When cities such as Edmonton, Canada, are below freezing for the majority of the year, it's hard to want to embrace the cold and snow. However, landscape architecture student Matthew Gibbs and city council members are considering a way to encourage residents to enjoy the cold rather than try to hide from it. According to BBC, the city is pondering the idea of a "Freezeway" and may launch a pilot project as early as next winter.
The idea was first brought up during a city council meeting during the 1990s, when a council member made an off-hand comment that suggested opening the fire hydrants and letting the streets flood and freeeze over. The comment inspired Gibbs to design the Freezeway, which won first place at the 2013 COLDSCAPES international design competition.
Gibbs said that if two existing rail corridors were connected, then an 11-km route could be established to allow people to skate to work, school, or events in the city. The Freezeway would also encourage more active lifestyles during the winter months, said Gibbs.
Design plans for the Freezeway include:
- Setting up skate rentals in nearby metro stops
- Using buildings as windbreaks
- Using "curbside skating lanes" that could be rolled up in the spring
- Providing built-in snow storage to serve as traffic dividers and contain the ice
- Building developments and plazas in sunny areas
Many council members have said the Freezeway is a good idea, and could be financed with corporate sponsorship or crowdsourcing. The price tag would be hefty, however, at as much as $400 per meter.
Related Stories
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 22, 2013
Sports Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest sports facility design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 22, 2013
6 visionary strategies for local government projects
Civic projects in Boston, Las Vegas, Austin, and suburban Atlanta show that a ‘big vision’ can also be a spur to neighborhood revitalization. Here are six visionary strategies for local government projects.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
| Jul 26, 2013
How biomimicry inspired the design of the San Francisco Museum at the Mint
When the city was founded in the 19th century, the San Francisco Bay’s edge and marshland area were just a few hundred feet from where the historic Old Mint building sits today. HOK's design team suggested a design idea that incorporates lessons from the local biome while creating new ways to collect and store water.
| Jul 22, 2013
Cultural Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from cultural facility projects, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, DPR, Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
URS, STV, Wiss Janney Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
