Institutional
Vertical Agora
Year: 2015
Location: Pigeon Park, Vancouver, BC
As urban populations and densities increase, there is a need to create new public spaces. Our cities are filled with blocks containing similar roof heights as a result of technological limitations, zoning regulations and building codes. If combined, these roof areas have the potential to become public roofscapes, however, social, political and regulatory barriers exist.
A vertical agora explores the potential for new roofscapes by addressing the barriers to access, both physical and perceived. To achieve this, the Centre for Architecture Media and Politics (CAMP) hands over all unused volumes and circulation spaces to the public realm, creating a visually significant public stair rising through the building. CAMP invites the public to ascend through the building and becomes one of many access and egress points required for an urban roofscape.
