Meet the team that will redesign Calgary's Olympic Plaza
When the City of Calgary first announced the redevelopment of Olympic Plaza in June, questions loomed large about how the iconic park’s cultural and historic legacy would be maintained through the process.
We may not have the answer to that question just yet, but we do know the team that’ll be responsible for redesigning the cultural landmark.
Toronto-based gh3*, along with Montreal’s CCxA and Belleville Placemaking, will work in partnership with the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), the City of Calgary, and Arts Commons on a full-scale redevelopment of the inner-city landmark.
Arts Commons is also undergoing its own transformation project.
“We are thrilled to see what this world-class design team of landscape architects, architects and placemakers will envision for this space,” CMLC President and CEO Kate Thompson said in a statement.
“Finding the right team with rich experience in public space design and activation of outdoor public spaces coupled with expertise in arts-focused programming was key in supporting the vision of revitalizing this important cultural space.”
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Transforming a legacy
For 35 years, Olympic Plaza has been a place of community and celebration for Calgary. Its stage, which still stands today, was where victorious athletes from the 1988 Winter Olympics received their medals.
It was the gathering spot for numerous Grey Cup celebrations and hosted masses of hockey fans during the Flames’ historic 2004 Stanley Cup run.
Tens of thousands of Calgarians also left their legacy in the urban park through the Olympic brick program during the 1988 Games.
The area it currently stands in — across from City Hall between Eight and Nine avenues southeast — was also home to Calgary’s first Chinatown.
When the transformation project was first announced, CMLC said that it, along with the selected design team, will explore the plaza’s historic elements and significance as a gathering place during the 1988 Games, along with learnings from the city’s 2016 Olympic Plaza Cultural District engagement and CMLC’s 2021 Arts Commons Transformation public and stakeholder engagement.
Those things would all be considered during the transformation project, the organization said.
Funding and construction
The City earmarked a total of $108 million for downtown revitalization through Calgary’s Downtown Strategy, including upgrades to Olympic Plaza and Stephen Avenue in its budget for 2023-26.
$40 million has been allocated to the Olympic Plaza transformation for project initiation, design team procurement, and design development.
Additional funding will be required prior to construction, the City said.
The design team’s first step is to initiate the project’s concept design phase, which will be done in alignment with the Arts Commons Transformation project’s detailed design phase to enable design synergies between the two projects.
Construction timelines will be determined as the project progresses and funding is in place. Once the transformation is complete, Arts Commons will serve as the steward of the revitalized plaza and will manage the programming and ongoing maintenance of the space.
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