director and CEO Marc Mayer, one of the members of the jury that selected the Rosenberg submission, said he is very happy with the plan to transform the land around the gallery.