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Sitting on the Docks of Broadway!

by Aaron Duke + Duncan Bates + Michael Barker

2015 Competition Winner

Sitting on the Docks of Broadway! brings the cottage to Winnipeg for the summer of 2015. The citizens of Winnipeg work too hard and deserve a dock on which to fish, drink beer and suntan! Ok! We can’t bring the fish and the beer might not be allowed, but they can suntan! And they can relax, socialize, perform, eat vendor dogs and enjoy all too short summer months. Set within a field of wheat-like grass, two wooden docks sit beneath the shade of the natural umbrellas which are the Elms that march along Broadway. Sitting invitingly atop the docks are whimsical interpretations of that ubiquitous piece of cottage furniture- the Adriondack chair. These bright coloured seats call out for people to come and relax in Winnipeg’s newest public space.

Cool blue flag poles rise out of the ground like the tall prairie grasses that once encompassed and followed the meandering river-shore. The repetition of polls provides a light yet protective shield from the hot sun that beams down during Winnipeg summers. Cool blue flags fluttering in the wind provides visual interest from a distance and invites wonderers to investigate the site. Once inside the garden, movement of the flags reminds the user of the relieving affects a summer breeze can have upon them. Collecting and organizing each individual’s notion of what cool means to them as well as having their face printed on a flag, demonstrates both the diversity and unity that exists in the city that thrives in the middle of Canada.

A Landscape Never Happens Twice by Balmori Associates Inc.

2015 Competition Winner