Ahmad Assi

Academic  /  2023

Market District

A revitalisation strategy for Site 3 of Confederation Heights, built around connectivity, intensity zoning at the intersections, and an open space district at the core.

Project type
District revitalisation strategy
Location
Confederation Heights, Ottawa, Ontario
Status
Academic
Area
Targeted density 150 people per hectare
Role
Sole author, ARCS 2304 Assignment 3

Site 3 of Confederation Heights was the piece of the studio I took on alone. The strategy is about connection first: roads and pedestrian routes, including bridges, tied into the contextual elements around the site rather than stopping at its boundary.

Density is placed rather than spread. High rises sit along the edges, particularly near the major intersections, which is where the intensity can be absorbed, and the scale steps down toward the middle. That leaves the core free for an open space district: green communal ground, and a park dotted with food stands and booths so there is a reason to be there rather than merely pass through.

The southern part is student housing, which picks up what is already there: The Revalie, the student building on Brookfield immediately nearby. Matching it is the point, so the block reads as a continuation of the existing urban fabric rather than an intrusion into it. The heart of the site is mid-rise with cultural commercial markets at grade, giving the district its name and the transition from the tall periphery to something more intimate. The north east corner is marked by a train station, which is what makes the whole density argument reasonable in the first place.

Targeted density is roughly 150 people per hectare.

Street level view of the district with mid-rise blocks along the route, the light rail passing and the water tower landmark beyond
Axonometric of the district with the blocks in white massing, the planted courtyards between them and the open space at the centre
The district as proposed. High rises take the edges where the intensity can be absorbed, and the scale steps down toward an open core.
The district from the opposite corner, the mid-rise heart and the market frontages reading against the taller perimeter
The district as proposed. High rises take the edges where the intensity can be absorbed, and the scale steps down toward an open core.
The existing condition in context, a scatter of large single buildings surrounded by roads and open ground
Before and after, drawn at the same angle. The whole argument in two pictures, because the site is not short of land, it is short of edges.
The same view with the proposal in place, the blocks completing the street edges and the open space held at the centre
Before and after, drawn at the same angle. The whole argument in two pictures, because the site is not short of land, it is short of edges.
Street level view along the market frontage with the arched openings, a bus at the kerb and street trees over the pavement
At grade, where the cultural commercial markets give the district its name.
Site plan of the district as proposed, the central square with its radiating paths set against the surrounding block structure
The masterplan, before and after. The road structure is kept and the blocks are rebuilt around a new central square.
The same plan drawn as blocks only, showing the grain of the proposed development against the existing road pattern
The masterplan, before and after. The road structure is kept and the blocks are rebuilt around a new central square.
Axonometric of the central square with its fountain, radiating paths and market stalls, ringed by mid-rise blocks with the train station in the foreground
The square itself, which is what the whole density argument is arranged around.
Wider axonometric of the whole site showing the transition from high rise at the periphery to mid-rise around the square
The district at large, the high rises held to the edges near the intersections and the scale dropping towards the centre.
Two street level views, the market frontage under the trees and the corner where the mosque meets the new block
At eye level, and the plan details behind it.
Two detail plans of the square, keyed to show the planting, the paving pattern and the food stall positions
At eye level, and the plan details behind it.

Drawings

The full Site 3 Market District sheet, carrying the written strategy, the context axonometrics, the before and after comparison and the street level views
Site 3, Market District, full sheet