PFS Studio was engaged by the City of Vancouver to design and implement the plaza at the heart of the new Southeast False Creek community in time to be the focus of celebrations for the 2010 Olympic Village that occupied the community during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

The design, endorsed by both the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) and the City, was for a public space design that leverages both everyday use and special events. The design features symbolic elements that reference the industrial history of the site. The lofting lines and ribs of ships from shipbuilding set the overall spatial configuration, while piles of lumber symbolizing timber exports are formed into benches, and translucent seating cubes symbolizing salt imports that relate to the adjacent heritage structure, the Salt Building. Since the close of the 2010 Olympics, the Southeast False Creek Plaza has become the civic heart of the new community, supporting a variety of programmed and non-programmed uses throughout the year.

Awards:

International Making Cities Liveabe (IMCL), Merit Award for Excellence, Public Places for Community, Democratic Dialogue, Health & Equity, 2017

Urban Land Institute, Open Space Award, 2013

Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), Award of Planning Excellence – Neighbourhood Planning Category, 2010

Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), Regional Honour Award for Design, 2010

United Nations Environment Program’s Livable Communities Best Built Project Award, 2010

Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), National Merit Award, 2009

Canadian Urban Institute, Brownie Award, 2009

Waterfront Center Honor Award, 2009

Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, Urban Design Award, 2006

Photos by Brett Ryan + SITE Photography