by Stephen Brathwaite
I recently attended the first meeting of the Enerdu Design Advisory Committee regarding public input to the architectural design process for the company’s proposed hydroelectric project in Almonte.
The meeting was based on the premise that if the project goes forward, it should be as architecturally interesting and exciting as possible, and that the thoughts of the community are valuable. The committee heard a willingness from Enerdu to listen and consider ideas. A number of concerns regarding scale and massing were expressed, and a lot of ideas were advanced based on examples from around the world.
Some of the ideas we talked about include:
- inclusion of public space and public art
- access to the Riverwalk
- features to facilitate education re renewable energy
- texture and materials
- waterfalls over the building
- greening and landscaping on the building itself
- the exposure of some technical requirements as design or sculptural elements
We talked about exciting architecture as an economic development tool for the Town. This is a separate discussion from the pros and cons of the project as a whole. This is only about how it might look and function aesthetically if/when built.
The Committee is very interested in hearing community ideas on design and architecture for this type of project. If you have constructive suggestions or images to offer, please add them in the comment section below.
(To add an image to a comment, first start typing. A small ‘image’ icon will appear. Click that to select a file (GIF, JPG or PNG) from your computer to add to your comment.)
I have begun to put images on a Pinterest Board that have elements that I think are inspiring. You can have a look by going to http://www.pinterest.com/
If you are serious about having input to any final design, now is the time.