Of
the
thesis
entitled:53
North:Tactical
Infrastructure
in
Edmonton
Abstract:
Edmonton,
Alberta
has
followed
thetypical
North
American
pattern
of
growth,
replicating
the
urban
andarchitectural
designs
established
further
south.
Long,
straight
citystreets
and
a
proliferation
of
voids
within
the
downtown
urbanfabric
arecharacteristic
of
many
American
cities,
but
when
this
condition
is
replicatedin
the
far
north,
the
negative
aspects
of
the
winter
season
are
amplified
asarctic
winds
sweep
through
the
streets
and
open
spaces.
As
urban
designhas
failed
to
account
for
the
winter
conditions,
architecture
hasovercompensated
in
its
response.
Mechanical
climate
control
is
overlyrelied
upon
creating
sharply
delineated
areas
between
over-protection
and
totalexposure,
creatingharsh
transitions
for
the
citizens
as
they
move
throughbuilt
and
unbuilt
environments.
The
resulting
effect
on
society
is
theworsening
of
an
already
negative
perception
of
winter
fostering
a
culture
ofavoidance,
but
as
the
urban
designhas
made
winter
life
more
difficult
thevoids
it
has
produced
can
also
provide
the
spaces
in
which
winter
life
can
beembraced.
For
Edmonton
to
become
a
healthy
“Winter
City”
it
must
attemptnew
approaches
in
urban
andarchitectural
design
to
resolve
both
its
lifelessdowntown
core
and
the
societal
rejection
of
winter.
This
thesis
explores
creating
a
new
design
tool
whereby
the
intrinsicvalues
of
snow
can
be
utilized
to
create
winter
public
spaces
to
temporarilyoccupy
the
urban
void.
A
new
structure
is
proposed
where
City
groups
willact
ascoordinators
sanctioning
land
parcels
for
urban
interventions
using
thesnow
on
each
site
and
that
cleared
by
the
municipal
workers,
sculpted
intobasic
forms.
When
used
in
combination,
the
forms
create
protective,desirable
micro-climates
which
inject
program
and
activity
into
the
formerlyvacant
lots,
introducing
positive
winter
activity
into
the
realm
of
daily
lifein
Edmonton.
The
iterations
in
form
serve
a
dual
purpose
by
acting
as
atesting
grounds,discovering
new
urban
and
architectural
design
strategiesthrough
experimentation
and
observation,
informing
future
designs
within
thecity.
The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor:
RickAndrighetti,University of ݮƵ
CommitteeMembers:
Adrian Blackwell, University of ݮƵ
JaneHutton, University of ݮƵ
External Reader:
HelenaGrdadolnik, WORKSHOP Architecture Inc
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Wednesday
July19,
2017
9:30
AM
BRIDGE
Centre
for
Architecture
+
Design
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.