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Queen Street Placemaking & Cenotaph Green
By : GSP Group/MTE Consultants/Mighton Engineering/CIS Irrigation
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 15th edition
Discipline : Landscape & Territories
Categories : Urban Design / Civic Design Project : Bronze Certification
Categories : Landscape Architecture / Landscape Architecture - Public Space : Silver Certification
The intersection of King and Queen Streets is the historic centre of Kitchener. This portion of Queen Street is well-traveled by pedestrians with increased foot traffic due to the ION light rail transit (LRT) system. Retained by the City of Kitchener to realize an established vision for Queen Street, a pedestrian-first approach led GSP Group’s redesign of the corridor including upgrades to Vogelsang Green, Queen Street, and the Cenotaph Green.
Emphasis was placed on providing the public with highly visible, safe, and attractive open spaces within Kitchener’s downtown core. Vogelsang Green was redeveloped into a tiered patio and open lawn space with plaza seating and catenary string lights crisscrossing above the open green. Signage was added at Goudies Lane, as well as street art, heritage panels into the right-of-way and upgrades to the lighting along the two-block stretch, offering pedestrians a distinguished and identifiable urban space.
A challenging site with the narrow right-of-way on Queen, the space now has wider sidewalks, narrower vehicular travel lanes, new street lighting, and upgraded surface treatments with colourful patterns and icons introduced at key points along Queen Street, including the intersection with King Street. The design is an abstract piece with crowns symbolizing both King and Queen Streets and a heart to represent the heart of downtown.
Enhancements to the Cenotaph Green, which is one of Kitchener’s most important heritage landscape and ceremonial sites, include the expansion and regrading of the paved plaza, enhanced lighting, and themed planting around the periphery, which further emphasizes the cenotaph memorial.
Collaboration
Landscape Architecture : GSP Group
