The landscape design for TELUS Ocean is generated by its strong relationship to the sea and the open space system that connects Beacon Hill’s Finlayson Point to James Bay. Historically, James Bay extended across the TELUS Ocean site, running along the edge of Humboldt and Belleville Streets, and extending almost to Blanshard Street. The bay was a tidal mudflat rich in marine life, and the traditional territory for the Songhees First Nation who called the area “Whosaykum” or ‘Muddy Place’. Along the drier shore, camps housed people tending the camas fields of “Meegan” (Beacon Hill) or gathering rushes for mats in James Bay. The bay was fed by a creek that in the rainy season allowed travel between the Inner Harbour and Ross Bay.
Beacon Hill Park is just south of TELUS Ocean, and was once a vast expanse of Garry Oak Savannah managed for thousands of years by Lekwungen Peoples The Savannah is composed of rolling hills, rocky outcroppings, flowering prairie, and stands of Garry Oak. Flowers such as blue camas, chocolate and white fawn lilies, satin flower, golden paintbrush and lupines attracted over 40 species of endemic butterflies. Camas was cultivated as a root vegetable, amongst other foods.
TELUS Ocean features several key public spaces that will contribute to the open space network that connects Beacon Hill Park and the Waterfront in front of the Empress Hotel:
1. North Plaza - A generous indoor/outdoor lobby and forecourt at the north end of the building that includes a portion of Humboldt
HENRY HUDSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Project Info
A $40 million “much-needed, seismically safe replacement” of Henry Hudson Elementary school in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood was announced by the provincial government.
Construction on the replacement is set to begin in Spring 2022, with the new school expected to be ready for students by September 2024. The school will be built on the existing property, and the current facilities will be demolished after completion.
The new facility will also include a neighbourhood learning centre that will retain Hudson’s current childcare programming. The new rooftop childcare centre will add 69 spaces for children ages four and under, as well as 30 additional spaces of before- and after-school care.
The landscape design vision is to provide a safe, inspiring, and engaging environment for the children and school staffs. Site programming are collaborated between PFS and school staffs at Henry Hudson School as well as Parent Advisory Council (PAC) to ensure all programs are specificed and uniqued and intertwined with school cirriculum - one being to implement indigeneous or native plantings and play elements as a way for students to learn about First Nations knowledge by engaging in a natural way. As a result, the planting palette selected for the projects are native planting such as berry shrubs.
Another program that is requested by the City and is part of the Rainwater Management Plan in Vancouver is the bio-retention/ bioswale at the north-east corner of the site. The bioswale will serve as a collecting water runoff from the proposed parking lot and detent water during heavy rainfall in the fall and winter. Despite its environemental function, some explorative play nurse logs and boulders are carefully placed in the bioswale to provide a sense of “Urban Nature“ to the children.
This playful landscape programmings not only designed on the ground floor, it applies to L3- proposed daycare with Paul Dirks’s custom play structures for pre-school & pre-schooler, infant & toodler. With the protections of architecture fence, landscape along the periphery will soften the hard edge and provide stepping stones path along raise planter to allow children meadering the landscape which is quite unique and very supportive by the school.
School
COAL HARBOUR
2
Project Involvement
Project Info
Coal Harbour’s historical shoreline existed where Hastings Street is today. Hand drawn maps indicate a beach at the foot of Broughton Street, with dense forest beyond. Like Deadman’s Island directly across the water, this zone’s foreshore ecology likely would have consisted of Dune Grass, Beach Pea, Kinnickinick among other plants growing upland between boulders.
Coastal Hemlock Forest Ecology
Sitting within the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone, the edge condition along the shoreline was ecologically diverse, with understory berry producing shrubs and lush fern and perennial massings, and a mossy forest floor in some areas. The Coastal Western Hemlock forest varies on microecology, but consists of Sitka Spruce at the shore’s edge, with Western Red cedar, Western
Hemlock, and Douglas Fir upland. Drier zones held Western White Pine, Shore Pine and Bigleaf Maple while Pacific Dogwood and Vine Maple formed an understory.
Water Cycle
The forest would filter and clean rain water through dense groundcover vegetation before it re-entered Coal Harbour. Wet zones within the forest would include Skunk cabbage, Stinkcurrant, red elderberry, bunchberry, Alaskan Blueberry, horsetail and sedges.
Nurse Logs
Nurse logs- hold a unique role within the forest. The felling of a tree results in sunlight penetration to the forest floor that stimulates diverse groundcovers, shrubs, understory trees and young seedlings. But it also becomes an incredible source of life, by providing habitat, and nurturing new growth.
The Urban Grid
For over 10,000 years, this land has been occupied by Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh Nations, who have used the harbour and surrounding forest for food, medecine and cultural practices. In the 1850s, small areas of forest in Coal Harbour and Stanley Park were cleared by Settlers, and and urban grid was imposed over the organic qualities of topography and ecology. The shore was eventually filled for the expansion of the CPR railroad.
Lumber Industry
Several timber companies operated in Coal Harbour through the late 1800’s. To the west of the project site was the Bidlake Cedar Company with sawmill, steam kilns and lumber sheds that converted local old growth cedar trees into lumber. Log rafts would have floated in the water surrounding the sawmill.
Overall Site Plan
Broughton
PORT-ISM : VANCOUVER HARBOUR
Project Info
Situated along Vancouver waterfront, adjacent to Gastown is a 110-acre cargo port terminal- Centrum Terminal. The port as a site will becoming a newly urban waterfront development. A framework plan sets out for 30-year vision to propose a new model of future living condition for future residents while recognizing the importance of port terminals to the city with a few key design principles.
1. Create and support disaster-resilient community.
2. Establish reasonable housing density.
3. Engage and enhance waterfront edge.
While Vancouver located in a region where is susceptible to environmental impacts such as climate change and sea-level rise and earthquake, using the port terminal, a city-owned land, as a leverage to initiate a sensitive conversation to suggest a landscape-driven waterfront development that specifically tailored for the City of Vancouver. Influenced by well-known water cities such as the Netherland and Rotterdam case studies, a series of housing typologies (both on ground and water), waterfront public greenspaces, and cohesive circulation networks are represented in the project. The ultimate goal for the project seeks to design a waterfront community that can adapt, accommodate and retreat in response to climate change and sea-level rise as well as growing population and relevant urban design issues we are facing today.
STREET PATTERN LAND USE
WATERFRONT EDGE
Site Context
BIRLA KALYAN
Project Involvement
Concept Design Schemetic Design
Project Info
Design Development
The concept of “A City Island” derives from the site sits in between a river and a creek and the woodlots along the waterways which metaphorically set an image of an island. To embrace the natural characteristic of the current site condition, we are inspired to create a modern living environment with the idea of natural escape from the modern trapping.
Our proposal is designed from the following aspects: provide a healthy environment, daily community needs, and ecological and environmental education.Through in-depth thinking of the design and organization of the space, we create an ideal com-munity park with successful function and distinctive characteristic that sets tones of the trendy modern living condition.
This new community consists of a variety of landscape typologies provided at the 6th floor podium, CRZ, Green Zone and KDMC Zone. Typologies includes community gardens, outdoor recreational amenities, swimming pool, kids water play areas, children’s plagrounds, camping and picnicking areas. These diverse program engages families and children of all ages to a variety of outdoor experiences that not only provide learning and play but also well-being to the residents.Space
Currently under construction, but no longer involved
90% Hardscape Working Drawing
Site Transformation Overtime & Character
RED SEA ISLAND
Project Involvement
Schematic Design
Project Info
Following project brief, site study and landscape analysis of the project area oopers Hill reviewed Masterplan prepared by OBMI (dated 25th March 2019) from the Landscape Design perspective. Below listed are observations and design oppor tunities to enhance the overall landscape character and visitors experience:
Landscape Masterplan prepared by Coopers Hill aims to address the above points while developing a contemporary landscape solution that is responsive to Client’s vision (Maldivian character), micro climate, and site context. Proposed design strategies and solutions will help to create ecologically balanced landscapes that will mature around the building complexes thus inherently bringing long term value to the investment.
Site Context
On-going, but no longer involved
Ha Long Bay
Project Involvement
Schematic Design
Project Info
In an unparalleled experience unlike any other, the landscape of InterContinental Ha Long Bay infuses the distinct flavours of Vietnamese culture, while adding a touch of French inspired motifs and colours. A strong familiar sense of place is felt, yet it is enhanced with a refreshing contemporary twist.
Retreat to tranquillity as the vast nature of Ha Long Bay immerses its guests in its scenic beauty. The senses are enlighten but are calm and rested in the luxurious serenity.
