Victoria Park Re-design

[archited]

Victoria Park could be redesigned to great benefit for this portion of the River Valley. The golf course doesn't have to be reduced to nine holes -- it can remain as 18 holes where fairways are shared but there are two tee-positions and two greens -- each green pin could be marked with different colored flags designating holes 1 to 9 (one color, say blue) and holes 10 to 18 (another color say yellow).
Here is an example of such a course that has some acclaim to world notoriety...

How many double greens does the Old Course at St. Andrews have?

There are 7 double greens, leaving only the 1st, 9th, 17th, and 18th greens as single greens. In the early days the holes were literally the same for the trip out and back. The players would play from different tees but over the same fairways to the same hole in the ground. Eventually, as...

www.whywelovegolf.com

In this scheme a player would proceed through holes 1 to 9 in sequence and then start on 10 sharing the same fairway as 1 except from a different tee position and aiming for a different pin on a separate green. Repeat for 11 through 18.
For Victoria Park, for one half of the park area, engage a competition invite between the top 5 golf course designers to design the course within certain parameters -- club house to be located adjacent to the Royal Glenora Club facilities; reuse of trees to the greatest extent possible; maximum creativity in the layout and difficulty of course. The invited course architects could include Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw -- https://www.cooreandcrenshaw.com , Tom Doak -- https://www.doakgolf.com , Tom Fazio -- https://www.faziodesign.com , David Kidd http://dmkgolfdesign.com/about/david-mclay-kidd/ , and Jack Nicklaus -- https://www.nicklaus.com . The clubhouse facilities could be separately competed for by Gene Dub -- https://dubarchitects.ca , Douglas Cardinal -- https://www.djcarchitect.com , Thomas Heatherwick -- http://www.heatherwick.com , GEC Architecture -- https://gecarchitecture.com , and Andrew Bromberg -- https://www.andrewbromberg.com .

 

[Gronk!]

I'll just repost & modify what I already mentioned in the Miscellaneous Park thread.

I would shutdown the Victoria Golf Course and convert it to park space. How many golf courses does the river valley have anyway? I could almost swear there's more golf courses than park space.

The park should have the following items:
- fountains
- benches and planters (shut up, archited )
- picnic areas
- bike paths
- washrooms
- off-leash dog park
- basketball courts
- volleyball courts
- tennis courts
- skateboard park
- retain the cricket pitch
- retain the Greenhouse restaurant
- 1 or 2 more eateries including a coffee bistro
- some retail including a bike shop and an e-scooter shop
- funicular from Grant Notley Park
- room for some food trucks

This park could host festivals (including the Heritage festival), concerts and all that, and could make a good viewing spot for the Canada Day fireworks.

 

[archited]

I think you will find @gronk that the break-up of Victoria Park satisfies all of your vision. It is a HUGE land area and I will move on to provide descriptions area by area to justify the apportionment of space to various functions. I agree with your overview that this land in central Edmonton could be more useful to the City population that just a golf course.

 

[archited]

Edmonton Aquarium -- if on the previous post map you compare the area allotted to the Aquarium to the area of the entire Royal Glenora Club you will have to come to the conclusion that it is a massive project. The Aquarium would define three different biomes -- 1. the Arctic Ocean, 2. Alberta Rivers and Streams, and 3. Alberta Lakes, ponds and sloughs.
Here are some of the features that I envision:
- a large grotto that is carved out of the hillside under Victoria Park Road -- this grotto would feature a massive Arctic Ocean Aquarium that features species endemic to that region; larger species such as Narwhals, shark species and whale species would not be represented in reality but using XR projection techniques on the back of Aquariums would make them appear as though they were truly in the tank -- the film would be on a one-hour loop and would be alternated from time to time to keep the illusion fresh and cogent.
- waterfalls that spill over from the north side of Victoria Park road and flow down the hillside to exterior ponds and fountains mixed with rock outcroppings and accessible vista-viewpoints shrouding the Aquarium entrance.
- lakes and rivers represented in terms of internal aquariums that are also expressed externally via glass walkways where one can look down into the Aquarium from the outside.
- small paludariums that pick up on Alberta species of frogs, toads, and reptiles in highly planted and creatively designed live habitats.
- waterfowl exhibits that include arctic species such as Puffins and northern lake species such as loons.
- a science centre for research and experimentation.
- a gift shop that relates to the specific nature of the Aquarium
- a theatre for both entertainment and education
- meeting rooms
- public restrooms and administration areas
- a subterranean automated parking structure to service the entire Victoria Park renovated plan -- perhaps 3,000 cars
- bus unloading areas

 

[archited]

Off-leash Dog Park -- approximately 4 acres (1.62 hectares) the area could be creatively fenced so that dogs are contained without being "caged". Separate areas could be developed for small dogs, medium-sized dogs and large dogs. Other features could include:
- natural pond areas -- splashing and drinking areas; fountains
- Frisbee and ball tossing areas for dog/human interaction
- dog service area for grooming, veterinarian treatment clinic, etc.
- cafe area for human relaxation while dogs romp
- sand pits for digging-it fun
- dog training area (canine school for obedience and liberal indoctrination)
- viewing stands for dog performance areas
- equipment "shack" for dog performance equipment
- dog retail store

 

[BASE]

Appreciate the well thought out and unique proposal as always @archited

My initial thought (and this is coming from a golfer) is that if we wanted to see a change like this happen as a city, it should have been done by not renewing the lease for the Mayfair. I say this because Victoria is one of the few affordable public golf courses in the city, has a long history, and is very busy.

I do appreciate that you have proposed a creative way to double use each hole twice and I would be very interested to see how this would be handled by your proposed course designers. Some immediate concerns that come to mind for me are:

• Space available. Vic is already a fairly short and tight course to begin with. I wonder what expanded greens and two different tee locations would do. I do see the baseball field behind Royal Glenora and the skating oval have been included in the course area so maybe that does it.
• What does sharing these holes do for the rate of play? A game of golf is already quite a time commitment I wonder how things would stack up out there sharing holes.
• Losing the driving range which is quite well used.

I do appreciate the creative ideas, but I think there are a lot of areas that are unused, underused, and undeveloped that I see as I scroll along my google satellite view along the river valley.

 

[archited]

Teen-town -- this is imagined to be a centre with a unique combination of indoor and outdoor activities that support team-building, hobby introduction, and socialization implementation. Following the form of one of the previous golf legs and incorporating a glass structure that has moveable roof sections to allow nature experience on warm calm days, there would be indoor games that include table-tennis, air-hockey, foosball, bumper-pool, shuffleboard etc. -- games that are easily contained in rooms. Other features could include:
- a linear natural pool with a man-made current imitating the meandering form of a rivulet (pumps, reservoirs, natural plant filtration)
- a reading/music listening "quiet room" where teens can "rent" high quality stereo head-sets to request music from a console DJ across a broad spectrum of music genres and digital librairies where books can be viewed on "loaner" tablets, again, spanning a broad range of literary genres (including graphic novels, poetry, anime, and more current art forms).
- a theatre that is programmed to offer live performance and film in the same setting, encouraging participation in live performance troupes and film creation projects.
- music tutor rooms where teens are paired with volunteer instructors on a wide range of instruments (an instrument library where students can borrow instruments under strict conditions, benefitting those who are unable to afford a purchase).
- a "nature's kitchen" where students can build terrariums, vivariums, paludariums, aquariums and bonzai scenes with the use of self-propagated plant materials, 3-d printing cabinets, and CNC cutting machines.
- a "mother's kitchen" where students can learn cooking and baking techniques from master chefs, outfitted with all manner of appliances, large and small
- a self-defense art gym with professional trainers on staff
- eateries that include a malt-shop bar, a diner, and a "beach-side" grill.
- teen counseling rooms with professionals on call.
- on-staff monitors and "bouncers".
- restroom facilities
- management offices
other suggestions?

 

[archited]

@BASE I appreciate your comments and they are all valid. Back in the late '70s of the last century (oh my tired bones) my company Powell-Backburn Design Ltd. was commissioned to completely overhaul the Derrick Golf and Winter Club in southwest Edmonton. It was there that I ran into some professional help with golf-course design. I envision the remake of the Victoria Park course to engage the best of the best in terms of Golf-course architects and while it would be "compact" it could also be very challenging whereby the landscape could be manipulated to include rivulets, waterfalls, sand dunes (as well as traps), pedestrian bridges, and other landscape features to fuse functional golf with an intense botanical experience. From a driving range perspective -- there are now virtual driving ranges that employ technology to measure swing, stance, ball-speed, arc-distance and many other variables that can be instructive for golfers intent on improving their game -- this could be one of the functions of the new club-house, a feature that I believe would make the new venture very popular.

 

[archited]

Amphitheatre and Festival Area -- an opportunity exists here for some very creative design. The tiered dish seating could actually span over Victoria Park Road -- bridge-like -- then allowing access/egress from both the Oliver district via 100 Avenue and from down below in the River Valley. We are again talking about an area well over 4 acres in size -- using 1/2 of that area for seating (some custom bucket seats; some free-form in the grass) provides about 2 acres of seating area or room for about 6,000 people in a festival or concert seating arrangement. Other features could include:
- a glass shell enclosure for the upper seating grouping that protects from weather while also providing some exceptional acoustics and (for movies) sound reproduction in quadrophonic splendor.
- a glass shell enclosure for the stage area.
- a subterranean movie screen that is concealed at the front edge of the stage and can be raised for sit-in (as opposed to drive-in) movie experiences. Imagine the 3-feature horror film playing mid summer from dusk 'til dawn as was common fare at the long-gone drive-in movies. Rent-able headphones can drive the experience. The possibility even exists for creating XR experiences. The movie thing combined with heated seating allows for a year-'round venue, bringing concerts to bear only when the weather is a friend (winter concerts are not impossible if the right precautions are taken). The venue could be active every day of the year.
- retail venues could provide access to concert and movie "bling"; eateries could serve the same function as confectioneries in standard movie theatres.
- other hospitality venues could include pubs, wine bars, tapas eateries, street-food vendors and dim sum outlets all served from a central "ghost kitchen". These could be enclosed with moveable glass partitions that open up to patios and feature-rich landscape areas.
- gift-shop, restroom and administration facilities could complete the venue.
other suggestions?

 

[archited]

The Food Truck Scene -- takes advantage of the existing median-separated driveways (one inbound and one outbound) that then allow for a half-dozen or more food trucks to park on the median, providing customer service for what has proved to be exceptional culinary experiences. Some additional experiences could include sheltered outdoor table + seating groupings, accessible restrooms, water fountains, and kiosk-type vendors for tee-shirts, sun-glasses, etc. -- products that support all of the surrounding venues.

 

[archited]

The Cricket Pitch could remain as is with maintenance upgrades to make it more sustainable. Also a viewing stand for 500 or so spectators could be developed along the western edge. The viewing stand could also have retail kiosks, media vantage points for filming matches, and utilitarian elements like restrooms, administration offices, and marketing outlets.

 

[RH van der Rohe]

Add a mountain bike "flow" downhill trail from the top at Victoria road down to the baseball diamond by the Glenora clubhouse and you have my vote.

 

[archited]

^^^^ We get IMBA to design a mountain bike trail that at various points bridges a hiking trail on its run from Grant Notley Park to Fortway Drive east of the Royal Glenora incorporating much of what can be seen in the video -- a course that with switchbacks and turns is about 1.5 kilometers in length.

IMBA Trail Solutions | IMBA

www.imba.com

 

[archited]

The Family Picnic Area in the rough layout would cover three of the existing golf course legs, nestling picnic tables in among the tree stands that border the open-area edges. Features would include:
- maintenance of the open spaces for casual family games like Frisbee (we could even have a "Frisbee Golf" course that spans the three open legs of the former golf course), casual soccer, ring-toss, catch (baseball), croquet, etc.
- gas-outlets & BBQ stations (remotely monitored and operated via smart-card engagement).
- builtin picnic tables
- picnic supplies kiosks (perhaps one per leg)
- well-maintained sand lots for toddlers adjacent to picnic sites
- heated shelters
- restrooms
other suggestions?