Architect
Janet Rosenberg & Studio, CS&P Architects
Type of Area
Urban canal (surrounded by buildings)
Land/water interaction
Promenade
Terraces/steps
Bridges
Built Environment Types
Highly built
Low green
Scale of Impact
Block
District/ neighbourhood
City
Intervention Scale (Spatial)
Moderate Site
Historic Canal Walk Extension.
Welland canal park is a civic square in front of the city hall building designed by Janet Rosenberg & Studio and constructed in 2005 on a 0.6 hectares (1.5 acres) site. The project comprises of a series of gardens, ramps, bridges, and viewing platforms that also retained the former historic walls of the canal.
The space was built into the existing recreation network of the city and enhances the experience of using the existing scenic and historic canal walk. The place is perceived as a very welcoming destination for obtaining an outdoor nature experience and relaxation.
The place provides all the necessary civic amenities such lighting, signage, walkways, seating, artworks, and planting. The project also aimed to reinforce Welland’s urban core.
The project is very accessible to local transport and also provides car access and parking. It is also well connected to pedestrian and cycle paths and provides opportunities for walking, running, sitting, relaxing, together with spaces to organise small concerts and events.
The design has improved the aesthetic quality by adding viewing points, selecting a unified palette of vegetation, introducing the plaza and tree planting.
The water treatment aspect of the park comprises a series of pockets of artificially created biotopes and the plaza itself helps to infiltrate storm water before its release into the canal.
Project Types
Urban waterfront restoration
Storm water management
Urban design
Urban/ Rural
Urban core
Visibility and Openness
Fully enclosed
Fully contained view
Perception and Meaning
Place identity
Imageability
Sense of place
Accessibility
Knowledgeability
Health and Wellbeing
Restorativeness
Aesthetic experience
Better environmental perception
Place affordance
Interaction with Water
Visual
Website of the project:
https://jrstudio.ca/content/welland-canal-park-civic-square
Google map reference
The rating for this project suggest that the project appears to perform well or very well for almost all aspects except for possible physical activities. The site has very high scores for accessibility.
Design quality of the site has good scores with excellent scores for views and landmarks and cultural heritage values. In terms of facilities and amenities, it rates very well for lighting and quality of nature.
Health and well-being aspect also score very high for safety and security, opportunity for contemplation, and sensory experience. The site has very high scores for water visibility and water safety equipment but no real direct access (although the canal is next to the site of course).