December 27, 2018

Montreal architectural firm Daoust Lestage selected to design New Market Square development in Winnipeg

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A winning design put forward by Montreal architectural firm Daoust Lestage seeks to turn the historic city centre into “New Market Square.”

Private developers announced Friday the winner of an international design competition for the one-hectare block of the old police headquarters and a civic parkade in the heart of Winnipeg’s business and financial district.

The design proposal selected for its perceived “brightness and openness” includes new, low-cost housing, a public market and multi-use plazas for the land parcel in the Exchange District.

The project design features a sleek glass structure to house a creative hub and an affordable rental housing building. It traces downtown’s historical footprint, according to the concept statement, building on existing connections to the Old Market Square.

“It became clear that the entire project would be flooded in sunlight all day and all year, and that the new market would be open and fully exposed to the surrounding urban edges of Princess, William and King Streets,” the jury wrote in its report on the decision.

The CEO of CentreVenture Development Corp. praised the winning firm for creating “a concept that will add a new jewel in the heart of the Exchange District,” Angela Mathieson, the developer’s chief executive, said in a media release.

After wrecking balls destroy the Public Safety Building and the Civic Centre Parkade site, the land beneath the two city-owned buildings located between city hall and Red River College’s Princess Street campus will be opened up for redevelopment under the guise of CentureVenture.

CentureVenture, which is trying to rebrand the area as the Market Lands, began the design competition in July 2018 when 23 design teams — hailing from five provinces, European countries and the U.S. — submitted proposals for early consideration in the pre-qualification stages.

Keep reading on CBC News

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