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Proud spectator seating supplier to the County of Grande Prairie Sportsplex. IMAGES COURTESY PLANT ARCHITECT INC. 504 - 67 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6P 1S2 T: 780-469-7980 F: 780-463-7988 E: simon@globalsportresources.com CROSSEY ENGINEERING LTD. Electrical/Mechanical and Lighting Consultants for the Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization. TEL 416.497.3111 FAX 416.497.7210 WWW.CEL.CA Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization by Leslie C. Smith December 2012 ANNUAL INDUSTRY FEATURE: Green Building Design Book your ad space now: Dan Chapman 604.473.0316 Alexander Sugden 604.473.0358 PROVINCIAL LATHING (2001) LTD. Participants in the County of Grande Prairie Sportsplex Supply & Install: Proud to be the stone work and flooring contractor for the Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization project. 131 Whitmore Road, Unit #15, Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 6E4 www.gallopenicustomflooring.com 44/ OCTOBER 2012 p.44-45Nathan Phillips.indd 44 he is an image for the ages, this timeless beauty. Classically modern, if such a thing can be said to exist, and world famous. The Toronto City Hall, created by a Finnish design team lead by Viljo Revell, made her debut in September, 1965. Instantly, Canada seemed an exciting and vibrant place to be, a sensation that would be con irmed just two years later with the opening of Montreal's Expo 67. Nearly 50 years old now, the City Hall and her vast courtyard of Nathan Phillips Square still look amazing. Age, however, was beginning to tell. Some parts had fallen into disrepair; others were closed off completely. A revitalization process to make her cleaner, greener, more beautiful than ever before, became a municipal priority. The great, grey lady's twin towers currently are being retro itted with new, lightly tinted eco-windows to add to her allure. Regeneration of the Square itself was the subject of an international design competition, won in 2007 by a team led by Toronto's Plant Architect Inc. and Shore Tilbe Irwin+Partners, now Perkins+Will Canada. Chris Pommer, a partner at Plant, spoke recently about his winning bid's theme of ancient Athenian agora meets mid-century Modernism: "Democracy was born in ancient Athens, and that concept was irmly embedded in Revell's original design, which was based on the agora, a place of open public and political exchange." Nathan Phillips Square, enveloped by a U-shape elevated walkway re lective of the classical Greek stoa, or tiered S porch, is now being further surrounded by a forested perimeter, which acts as a green demarcation line between everyday downtown life and this unique gathering place. The Phase One plantings of native species trees, shrubs and other botanicals here was duplicated in the LEED-approved repurposing of the City Hall's podium roof. What was once 35,000 square feet of barren concrete is now "the largest publicly accessible green roof in Toronto, probably in Canada," according to Sheila Glazer, facilities management's manager of strategic policy and projects for the City of Toronto. "It's essentially a new, downtown public park. There's a huge pathway going around the edge of the building's face, you can walk right up and touch it. You can see the Square and the city beyond from a whole new elevation. It's beautiful." Glazer adds that the Square itself, built over the City Hall's huge underground parking garage, could also be considered a green roof, thanks to the new perimeter landscaping, as well as the trees and staggered planters in the repositioned, enlarged and enhanced Peace Garden, now being rebuilt on the quieter west side of the Square, overlooking the Osgoode Hall sculpture garden. As with any renovation project, there were surprises. Compound this with the site's heritage designation, LEED and other code stipulations, plus a work area that had to remain at least partly open to the public at all times – logistically, it's been a big, complicated job. The repurposed podium roof garden Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization 9/11/12 11:48 AM