By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
North American cities are often judged by their skylines. The postcard image of towers set along the horizon seem to stand like a bar-chart representation of a city's power and affluence.
By this metric, 2015 was a pretty good year for Winnipeg, with five new downtown highrise towers under construction. The last time the city saw that many cranes in the skyline, the Winnipeg Jets' top line wasn't Ladd, Little and Wheeler, it was Hull, Nilsson and Hedberg, struggling to make the playoffs in 1974.
In many cities, highrise construction is largely driven by high-end condominium development, but Winnipeg's new towers respond to a range of functions and demographics.
The 'Flying Saucer' under Construction at the base of the Disraeli Freeway is among the many new developments making a mark on Winnipeg's skyline.
By Brent Bellamy, Creative Director and Architect
Thirty years ago, Winnipeg's Exchange District was a hollow collection of pollution-stained industrial warehouses surrounded by treeless streets and empty sidewalks. At night, a checkerboard of dimly lit windows behind the facades of darkened buildings would reveal a subculture of artists and musicians using the low-rent spaces as studios and squatter residences. From the street, the heavy brick walls would only partially muffle the nocturnal sound of rehearsing local rock bands, as old single-pane windows pulsed to the beat of the music inside.
Albert Street was heart of the city's seedy 'red light district', anchored by the Royal Albert and St. Charles Hotels. Their dingy bars, smelling like a potent cocktail of sweat, smoke and marijuana, were the centre of a vibrant local punk rock scene. The district itself was the heart of a thriving artistic community.
A map locating the creative industries in Winnipeg's Exchange District.
By Number Ten Architectural Group
In October of 2015 Heather Anderson, Number TEN’s Hospitality/Entertainment studio lead and senior Professional Interior Designer, was one of 25 professionals selected by the Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) to attend the HOST 2015, the 39th International Hospitality Exhibition in Milan, Italy.
By Number TEN Architectural Group
With an office distinguished by character, a collegial environment and delight in the creative process, design culture is integral to the Number TEN philosophy. We are always on the look-out for innovative ways to communicate, design and build. Recently, the Number TEN spirit of design culture was further strengthened through Design Interns Aaron Pollock and Victoria McCrea’s work in the development of what has come to be known as ‘The Ministry of Competitions’.
By: Greg Hasiuk – Practice Leader, Number TEN Architectural Group
Winnipeg has long been known for its flourishing music scene, historic architecture, delectable multicultural cuisine and its sizable population of creative, well-educated citizenry. Perhaps it’s the long, cold winters that nurture and encourage creative expression. It’s been said that our vast collection of affordable-to-rent character buildings contribute to our city’s creative gift, providing a treasure trove of artistic laboratories from which creative types can freely hone their craft. Or maybe there’s something in that occasionally brown tap water that causes us to punch above our weight in all things creative.