Indefinite

Arts Centre
Vision and Master Plan Document

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada

February
20, 2018
was a
great day
for the IAC.
2 3
 Contents
Executive Summary..................................... 6

Part One: The Vision Part Five: Beyond the Site

Disability is not a 4-Letter word........ 11 Program Elements................................... 69
Accountability through
Conversation.............................................. 12 Part Six: Schedule
Fairview: Established, Unique, Looking Forward...................................... 77
Evolving....................................................... 14
Out with the old....................................... 19
Designing for inclusivity........................ 22

Part Two: The Idea

Building a tool for difference.............. 26

Part Three: Building Design

Overview..................................................... 33
Ground Floor............................................. 35
Lower Floor................................................ 47
PANTONE PANTONE PANTONE PANTONE PANTONE CMYK PANTONE PANTONE CMYK PANTONE CMYK
662C Yellow 012C 185C 802C 389C 0,0,100,0 Cool Grey 1C 290C 8,0,0,0 414C 75,68,67,90 Upper Floor................................................ 53

Part Four: Landscape Design

Site Grading............................................... 57
Program Elements................................... 59
North-South Site Section...................... 62
“There are no other East-West Site Section.......................... 64
differences than gradual
differences between different
grades of difference and no
difference (at all).”
- William James, 1999.

4 5
Executive
Summary
The Indefinite Arts Centre is a community
hub driven by the arts, and a new
benchmark for inclusive, universally
accessible design. Visitors will discover
unique spaces within, between and around
three buildings which house program
ranging from the performing to the visual
arts, administrative to retail, and informal to
formal galleries.
As an organization, the Indefinite Arts
Centre has undergone a transformation;
from a disability service organization
that engages adults with developmental
disabilities, to an arts organization that
serves artists living with disabilities. This
shift speaks to new era of inclusivity: across
the arts, across the disability sector and
across communities. The Indefinite Arts
Centre supports the creative potential of
artists across all spectrums. It is a place
where entrepreneurs, innovators, and
thought leaders can take away inspiration
for their own work, using the perspectives
of those whose perspectives are often
grossly underrepresented.
6 7
Our team has spoken with all levels of
government - community, city, provincial
& federal level - to develop broad based
awareness of the project. We’ve met with
like-minded local organizations to uncover
shared constraints and discover collective
opportunities. And we’ve spoken with our
sister organizations abroad. We’ve visited
world-class disArts organizations in the USA
including NIAD, Creative Growth, Creativity
Explored & the Arc, exchanged stories of
our organizations’ evolution, physical spaces
and roles in our respective communities.
In all conversations, we’ve heard one
resounding message: we are lucky. Despite
the events of February 20 – which marked
the sudden collapse of the Fairview Arena
roof and temporary loss of IAC’s home -
the Indefinite Arts Centre is in the envious
position of being proactive.
Driven by the Indefinite Arts Centre’s 5
year strategic plan, the following vision
and master plan was developed through
extensive research, thoughtful conversation
and a desire for the organization to remain
an important neighbor in a revitalized
community of Fairview.
We have asked “what type of new facility
can support and advance Indefinite’s
efforts”? We are set to join forces with like-
minded allies in Calgary. And we believe
this project to be transformational for
Fairviewites and Calgarians at large.
The new Indefinite Arts Centre will be a next
generation community hub.
Opportunity’s knocked.
Let’s make the most of it.
Jodi James
Intern Architect
DIALOG
Part One.

The Vision.
8 9
 Photo of Willem de Kooning’s Studio.
Customized easels supported de
Kooning’s work with large canvases well
into his senior years.

Disability is not a
4-letter word.
1

Currently 1 in 7 Canadians (5.3 million

people) identify as living with a disability.
By 2038, that number will jump to 1 in 5.
16,000 Calgarians acquire a disability
annually, with a projected 30% increase in

“Disability
that number over the course of the next 10
years, and 155% increase in 30 years*. (Level
Playing Field, 2018). It is clear the disability

is an art.
community touches everyone.

Diversity is key to a healthy community;

It’s an
differences in mind and body are a natural
and remarkable part of human diversity.
While these differences - physical, sensory,
intellectual, or psychological – may cause
functional limitations or impairments, these
do not necessarily lead to disability.
ingenious
For certain kinds of bodies and minds,
societal structures, political institutions
way to
and the built environment can make life
meaningful, or conversely, impossible.
Disability arises when society (purposefully
live.” Neil Marcus

or inadvertently) fails to take account of

and include all people, regardless of their
1
Upstream Arts. https://www.upstreamarts.org/
individual differences.
resources/disability-is-not-a-four-letter-word/, 2018

10 11
 1975: Indefinite Art’s first year of classes.

Accountability
through
conversation.
The Indefinite Arts Centre (IAC) is
Canada’s oldest and largest disability arts
organization. Founded in 1975, and initially
serving a handful of artists, Indefinite Arts
recognized the power of the creative voice.
For over 40 years, the IAC has celebrated “By making
art as a fundamental means of human
expression, and championed that all people something, others
are entitled to creative communication.
know that you’re
Art has, and will always continue to be creative, that you’re
a way to say the unsayable; a vehicle to
expansive dialogue and growth. Arguably, a alive, and you
lens that can make the conversation around
difference and disability an everyday one.
have something
unique and special
Art is about community building.
going on inside
– and non-verbal
communication is
still communication”
David Byrne

12 13
Fairview: Established,
Unique, Evolving.
Fairview is a neighborhood in transition.
Established in the 1950’s, the community
of Fairview is experiencing something of a
renaissance. Once aged and deteriorated, in
recent years the community has witnessed
a regeneration of the arena, the renovation
of the community hall, and a revival of their
community association (fairviewcommunity.
ca, 2018).
Young families have moved in, and
neighbors who left years ago have moved
back. The schools are full, and the parks
busy with little league baseball and soccer.
Local schools support a strong connection
to the arts; collectively, Le Roi Daniels
Elementary and Fairview Junior High
Schools offer visual arts, dance, drama,
and music programming to 1,300 students,
ranging in age from 5-15. (Calgary Board of
Education, 2018).
Baby boomers and founding community
members make up a vibrant pre-seniors and
seniors network. Mature residents are more
highly involved in recreation and leisure
14
1
pursuits compared to previous generations.
In particular, seniors are seeking out
both physical and mental activity to
ensure that they maintain a quality of life
that is sustainable for longer than has
been observed in previous generations
(Recreation Amenities Gap Analysis – Area
5 Summary Report, 2010).
There is momentum to “continue the
regeneration of parks and playgrounds, to
build and expand our events and programs,
develop strong ties to business and
community groups and serve our greater
community” (fairviewcommunity.ca, 2018).
Residents have spoken to a desire for more
public art, additional trees, community
gardens, variety in park infrastructure,
seniors amenities and investment in the
central park (Community Objectives
Workshop, 2017).
Fairview aspires to be a complete
community with a focus on quality of life,
improved public spaces, and community-
led events. Arts facilities, presentations
and creation experiences are envisioned
as core future development, a defining
feature of the area, and a regular part of life
in Fairview (Reclaiming Calgary’s Cultural
Identify: Arts Spaces Strategy and Capital
Plan, Calgary Arts Development, 2007).
Fairview is diverse, resilient and growing.
Aging community infrastructure requires
lifecycle upgrades and/or additional
amenities in order to address projected
long-term population expansion. Its public
spaces and community buildings must
be re-imagined to serve residents both
now and well into the future (Recreation
Amenities Gap Analysis – Area 5 Summary
Report, 2010).
1
Fairview Community Association.
http://fairviewcommunity.ca/, 2018
15
16 17
 EAST FAIRVI EW INDUS TRIAL
FAIRVI EW
Out with the
old.
Aspirations for the Fairview Community Hall who can use stairs, and those who cannot.
site have always been rooted in community. Natural light is in short supply. The gallery
The modest concrete block building, is hidden away. The building does not
attached to the Fairview Arena, is where serve the artists and the community in a
the ‘88 Olympics were commemorated, meaningful way. The existing building has
milestones celebrated and where people of been adjusted to make do. The community
all ‘ages stages and wages’ have historically deserves better.
come together.

In 2007, the IAC took on the responsibility

of investing in maintaining the hall,
continuing the legacy set by the Fairview
Community Association. Small-scale
renovations ensured the building met
baseline building code standards for
FAIRMOUNT DRIVE SE

accessibility. From offering an array of

after school programming, to hosting art
IEW
shows and exhibitions, to creating a bright
I RV
FA
AD
IA and recognizable beacon on the corner
AC
of Fairmount and Fredson, Indefinite Arts
Centre has brought art to the community,
and the community to the art.

HERITAGE DRIVE
But the limitations of the existing building
constrained much of this activity to the
interior. The parking lot isolates the building
from the street. The entry divides those

18 19
 1988 Olympic Celebrations in Fairview.

20 21
Designing for
Inclusivity.
The way in which we each engage the world
is unique.
“Universal Design is the process of
embedding choice for all people in the
things human beings design” (Centre for
Universal Design, North Carolina State
University College of Design).
such, cannot comprehensively anticipate
how all minds and bodies will experience
space.
So how can we account for others in the
same way we account for our own selves?
How do you create a place for every body,
every mind?

From seniors to strollers, white canes to

crutches, delivery carts to service animals,
reducing barriers in the built environment
ensures that everyone’s independence can
be maintained. Yet current building codes
and accessibility standards only address a
“No amount
small fraction of difference. Hearing loss,
power chairs, hypersensitivity and service
of smiling
animals are just a few impairments that
remain unacknowledged in contemporary
at a flight of
standards. A truly accessible environment
is considers how all people navigate the
stairs has ever
world through sight, touch, scent, sounds
and taste.
turned it into a
Yet we cannot understand the world outside
ramp.”
of our own mind and body. Empathy is Stella Young
informed by our own experiences; we as

22 23
Part Two.

The Idea.
24 25
Building a tool
for difference. PANTONE PANTONE PANTONE PANTONE PANTONE CMYK PANTONE PANTONE CMYK PANTONE CMYK
662C Yellow 012C 185C 802C 389C 0,0,100,0 Cool Grey 1C 290C 8,0,0,0 414C 75,68,67,90

We account for difference by creating There is no one way to engage the space.
difference. We replace prescriptive Each visitor is empowered to define their
engagement and discrete spaces and focus own experience.
on the spaces in-between. We introduce
an architecture that focuses on gradients
of sensory, programmatic and spatial
conditions, that vary in their intensity across
the project.

No one space is exactly like another.

Through subtle transformations, an
environment of gradients is created both
inside and in between buildings. In any
given space, visitors are concurrently
becoming and unbecoming one condition
or quality.

Visitors are free to draw closer to or away

from certain moments – empowered to
create their own experience based on their
own predispositions. Subtle differences
are leveraged to offer infinite choice. A
space where everyone can find a place
to be comfortable, to be creative, and to
contribute as they see fit.

26 27
28 View from Fairmount Drive SE 29
Part Three.

Building
Design.
30 31
 Overview.
The Indefinite Arts Centre is community hub
driven by the arts, and a new benchmark for
inclusive, universally accessible design.
Three buildings anchor the project. Each
undergoes a simple transformation (twist,
tilt and stretch) to create a series of
different environments within themselves,
between themselves, and with the
landscape. There is no front or back to the
site; each building opens up in multiple
ways. The buildings house performing,
visual and culinary arts, community
amenities, offices for non-profits, retail and
event spaces.
The existing community hall is not erased
within the new design. Loaded with
history, stories, and a sense of place, the
hall is absorbed in the new architecture:
repurposed as a canvas for display, a vessel
for the social spaces and a foundation for
administrative areas. Preservation of the
existing hall continues the Indefinite Arts
programming during construction: a lynch
pin in a multi-phased construction strategy.
32
Throughout the campus, the ground
plane and floor plates remain consistently
horizontal – minimizing obstructions and
reducing vertical circulation across the site.
Outdoor spaces are as important as indoor.
Public realm and private amenities are
indistinguishable. Spaces oscillate between
open to closed, tall to compact, and wide
to narrow. Materials mediate sound, texture,
vibration, humidity, temperature, scent. The
site is animated day and night, winter and
summer.
The ground plane remains consistent – a near perfect
horizontal grade throughout. Walls and roofs rotate
to introduce new qualities of space with the existing
building, between new buildings, and between new
building and landscape.
33
 STAIR #3

DN
OUTDOOR STAGE

ELEVATOR

MULTI-USE REHERSAL/
PERFORMANCE SPACE

KILN
ROOM

Ground Floor.
COATS

W/C
ART STUDIO -
W/C OPEN SPACE

SOUND/LIGHT/
RECORDING
BOOTH

UP

STAIR #2
Visual Arts Building

Visible and accessible from Fairmount As the largest building on the site, all
Drive, the ground floor offers access to Indefinite Arts Centre programming is
QUIET QUIET
W/C the most public of programming on the housed within the Visual Arts Building. This
STUDIO A STUDIO B
site. Dining, retail, performance and gallery building is constructed around the existing
spaces in all three buildings are accessible
GALLERY
A W/C
Fairview Community Hall. The ground floor
W/C
from this level. is connected by continuous circulation
DINING/LECTURE/
LOCKER SPACE
outboard of the existing hall. Within the
W/C
hall, all non-structural interior walls have
W/C been removed to reveal large continuous
social spaces.

FREIGHT/ A new entrance brings visitors directly into

FEATURE
ELEVATOR
the existing hall. Visitors are greeted by a
GALLERY
OPEN TO
BELOW reception area immediately across from the
entry vestibule. A new, oversized elevator
RECEPTION KITCHEN
is front-and-centre; a generous open-air
platform transports people and materials
between the three floors of the Visual Arts
ARTIST-IN-
W/C ELEV. DISH
ROOM
DRY
STORAGE RESIDENCE
STUDIO
Building. The elevator sits within an opening
in the floor plate which previously linked the
CURATOR
STORAGE

RETAIL
DN UP
Optimist Gallery to the lobby space above.
READING ROOM
A large lunch room, equipped with an
GALLERY
B

STAIR #1
artists’ kitchen, is just beyond the elevator.
FINISHING
Here lunchtime lectures are hosted by
Indefinite’s artists for their colleagues.
KITCHEN

W/C
CAFE Lockers provide all participants with a safe
a secure place to store their belongings for
the day.

34 0m 5 10 35
The studio space is accessed by a light-
filled corridor to the west of the lunch room.
Exterior walls of the existing hall are now
interior gallery walls adorned with work-
in-progress pieces by Indefinite’s artists. A
double height studio space opens up to the
north of the hall. A huge picture window
provides expansive views to the landscape
north of the site. Every space within the
studio has access to this view. Indirect
natural light is captured and directed into
the space through light scoops lining the roof.
An exterior door in the northwest corner
connects the studio space to a protected
exterior terrace. Creative sessions can easily
flow outdoors in the spring, summer and fall.
Work stations are set up to accommodate
different media types: from painting to
drawing, textiles to ceramics. A small kiln
room sits in the NE corner of the studio.
Mobile partitions store small scale materials.
Large canvases are supported by in-floor
easels, which retract and expand to set
the canvas height appropriate to the
36
artist. Artist pin-up space, inboard of the The south end of the existing hall hosts a
structural columns, is available throughout. commercial kitchen. Food is prepared in
the kitchen as part of catering services for
Immediately above the studio space is a events hosted throughout the site. This is
large volume housing second floor IAC also where café provisions are prepared.
administration. Beneath this volume, a lower The existing small service elevator is used
ceiling height offers a protected space for for BOH circulation.
making. The lower ceiling has the benefit
of acoustic dampening, and suspends a A second gallery hall, immediately south of
rigging system for cords, lighting and other reception, is fully visible from the adjacent
elements. outdoor patio.
Two quiet studio rooms are nested
within the north end of the existing hall,
immediately south of the open studio
space. Operable doors allow these spaces
to be closed off from the rest of the studio,
creating quiet working environments for
individual artists or small groups.
Gender neutral washrooms line the west
corridor. A long ramp links the studio
space to the lower level entry. Above
the south end of the ramp is a dedicated
artist-in-residence studio. An intimate,
casual reading room adjacent to the artist-
residence space supports conversations
between artists.
37
38 Entry into Visual Arts Buidling 39
40 Open Studio Space 41
Black Box Theatre

The black box theatre supports all

performing arts programming on the site.
The tilted cube rises on the SE corner to
mark the entry to the building. A corridor
brings visitors into a large, flexible open
space for rehearsals and performances.
Support spaces (such as washrooms, coat
rooms, and sound booths) are nested to the
rear of the theatre. Above the space sits a
rigging grid for lighting, sound and other
suspended equipment.

To the north, an oversized portal opens up

to a covered outdoor stage. Performances
can be arranged to suit indoor or outdoor
audiences. A large freight elevator allows
for props, equipment and people to move
between floors of the theatre.

42 Black Box Theatre 43

Gallery, Cafe & Retail Building

Three complementary programs are housed

within one large, open air volume. Two
wedges of space are defined by a solid
program block in the centre. The gallery
sits to the north, the café to the south, and
all support elements (washrooms, storage,
compact retail and a finishing kitchen) are
contained within the block.

All program elements can retract into the

program block, creating a highly flexible
rental venue for events. The walls of the
building open seasonally to support free
flow of people in and out of the building,
creating a permeable retail storefront and
framing views into the gallery space.

44 45
 UP
ELEVATOR

MULTI-USE
REHERSAL SPACE
LARGE
FORMAT
PRINT
ROOM
DRESSING

Lower Floor.
ROOM
A
DRESSING
ROOM
B
DRESSING DIGITAL MEDIA
ROOM
C
& MUSIC LAB
DRESSING
ROOM
D

STORAGE

ARCHIVE/STORAGE/
GALLERY
Visual Arts Building
PREPARTION

The lower floor of the project connects Visitors access this floor through a
the Visual Arts Building to the Black Box dedicated entry on the SE corner of the
W/C

Theatre. Additional creative spaces, a building. The vestibule opens into a large
W/C
dedicated community room and all back- three storey volume, linking all three levels
MECHANICAL W/C
of-house functions are located on the lower of the building. To the west, an opening into
ROOM
level of the project. the existing hall leads to the new freight
W/C elevator, with controlled access to the levels
above. On this level, the existing hall houses
dedicated space for Fairview Community
Association (including two gender neutral
washrooms).
FREIGHT/
FEATURE
ELEVATOR OPEN TO

Similar to the ground level, primary

ABOVE

circulation is nested between the new

MATERIALS STORAGE LOCKERS

W/C

building envelope and the existing

STORAGE

W/C
community hall.
COMMUNITY
JAN
ROOM

ELEV.
Outboard of the hall, the east ramp
allows visitors to travel from the lower
UP
RECEPTION
level directly into the main studio space.
Continuing along the east corridor, visitors
STAIR #1
enter the digital media and music lab; a
GARBAGE &
RECYCLING
state-of-the-art technology studio fully
LOADING &
DELIVERY
equipped with workstations, a green wall
and large-scale printers. Visual connection
to and from the landscape is provided by a
picture window which spans the north edge
of the building.

46 0m 5 10 47
 Black Box Theatre

Immediately adjacent to the lab is the The lower level of the black box theatre
compact storage room – an archival quality provides additional rehearsal space for the
space which places the art of curation and performing arts. Additional support spaces,
maintenance on display to visitors. such as dressing rooms and storage, can
also be found on this level. Both stairs and a
The west wall offers direct below grade freight elevator link to the ground floor.
access to the black box theatre, as well as
dedicated back-of-house materials storage
and circulation. Refuge, recycling and
loading zones are located along the south
end of the building.

48 49
50 Digital Media and Music Lab 51
 Upper Floor.
OPEN TO
BELOW

PRINTER
PRIVATE
OFFICE
A

PRIVATE
OPEN TO OFFICE OPEN
BELOW B WORKSTATION
AREA
STAIR #2

PRIVATE
OFFICE
Visual Arts Building
C
DN

All administrative programming is housed In all areas on the upper floor, natural light
on the upper floor of the Visual Arts is provided by light scoops in the roof
STAFF
KITCHEN Building. This storey sits atop the existing structure. Much of the floor plate is open to
BOARD ROOM/
OPEN TO
BELOW
hall, connected to the levels below by the spaces below.
TRAINING ROOM
W/C
new freight elevator. Flexible open office
space hall is available to rent by non-profit
W/C organizations. North of the rentable area,
LARGE
CONFERENCE
a large conference room accommodates
up to 12 people. An additional formal
ROOM W/C

board room (seating up to 25) can be

SEATING
reconfigured as a training classroom.
Gender neutral washrooms, a staff kitchen
FREIGHT/ AREA
FEATURE
ELEVATOR

OPEN TO
BELOW
and open seating area complete this area.
RENTABLE
OPEN North of the existing hall, additional floor
OFFICE AREA
space is suspended above the ground floor
studio space. This zone is dedicated to
Indefinite Arts administrative office space,
and includes three private offices. A stair
OPEN TO
BELOW

DN
connects IAC administration space directly
OPEN TO
BELOW
OPEN TO
BELOW
to the studio. Translucent walls and railings
STAIR #1
mediate a visual and audio connection to
the creative space below.

52 0m 5 10 53
Part Four.

Landscape
Design.
54 55
 Site Grading.

In an effort to minimize obstructions to

maximize accessibility, the ground plane
is kept as consistent as possible; however,
elevation points across the perimeter of the
existing site vary considerably (highest in
the NW, lowest in the SE). The proposed
grading meets existing elevation points
along the perimeter, sets a new ground
level elevation, removes the requirement for
stairs, and selectively introduces accessible
ramps.

This is achieved through three grade

changes. The eastern edge of the proposed
landscape rises upward, to meet the
elevation of the existing hall’s main floor.
The resultant 3% grade ensures a fully
accessible surface linking Fairmount Drive
to the entry of the Visual Arts Building and
Black Box Theatre. Along the length of the
1068m café/gallery, a 1:20 ramp brings visitors
up from lower elevation of the adjacent
south sidewalk. Finally, the eastern edge
of the Visual Arts Building aligns with the
elevation of the existing hall’s lower level
Where non-planar slopes meet, softscaping
mediates the edge conditions.
1060m

56 Grading Diagram 57
 Fairview Junior
High School

01

Program
Elements.
02
03 04

The Collage

01 Urban Forest Resulting from the spaces in between the The centre of the site is processional space
02 Community Gardens buildings, the design of the landscape is that marks arrival, offers quiet spaces
03 Flexible Open Space
04 Amphitheatre (The Hill) an extension of the vision for the project at to wait, and carves out area for groups
large. Gradients from open to closed, hard to gather. As the largest scale outdoor
05 05 Outdoor Studio Terrace to soft, large to small, ordered to random, space within the confines of the site, The
06 Passenger Loading Zone
07 Bench Seating
and public to private expand a variety of Collage is where program between all three
08 Sculpture Garden program types into the landscape. buildings spill out and mix together - it’s
06 14 09 Outdoor Art Vitrine sculpture garden meets-event space-meets
07
The landscape plan can be understood as lobby zone. Here visitors simultaneously
10 Operable Wall/
09 Seasonal Entry a series of gathering spaces at different interact with all three buildings.
08
11 Dining Patio scales (for one, for a few or for many)
which support the IAC’s pillars of creation, Benches offer places to sit, while
12 Materials Loading Zone
13 Secondary Passenger Loading
exhibition, training and sharing. Vegetation, landscaped beds create a tapestry that
14 Staff Parking surface materials, and vertical elements shifts seasonally. Large scale art sculptures
create a variety of sensory experiences can be discovered throughout. A glass
across the site. Shifting combinations of vitrine provides protected space for the
Building Entry
14 scale and sense, in conjunction with a display of more environmentally sensitive
relationship to the adjacent programming works. The space is highly visible from
10
within the buildings, generates character Fairmount Drive, and the perfect location to
spaces that differ throughout the project host Indefinite’s community and holiday art
11
12 site. Nature is blended with art, and the site fairs.
13 is opened up for community use.
Studio Terrace
Fairmount Drive SE

Nested between the Black Box Theatre and

Fredson Drive SE
the Visual Arts Building, the Studio Terrace
directly connects to the studio space and

58 Site Plan 59
overlooks the landscape to the north. Artists
can take cover in this protected exterior
space to extend their craft outdoors.
Patio
Located between the Visual Arts Building
and the café is The Patio: a sunny, south-
facing space with fixed outdoor tables and
chairs that provides visitors the option of
enjoying their meals outdoors. The Patio
looks directly into an adjacent gallery space
to the east, and out onto the street to the
south.
Passenger Pick-up and Drop-Off
Passenger drop-off and pick-up, including
services provided by Access Calgary, is
celebrated by being moved to the front
of the site. For days when weather is
inclement, the SE entry can also be used
by Access Calgary to drop-off passengers
immediately next to the building.
60
Fairmount Drive and Fredson Drive are lined
with accessible parallel parking stalls. Staff
parking is located to the east of the Visual
Arts Building.
Deliveries, Garbage and Recycling
Deliveries are received at the south end
of the site. A large overhead door links
the receiving area with back-of-house
circulation and storage in the lower level
of the Visual Arts Building. Garbage and
recycling is located here, concealed by
vegetation and a natural grade change
along the street edge. This zone is adjacent
to the neighborhood alleyway south of the
site.
61
 Accessible Parallel Street Parking
Sidewalk + Access Aisle
Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure
Vehicular Zone

Sidewalk
GALLERY

Fairview Junior High School The Hill Indefinite Arts Centre Fredson Drive SE
(Residential Street)

62 North-South Site Section 63

64
Green Infrastructure
Sidewalk
Southbound Bike Lane

Vehicular Zone

Northbound Bike Lane

(Collector Street)
Fairmount Drive SE
Accessible Parallel Parking +
Passenger Loading Zone
Sidewalk
Green Infrastructure

Indefinite Arts Centre

Woonerf

East-West Site Section

Future Integrated Civic Facility
Ball Diamond
Fulham Street SE

65
Part Five.

Beyond
the Site.
66 67
 Program
Elements.
Although the building footprints are
constrained within a distinct area of
operation, a cohesive master plan for
the project speaks to an integration
with neighbors on all sides of the site.
Connections to the north and east, as
well as improvements to the adjacent
streetscape extends the vision into the
Fairview community at large.
North Fields
Much of the open park spaces to the
north of the project site is well used: grass
fields support soccer, football and other
organized sports. That said, the area
immediately north of the Indefinite site,
nested between Fairview Junior High and
the Indefinite parking lot, is not.
The design reclaims this space as
an outdoor amenity geared towards
performance, education and athletics –
outdoor infrastructure that both schools
and the community at large does not
currently have.
68 ‘Untitled’, Collaborative Work
The streetscape edge is blurred by a new
urban forest, visually enhancing the road
while offering a sound and wind buffer
to the fields beyond. Between the trees,
meandering paths lead to pockets of
community gardens; a range of shaded and
sunny beds where vegetables and plants
can be grown by residents and students.
Integrated benches create spaces to meet,
chat, or read a book.
As visitors move into the site, the paths
merge into larger hard surfaced areas where
community dance lessons and seniors
yoga classes are held. These spaces double
as assembly space for large audiences
gathered to enjoy a late night movie or take
in a performance on the black box outdoor
stage. An outdoor firepit extends the use
of this space both into evening and into the
colder months.
69
Beyond the theatre, a new hill is rises
four meters into the air. Its west face, a
more gradual slope, creates landscaped
amphitheatre seating for outdoor shows. At
its top, visitors can see deep into Indefinite
Art’s studio space. The east face creates
spectator seating for the existing sports
fields. In the winter, children toboggan
while parents warm themselves alongside a
community fire pit in front of the theatre.
Woonerf
The arena site, immediately east of
the Indefinite Arts Centre, is slated for
redevelopment; however, the scope and
timing of this work is unknown. Regardless
of the program and scale of the future
development, the space in between the
IAC and the east site must be considered in
order to ensure an integrated public realm
for Fairview.
A woonerf is envisioned as a link between
the two developments. As a social street,
one which privileges pedestrians over
vehicles, visitors are provided a liveable
70
and attractive shared entry that could host
a variety of activities for both facilities.
Vehicular access to the north of the site –
a suitable location for large-scale surface
parking – is preserved while new features
such as furniture, planters, street trees, and
benches limit vehicular speed, improve
safety, and promote greater use of the
circulation space.
The woornerf is a public amenity that could
be built now, bridging between the IAC
and an anticipated future integrated civic
facility.
Streetscape
The existing streetscape design of
Fairmount Drive and Fredson Drive falls
short of the character of the neighborhood.
Narrow sidewalks, lack of street parking and
no bike lanes contribute to higher speed
of vehicular traffic and reduced safety for
pedestrians and cyclists.
Informed by The City of Calgary’s Complete
Streets Guideline, the new design proposes
a new streetscape befitting the caliber Fredson Drive, as a residential street,
and character of this significant linkage. incorporates accessible on-street parking
Fairmount Drive is envisioned as a collector and new street trees as green infrastructure.
street: generous sidewalks, dedicated bike The curb cut for the woonerf is shifted east,
lanes and accessible on-street parking are further away from Fairmount Drive.
framed by new street trees which line the
boulevards. New turning radii, and a more generous
pedestrian realm at the corner of Fairmount
Pedestrian crossings are made more and Fredson reflect the updated street
visible with ladder-style crosswalks. Curb profiles and provide a high degree of
extensions significantly improve pedestrian visibility for drivers.
crossings by reducing the pedestrian
crossing distances, visually and physically The proposed streetscape design is vibrant,
narrowing the roadway, improving the safe, accessible and in line with best
ability of pedestrians and motorists to practices for urban design
see each other, and reducing the time
that pedestrians are in the street. New
curb ramps are located at the end of each
crosswalk.
The transit stop is relocated south of the
intersection, creating the space for a visible
loading and drop-off zone directly in front
of the site, that does not impede on the
sidewalk.
71
72 View from North of Project Site 73
Part Six.

Schedule.
74 75
 Looking
Forward.

2018 Vision and

plan launched.

2019 Confirmation of
public support.

2020 Break ground on

construction.

1974 Groundbreaking
Ceremony for the Fairview
Community Hall.

76 77
“My
imagination is
so many things” Jane Cameron, ‘Seabird’

Momo Mixed Ability Dance Theatre

78 Photo: Citrus Photography 79
+