Duane Hicks
The possibilities are “Boundless.”
Plans for the $1.4 million Rainy Lake Market Square project were unveiled Thursday afternoon—revealing a site that’s both aesthetically pleasing and able to be transformed for everyday use, market days, small performances, large concerts, dining events, or any number of other activities.
The design includes a covered stage, seating areas, a water feature, lighting, and landscaping with a variety of trees and rocks, as well as plenty of open space to accommodate a wide variety of activities.
Landscape architect David Bodnarchuk of Scatliff + Miller + Murray said the design team got a good “wish list” as to what stakeholders wanted in a market square, and it became their job to figure out what was compatible and what would work—not only with each other but within the budget.
The resulting design is meant to reflect Fort Frances, lake life, and the natural history of Rainy Lake.
“We think that everybody who lives in this area has that [Rainy Lake] as a common ground,” Bodnarchuk noted.
“It’s something that tourists are coming here for.
He said the design of the market square represents the “primal glacial forces that formed Rainy Lake.”
“When you look at Rainy Lake on Google Earth, you see that sort of dragged feel and we brought that into the actual plan—that’s why the angle is there,” Bodnarchuk explained.
“It’s very close to the angle the glaciers retreated from this area.
“From there, you have these islands of densely-planted boreal forest with that rock shore,” he added. “Where the water starts to form, you have the beaches and the bays.
“We started playing with these ideas and seeing how they form space.”
This spatial analysis determined how and where elements were placed.
Bodnarchuk said one of the key words to describe the market square is flexibility.
“People wanted a space that would transform itself based on whatever’s happening here,” he remarked.
“So if you have a concert here, how you interact with it is different.”
The permanent covered stage is comprised of a multi-level deck. The primary deck is the stage while two other decks will be used for the audience to either stand or sit.
There’s no fixed seating, noted Bodnarchuk, adding it’s important people can assemble how they want in a public space.
For a larger concert, the crowd would spill out beyond the decks into the cafe areas.
The design also features five parking spaces in the rear, as well as a storage building for tents, tables, chairs, etc.
Bodnarchuk also said the centre of the market has a gradual slope to it so that if you were standing there during a concert, you would have the same viewing opportunity as people on the decks.
The entrance to the market square will be perfectly level with the street to allow for wheelchair access.
As well, the northern perimeter of the market square “pushes into” the downtown sidewalk—drawing pedestrian traffic into the space.
“As a pedestrian, if you’re walking down Scott Street that way [along the south side], your view is interrupted and it directs you into the space,” Bodnarchuk explained.
“We’re really trying to get people in.”
The water feature will be a series of granite slabs with drill holes in them. Water will bubble up through the drill holes and trickle down the face into a basin and circulate.
It has both an aesthetic and functional purpose.
Bodnarchuk said the functional purpose of the water feature is to “acoustically separate” market square users from the street.
“If there’s noise out on the street, that white noise of water flowing will quiet the street,” he noted.
For instance, he added the Copper River Inn here has a water feature that acoustically separates its coffee shop from its reception area and hallway to the dining area.
The trees and other flora will represent the boreal forest here, with a mix of coniferous and deciduous species.
Possible choices include white pine, white and black spruce, ash, aspen, and birch trees, along with dogwood shrubs.
The mix of deciduous and coniferous trees also means there will be “four-season colour” at the site.
The design also looks to the future, Bodnarchuk said. For example, it includes raised “cafe areas” adjacent to Causeway Insurance and Brockie’s Jewellers, which basically are seating areas with tables and chairs.
But in the future, someone may open up a coffee shop or other food service in one of those buildings, put doors into the sides adjacent to the cafe areas, and utilize those areas as outdoor cafes, Bodnarchuk suggested.
“We wanted to make sure we left that possibility open,” he stressed.
The market square won’t feature public washrooms due to the cost (about $250,000).
Instead, the town is exploring improving access to the public washrooms located in the entrance to the Fort Frances Museum.
For special events with large crowds, portable washroom facilities will be brought on-site.
It also includes space for vendors to set up tents and tables to sell their wares, but no permanent vendor booths per se.
Bodnarchuk said the market is “an ephemeral event” that only happens once or twice a week. And when it’s not on, it’s like it was never there.
The space also doesn’t include solid canopies to provide cover from rain or snow. Bodnarchuk noted that canopy cover is very expensive and must be placed strategically.
Rather, the open web joists included in the market square design are “strategic for the budget,” he added, saying they provide some shade but avoid problems with snow-loading that you would get with a solid canopy.
And the idea of building a fort or having fort-themed elements in the market square also was rejected, though the concept may be explored further at a different location.
Meanwhile, the Winnipeg-based architecture firm was pleased with the open house.
“It was a very successful event [Thursday], and it’s great to see the passion and enthusiasm of the local community,” architect Bob Somers of Scatliff + Miller + Murray noted Friday.
“That passion is often not always positive but from the reviews we got yesterday [Thursday], the majority are definitely in support.”
The firm will have tender-ready construction drawings set to go by early July.
The town then will tender a contractor to build the market square, with the intent to begin construction in late summer and be completed before winter.
