St Vital Park Pavilion at 1x1 architecture inc.

St. Vital Park is one of three regional parks original to the City of Winnipeg. Designed by George Champion, the 115 acre (46 ha) park features a dense riparian forest landscape nestled in a bend of the Red River. It includes both natural and man-made features that provide an environment for a variety of summer and winter activities.

Located in the centre of the park, the new St. Vital Park Pavilion provides a focal point for the park and its visitors. The intent of the Pavilion’s design was to create an iconic, durable, and transparent volume that would maintain a connection with its exterior environment. The adjacent duck pond is home to a significant population of ducks and geese. The pavilion’s graceful roof form was influenced by a bird's wing and body kinematics during takeoff and landing. The building and its overhanging roof were carefully manipulated to nest within the forest canopy so that existing trees were not disturbed.

The building functions as a picnic shelter in the summer and a heated skate change building in the winter, adapting to changing seasonal conditions. With flexibility, accessibility and security as key design parameters, the entire glazing system on the north and south façades was designed to incorporate continuous bi-folding doors. These allow the building to be completely open across a 55 foot (16.5 m) wide span during summer, allowing people and air to move freely in and out of the space. In the winter months this system remains closed, providing a thermally insulated interior space that maintains a strong visual connection to the surrounding landscape.

Client: City of Winnipeg

Type: Recreational

Construction Value: 1.3M

Date of Completion: February 2014

Area: 2,300 sq.ft. (215 s.m.)

Consultant Team

Prime Consultant: 1x1 architecture inc.

Structural: Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd.

Mechanical: Epp Siepman Engineering Inc.

Electrical: Nova 3 Engineering Ltd.

Public Art and Plaza: Plain Projects and Urbanink

Photography: Lisa Stinner-Kun

Filed under Recreational