When David J. Kressock walks through Diana Krall Plaza, he sees all kinds of potential for the downtown public space that’s named after this city’s most famous musician.
“Right now there is no activity that spills out into the plaza,” Kressock said.
Kressock, a principal architect with Winnipeg-based LM Architectural Group, is just one of a number of architects, urban planners and various other design professionals from across the country who participated in The Festival of Architecture’s design charrette on Friday morning in Nanaimo.
Hosted by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Design Charrette saw six teams of architects, designers and planners examine six specific locations in downtown Nanaimo and how those locations could be improved from a design and functionality perspective.
The six sites examined were the A&B Sound building area, the waterfront, China Steps, Diana Krall Plaza, the former hotel site on Gordon Street, and the alley that allows for pedestrian access from Commercial Street to Skinner Street.
Dave Witty, an urban designer and one of the event organizers, said the design charrette allows multiple perspectives from architects on how an area could improve and become a more significant asset to the city and general public.
For Kressock and his group, they believe Diana Krall Plaza is a space that is heavily under-used, especially given its central location.
He said they focused on ways to make the space more inviting, such as adding mobile street furniture and more texture.
“We are also looking at ways to get activity and function to get people to stay. If people passing by are seeing people having a good time they are going to want to come and join them,” he said. “We are looking at some ideas to add texture to the space and give a reason for people to come into the space. Right now … there is really nothing in here to intrigue you to want to come into it.”
Meanwhile, fellow architects Vince Iameo and Edward Hercun were part of a group examining the A&B Sound building area on Commercial Street, which has tremendous potential to become a vital piece of the downtown core.
“You need housing and other functions to get people to come down and enjoy more urban living,” Hercun said.
The architects said the biggest issue with the area is the traffic pattern, which makes the area unfriendly for pedestrians and also cuts the downtown into two parts.
“Terminal is a loud, noisy, busy, unfinished street and there is nowhere to cross it,” said Iameo.
The Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Association, will use the information to help with its downtown redevelopment planning.
