Plus 15, by Jill Browne, Calgary, January 31, 2011.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
It’s about -25 Celsius today for the high. In Medicine Hat, where it gets quite hot in summer, it was -41 with wind chill this morning. (At 40 below, Fahrenheit and Celsius are the same: bloody cold).
I’m grateful to the late Harold Hanen, architect, who promoted the Plus-15 walkway concept here in Calgary, as part of trying to make us a “livable winter city”. As shown in the picture, the Plus-15s are walkways, 15 feet up in the air, connecting many of the downtown buildings. Admittedly, it can take quite a bit longer to go a few blocks via Plus-15, as compared to going outside, but for any distance, they’re great when the weather isn’t so nice.
There has been debate about these things since the idea first came up. “They’ll take away pedestrians from street level! Downtown will be dead!” is the gist of the anti-Plus-15 argument. (Here’s a recent Calgary Herald article about it.)
I beg to differ. Downtown is not dead; the pedestrian life is happening inside when the weather’s poor.
I also take exception to the point in the Calgary Herald article that the Bow building is somehow a better element of “livable winter city” design than the Plus-15.
The article says:
“Calgary planners are starting to think more about the entire year in their work. David Downs, a senior architect and the co-ordinator of urban design and heritage with the City of Calgary, points to The Bow tower under construction downtown as an example. It was designed to maximize sunlight year-round and was aligned to minimize the impact of winter winds. That makes it more energy-efficient, and cosier.”
The Bow building (and I will try not to get started on a rant here) may have its good points, but it is out of scale with the rest of downtown and casts a massive shadow. Shadows = cold. Not a nice thing to do to your neighbours in winter.
More Bow building rants on other days. For today, YAY Plus-15, and thank you, Harold.
jill
From Sharon Abra Hanen:
Thank you for this, Jill. My father would have loved to know how much you appreciate one of the urban design projects that meant the most to him. The quality of life and connection for pedestrians was one of his passions, especially in his hometown of Calgary. He saw the Plus-15 as a way not just to get from one part of downtown to another, but also as a physical space that could encourage casual, friendly, in-person connections away from the conversational challenges of blustery winter winds.
From jill:
Thanks so much for your comment, Sharon. Calgary owes your father a debt of thanks.