S A L V A G I N G T H E W A T E R F R O N T : T H E E V O L U T I O N O F A N E X I S T I N G I N F R A S T R U C T U R E O N V A N C O U V E R ' S C E N T R A L W A T E R F R O N T by M I C H A E L A M A R G A R E T J O N E S B. A. Sc. Civ i l Eng ineer ing - Co-op . - M a n a g e m e n t Opt ion. , Univers i ty of O t tawa , 1994 A T H E S I S S U B M I T T E D IN P A R T I A L F U L F I L L M E N T O F T H E R E Q U I R E M E N T S F O R T H E D E G R E E O F M A S T E R O F A R C H I T E C T U R E in T H E F A C U L T Y O F G R A D U A T E S T U D I E S Schoo l o f Arch i tec tu re W e accept th is thesis as conformino. t o t h e reaui red s tandard T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A July 1998 © Michae la Margare t Jones, 1998 In p resen t ing this thesis in part ial fu l f i lment o f t h e requ i rements fo r an advanced degree at t h e Univers i ty o f Brit ish C o l u m b i a , I agree that t h e Library shall make it f reely available f o r re ference and study. I fu r ther agree that permiss ion f o r extensive c o p y i n g o f this thesis f o r scholar ly pu rposes may b e g ran ted by the head o f my d e p a r t m e n t or by his o r her representat ives. It is u n d e r s t o o d that c o p y i n g or pub l i ca t i on o f this thesis f o r f inancial gain shall n o t b e a l l o w e d w i t h o u t m y w r i t t e n permiss ion . D e p a r t m e n t o f ^ R C H l t p L i C r O R . T T The Univers i ty o f Brit ish C o l u m b i a Vancouver , Canada Date 4T DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT The thesis project reconstructs the relations between conflicting social groups through the exchange of goods and ideas in Portside Park. The project also explores how the evolution of an infrastructure is capable of criticizing the original conditions of its construction. This is completed through the design of a series of possible future events such as a pedestrian overpass, and public market in Portside Park on Vancouver's central waterfront. Robert Thayer Jr. and Bill Morrish were influential in exploring how we understand the landscape and the importance of visual ecology which expresses an ecology behind a site. A collective identity can be influenced by such ideas, and if given a place of importance, can also act as forums, adding more than just physical boundaries to the city. The project is sighted on the waterfront, a landscape that currently lies dormant and in a state of transition. The requirements for site selection were that the site must have the potential for an evolution of its own with hidden or unused elements that may be renewed and adapted to enrich the expression of the site. The starting point for the project was to speculate on a series of future events that respond to possible social and political forces affecting the site. The matrix was a method of determining the potential of the site. The moment that is detailed, for the purposes of this project, is the year 2020. At this time, the coil, a pedestrian overpass, responds to the permanence of the city through its 'building as wall' vocabulary. The wall is then transformed into a connection from the city to the park. The market shields the rail and opens up to the park. Here the boundary between the connector and enclosure has been inverted and the visitor is inserted into the market building. The visitor is released into the park in the company of others within a defined realm, shielded by a canopy of trees. The final place for quiet contemplation is the beach which remains open and exposed - the most valued and protected part of the park. Valued not for is aesthetic achievements but for its political and social meaning. The pedestrian embarks on a journey. Leaving the dense built environment of the city, the pedestrian ascends the public walkway over the tracks and gradually enters the transition of the bosk, where the mounds and trees enclose the body yet prepare him for the open water. In conclusion the project attempts to accommodate a place for the individual and the collective, it defines a place for establishing a coexistence. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii Vancouver Central Waterfront Plan iv Site Plan: Street Level.. v Site Plan: Ramp Level. vi Section: Looking West. — vii Axonometric of Site: 1998 viii Axonometrie of Site: 2005 ix Axonometric of Site: 2010 x Axonometrie of Site: 2015 xi Axonomietrie of Site: 2025. ••••xii Axonometric of Site: 2040 xiii Axonometrie of Site: 2045 .x iv Matrix: Part 1. xv Matrix: Part2 xvi Perspective on the Pedestrian Overpassr Looking West ,..xvii Perseetive in the Market: Looking East .xviii Perspective of Market Extension and Bosk: Looking East ,. .xix Site Model: Scale 1: 500r ,...xx Model of the Coil T Overpass r Market and Bosk: Seale-1: 200. ,...xxi Detail Model of the Coil Building: Scale 1: 50 ...xxii iv o o o o o O O O Q O . Q o o o o o o .o -n i o o o o o ,o o i v o O O ' O O O O O o Q ' o o o o o o o o V o o o o o o o o o o o O 0 O 0 O 0 o o- o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o ' o o I O o o , o a a ; o a o | a a a • o o o a a a o o o o o o o a o o o a o o o o o o o o x iv _W0 Millennium nrt» worldwide waterfront i io lcnci and def-r^jrlionot tAtMynttlwr. Eisl-jitic. V'»ntovv«- Port Corporation 0«.>>p»t|on fff L>r, dt rd cvel op < d Vfl+ertrni* 012 f.S-.kr-H'»ll . -I'd -Oil rtoornl i-eotef 1015 PMj>dcm»i;d io*o S«K*ifcw»-«ia| P>rl(« & ^eu-**^oi boJ>| 5 grwnd Market Asv>ci»fien rfitt^ctlOA • rh i r t -e . 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T h e r k l W / ^ s f e r i | ^ i ^ l r f J r i fn e gr^emmenl.io such »n wfcnt- ft»tf* • ftetW»l]iu«lt>&3'i>»*n abolished &id rtflsced 3T nsW eilj ftlstiw.. itVie t r ^ i -Co f i^n+ i^C i r i l rsV iBsbcEn rtpUcrd a Irand hcW. • \rAo'3ljO'Wi-V--o^.*fffl'-in3 vMiAl•3MK«.'f'i«Af>«'k-**',»3«'. . : anoi \ j twiw'S swi'iori- . • • . ". Cwts 'ek i fc fc&vis (Vie 'i^nte*** EsSt-iideCOrr.munilj.Sptt6E*>le&S Th* ont'KiU! f wl^u*ke JeimiUtt l\^ e (owe.'mainland. Al* t l ^ l ' VwiWrA If Coriiidc p«V Bt^Ortgst the rvbkje i?> lorw hlsl«*tHi\ . .player cn I h t t W f t Matrix: Part 2 xvi Perspect ive on Overpass : Look ing W e s t xv i i Perspect ive in Marke t Ex tens ion a n d Bosk Look ing East x ix Sect ional Mode l of Coi l : 1:50