[Daveography]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1063476765694279680

City of Edmonton Receives $1.5 Million to Revitalize the Quarters Area Downtown

EDMONTON, November 16, 2018

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, today announced $1.5 million in support from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for two cultural infrastructure projects that will help revitalize and strengthen the Quarters Downtown Edmonton, a vibrant, diverse and inclusive community.

As part of its 20-year plan to renew the neighbourhood, the City of Edmonton is repurposing municipally owned buildings that will be made available through a competitive process to not-for-profit arts organizations for redevelopment as cultural amenities.

The City will receive $750,000 for a project to renovate and retrofit a 6,945-square-foot, two-storey structure built in 1962, to be used as an Indigenous contemporary art centre and gallery, under a long-term lease by the Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Collective. This facility will become Edmonton’s first collective-run centre with a focus on contemporary art, providing a space for Indigenous artists to gather and work, and a place for mentorship of Indigenous youth and emerging artists.

Additionally, the City will receive $750,000 for another project to retrofit and renovate a 7,240-square-foot, one and a half-storey structure, built in the mid-1950s, creating a community-driven arts centre to be occupied under a long-term lease with the Quarters Arts Society. Once construction is complete, this facility will provide flexible rental spaces for local artists and organizations that currently do not have access to affordable creation and performance space in the neighbourhood.

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-h...to-revitalize-the-quarters-area-downtown.html

 

[Daveography]

Saw the Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Collective building (bottom-right in the embedded tweet; formerly the iHuman building, right by the flatiron and the hotel-formerly-known-as-Hyatt) at one of the EDC meetings. Looks really good.

In addition to gutting the building and adding the mirrored facade on the second level, they are also adding a theatre to the basement, and building a community event space on the second floor. They are also thinking of making that south face a graffiti wall.

 

[Daveography]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1063476765694279680

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-h...to-revitalize-the-quarters-area-downtown.html

Permit Class Class B
Permit Date Dec 24, 2018
Status In Progress
Description of Development To change the Use from an Adult Mini-Theatre to a Public Libraries and Cultural Events (art gallery) building; and to construct exterior and interior alterations. (Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective)
Address 10124 - 96 STREET NW
Legal Description Plan ND Blk 3 Lot 1
Neighbourhood BOYLE STREET
Neighbourhood Classification Central Core
Ward Ward 6
Zoning DC1, DC1

 

[Daveography]

Work now underway on Ociciwan

 

[Daveography]

Ociciwan:

 

[Kaizen]

I'd guess that lots of interior work is going on, and I noticed the new windows on the second floor installed. I must admit that I am a little disappointed the historic brick will be covered...

The new design looks fantastic though,

 

[Daveography]

I don't know if I'd call that brick "historical", the building was built in 1962 and I'm not aware of any significance it holds historically or architecturally (I'm open to being educated in this (paging @_Citizen_Dane_))

And I know Modernist buildings don't usually garner much love or attention, but this one really doesn't really stand out even among that stock.

 

[archited]

@Daveography I think @Kaizen meant hysterical brick in that it would best be covered up. I'm-a really like-a the design-a. Another not insignificant piece in the re-birth of the Boyle Street sector.

 

[Kaizen]

There's not a lot of buildings from the Mid-century left standing in the Quarters. That brick being in perfect repair may have been more appreciated as the decades pass, that and the abundance of dilapidated building/lots in the area in need of activation. Still I really like-a the design-a too !

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

I don't know if I'd call that brick "historical", the building was built in 1962 and I'm not aware of any significance it holds historically or architecturally (I'm open to being educated in this (paging @_Citizen_Dane_))

And I know Modernist buildings don't usually garner much love or attention, but this one really doesn't really stand out even among that stock.

Ha! In all honesty I'm inclined to agree with you, even as an unabashed lover of all things Modernist. If it stayed as it was that'd be fine, but to me it wasn't anything particularly standout, and as Archited says its a breath of life into the area. I do get Kaizen's angle though, cause excluding Jasper and 97th there is only like four exemplary buildings from that era left in the neighbourhood: the addition to the RCMP Barracks, the Salvation Army on 102nd; St. Barbra's Russian Orthodox; and the Waterous Ltd Building at 10419 96 Street.

 

[Daveography]

Finally decided to split this one into its own thread.

Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective - RPK Architects

Providing the Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective with a much-needed place to call home, the project revitalizes a vacant City owned building, on a prominent corner in the Boyle Street neighbourhood in downtown Edmonton. Working collaboratively with the Collective, RPK Architects sought to...

rpkarchitects.com

 

[Daveography]

 

[Daveography]

The panels are more matted than I expected, but they do have the intended effect of reflecting any colour around them.

 

[danby85]

from Peep Shows to this.. vast improvement! Love it!

 

[Kaizen]

@danby85 From Peep shows to Light Shows! Looks like they are testing some LEDs.
The picture was taken at about 2 pm today, a very dull and snowy day with no sunshine playing tricks. I didn't know there was any lighting, or maybe I'm still seeing double vision, haha. It looks pretty lit, a nice subtle feature!