Community Connections 2022 Updates

CommunityConnections

Over the last year, FBM staff have endeavored to connect the skills we have as designers and planners to broader groups and community partners. We call these initiatives Community Connections. This newsletter highlights the work brought forward by various individuals in the office who felt their project needed extra insight, a collaborative design approach, or simply a platform to share the work being done.

Contents

Gottingen Street Planter Bench

Gottingen Street Planter Bench

The street planters along Halifax’s vibrant Gottingen Street are undergoing a renaissance thanks to a place-making and community partnership initiative.

FBM and RadStorm, an art collective located on Gottingen Street, partnered to design simple, elegant slat seating that supports formal and informal activities around the collective’s headquarters. Investigations of the daily rhythms of the sidewalk informed an approach to the planters’ updated design. Accessible seats and tables facilitate engagement between artists and the public year-round. The wood’s special notched details elevate the design and screen print designs by InkStorm Screen Printing Collective (part of RadStorm). The designs portray the people, space and instruments which shape RadStorm while the layering of the images represents people and art coexisting within the space. The bench serves to bringing the community’s stories to the built environment.

The collaboration is funded by the North End Business Association (NEBA), the Nova Scotia Business and Labour Economic Coalition and Develop Nova Scotia.

Project Credits

FBM

1. The bench on Gottigen street as seen in front of RadStorm.

2. Demonstrating how the bench sits on top of the existing planter beds along Gottigen street.

3. Details of the wood construction and screen-printing.

4. Sample screen-print designs provided by RadStorm.

RadStorm David Champion Megan Hulan Hannah Wood Bernadette Hamilton-Reid Bob Tremayne

Photography Julian Parkinson

Saint John City Market Strategic Plan

Saint John City Market Strategic Plan

The Saint John City Market is an iconic and historic building in Uptown Saint John which is owned and operated by the City of Saint John (NB). To support the renewed prosperity of the market, FBM and Quay North Developments are preparing a City Market Strategic Plan. The Plan will guide market operations, layout and communications over the next ten years.

A foundational piece of the Strategic Plan was an equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility review of the City Market building and its context. FBM’s Planning team met with the Community Connections Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) group in January 2022 to discuss best practices for performing this type of review. The EDIA group created a set of questions based on Rick Hansen accessibility criteria and their own expertise which covered EDIA in physical spaces, market operations and engagement practices. The Planning team used the guide during onsite fieldwork to perform a high-level assessment of the City Market interior and exterior spaces.

Following the fieldwork, the Planning team created a Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to synthesize the site observations. The SWOT highlighted how some features (such as washrooms) simultaneously had both strengths (e.g. accessible stalls) and weaknesses (e.g. no universal washrooms). Other observations that shaped the Planning Team’s directions and recommendations were the spatial inadequacies of the existing 3 aisle circulatory floor plan, which over the years became narrower and less accessible for those with mobility aids. The Planning team further refined the SWOT with feedback from the project Steering Committee and the City’s Ability Advisory Committee. As of November 2022, the project team is in the process of developing recommendations which aim to improve the accessibility of market goods and services to stimulate greater market appeal to all and resulting positive economic and social impact for the city and region.

Project Credits

FBM

Project Team: Kieron Hunt Brianna Maxwell David Paterson

Quay North Urban Development

EDIA Report: Jacob Ragetli Stavros Kondeas

Cassie Kent

Greg Fry

Taylor Mathiesen 1. Inside the Saint John City Market 2. Draft Goal Statements for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility in the Market.

Nikki Beauchamp

Based on stakeholder and advisory committee input, a number of key goals, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities were revealed, which are outlined in the table below. Thise not intended to be a comprehensive list of ideas, but rather a starting point.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Goal Statements:

Openness to All (Culture, language, identity and income): Establish the market as a diverse, lively and inclusive space for all.

Amenities in the market: Enable people to meet their basic needs safely, comfortably and predictably.

Mobility and Wayfinding: Enable people to move easily and predictably through the space with few barriers.

Celebration of multiculturalism: Food, Flags, Events

Community notice boards

Public seating

Public washrooms

Year-round Inside Connection with pedway and elevator Sense of arrival

Connection to transit

Automatic door openers

Clear lines of sight

Linear organization means the market can be mentally mapped

Red benches offer high visual contrast

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Limited support for non-English speakers

Few activities or spaces for kids / families

High schoolers experience being "rushed along"

Sense of surveillance

Lack of affordable food options for low-income population

30 minute time limit for seating

Washrooms lack gender-neutral, family, universal access design

Washroom quantity, cleanliness, perceptions around safety and drug use

Few places to sit/rest within the main Market hall

Waste recepticles are low constrast, and in unpredictable locations

Uneven, sloped and irregular surfaces in and around the Market

Narrow aisles and items encroaching on pathways

Some vendors are not accessible to people with physical or visual impairments

Some signage/menus challenging to read

Sheer amount of visual information makes navigation challenging

Public Art, Events, Storytelling or Spaces celebrating community diversity

An incubator or social enterprise approach for emerging businesses

Providing food security efforts in partnership with vendors and agencies

Ambassador or help-desk for market navigation and visitor support

Introduce additional seating; install resting areas for bench vendors and shoppers

Additional/improved washrooms inside or near the City Market

Standardized waste recepticles; provide microwave, water fountain

Better differentiating of space (e.g. floor markers) for movement vs. shopping

Provide support/knowledge for accessibility when vendors update stall design

Symbology or high-contrast colour to identify destinations or different vendor types

Explore options for sensory-friendly shopping experience

Present vendor offerings in centralized and standard way (may include web-based)

Assistive technology to improve communication

Free Lab: Research / Design / Build

Free Lab: Research / Design / Build

Hope Blooms engages with youth to become change agents within their North End community in Halifax. It operates as a social enterprise to improve food security, educate, foster social inclusion, and disrupt poverty. Located adjacent to an abandoned school this once derelict part of the city now serves as a productive and public park that generates approximately 4000 pounds of fresh produce every year.

Over a two-week period, community youth, architecture students, urban farmers, and FBM designers explored what a participatory process can mean, in sessions called Design Discussions. A central goal was to exchange skills, knowledge, and experiences among everyone involved.

Rather than letting program and budget lead the process, these projects were developed by studying context and having conversations about Hope Blooms’ specific needs and history. The Design Discussions were held at both the site and the university – breaking down barriers between the school, the profession of architecture, and those who carry specific knowledge and insights about the culture and the needs of a place.

The following projects emerged:

A. The market stalls are unitized, self-contained, and easily moved. A feature of the stalls is their flexibility and potential for expressing the unique character and identity of each vendor.

B. The stage is located in an under-utilized portion of the site where the topography slopes towards the buildings creating a natural amphitheater and a platform for creative expression.

C. The meeting space is located in between the original garden at Hope Blooms and the newly expanded garden. The design is an inhabited art piece which tells the story of those who have contributed to Hope Blooms while serving as a place for rest and conversation.

Project Credits

FBM

Susan Fitzgerald

Stavros Kondeas

Rin Milos

Amber Kilborn

Alejandro Adriazola

Jacob Ragetli

Julie Leung

Hope Blooms

Jessie Jollymore

School of Architecture

Sam Arsenault

Garry Bishop

Becky Brown

Janson Chan

Emma Gagnon

Ben Johnston

Sarah London

Jamie McCullock

Tai NguyenHa

Chris Suh

1. Overview of the designs on the existing Hope Blooms site.

2. Design Discussion 01: Hope Blooms, FBM, and architecture students came together to share stories and collaborate on design ideas for the site.

Kolade Boboye, Taylor Macdonald, Raphaelle Willems

Natasha Jollymore

Makye Clayton

Veronica Gutierrez

Cody Gaulton

Venice Biennale: Architects Against Housing Alienation

Venice Biennale: Architects Against Housing Alienation

Public Assets for Housing as a Public Good

According to the new affordable housing supply report from the CMHC, Nova Scotia will need to build 50,000 new units by 2030 to keep up with demand (CHMC, 2022). Halifax Regional Municipality and the province of Nova Scotia have identified surplus properties for the development of housing. Advocacy groups are working together to identify surplus municipal, provincial, and federal owned properties which could be used for housing (an example being This Should be Housing, 2022). The combined work of local government and advocacy groups has garnered momentum around the topic of surplus land being used for affordable housing. This creative solution offers the possibility for public, permanent, beautiful, and sustainable housing to be provided by the non-profit sector for lowerincome individuals and families.

However, all housing is not equal. A mixed-income and mixeduse strategy is important to address the diverse needs of vulnerable groups while creating housing solutions which achieve positive social, economic, and health outcomes.

AAHA! Atlantic’s advocate, architect, and activist are working together to mobilize community groups and all levels of government to create a solution that serves everyone.

We challenge all levels of government to recognize housing as a public good and to re-dedicate public assets to the development of affordable housing that is not for sale - not now and not in the future.

We ask the federal government, the Province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality to make all publicly owned properties that are unused and/or vacant in the HRM available to the non-profit sector for the development of affordable housing and complementary commercial and community uses.

1. Design strategy for transforming surplus public assets into a mosaic communities.

2. Design proposal in context. The Gerald B. Gray Memorial Arena was built in 1975 and contains a former ice rink. The building is costly to maintain and may need to be demolished to make way for new land uses. Although the site is currently zoned P (Park), it may be possible to change the zoning to permit new program, such as housing and community uses. Online surveys and on-site events were organized to get diverse community voices and comments. Residents brought the importance of social dialogue and inclusion during the public consultation stage.

Project Credits

FBM

Project Team: Susan Fitzgerald Cassie Kent Rita Wang Stavros Kondeas Lizzie Krnjevic

Navigator Street Outreach Program

Affordable

Eric Jonsson

Housing Association of Nova Scotia Claudia Jahn Adriane Salah

Understanding City Context Infilling Missing Content

Redefining Public Architecture

Research Grants Research Grants

1. Grant 01 - The Hidden Social Dimension of Infrastructure

This project involves studying built environments associated with of food, water, energy, and waste. These spaces are typically thought of as technical artifacts—only recognized as important for the services and commodities they produce— rather than their social equity.

The Hidden Social Dimension of Infrastructure aims to uncover qualities of infrastructural spaces that enable societal, cultural, ecological, and technical exchange. It asks if infrastructures can foster a culture of care for the resources that make up these systems as well as the communities in which they are located.

2. Grant 02 - Quality in Canada’s Built Environment

Built environments have the profound capacity to contribute to the social value of communities. Many years after engaging with architecture the effects—both positive and negative—are felt.

Our team will investigate a series of built case studies across Nova Scotia (and possibly beyond) and ask how they foster quality and belonging. To do this we will study a building type that is vital to a sense of inclusion within the community—the school.

The research mobilizes Henri Lefebvre’s work on space to consider both the quantitative and the qualitative aspects of how the built environments impact everyday life. The research understands that space is not a neutral or passive backdrop but rather has the profound potential to influence societal experiences (Lefebvre 1968; Harvey 2012, 2003).

1.

Case Study 02: North Grove

The site can be thought of as being composed of overlapping rhythms of activities and thus it becomes possible to uncover relationships between different actors. These actors might be people, physical objects, products, processes, assemblages of power, or ecologies.

2. Case Study 02: North Grove

Map of study region showing a variety of programs centered around wellbeing and North Grove.

3. Case Study 02: North Grove

Image of the community plots in the garden.

4. Case Study 01: Hope Blooms

The Activity Calendars organize the study’s observation of specific activities into trends based on month, day of the week, and hour of the day. This analysis demonstrates what is happening on the site and when it is happening. In addition to this, these drawings use silhouettes of people from photographs to start a conversation about who is using the site.

Project Credits

The Hidden Social Dimension of Architecture

Dalhousie University: Susan Fitzgerald Stavros Kondeas Rita Wang Lizzie Krnjevic

Concordia University: Carmela Cucuzzella Golriz Farzamfar Mark Filipowitz Fatemeh Mehrzad

Quality in Canada’s Built Environment

Dalhousie University: Susan Fitzgerald Michael Putman Brian Lilley Derek Reilly

Martha Radice

City of Halifax: Leah Perrin

Public Works Nova Scotia: Darrell MacDonald

Zuppa Theatre: Alex McLean

Thank You!

Drop into the Hollis Boardroom on December 7th between 12-1pm to celebrate our progress this year, enjoy some treats, and brainstorm initiatives for 2023. We look forward to seeing you there!

If you have any questions in the meantime, reach out to Stavros or Brianna.

CommunityConnections CommunityConnections