**New copies of the pictures have been uploaded, with the exception of the first four, since they’re not critical to the post, IMO. (Plus it’s Christmas Eve…)
The first slide is an overview of the plaza, with the points of entry…
Another overview, with the proposed new stage at the foot of McDougall.
A scale overview of the new stage along with the new access from McDougall to the plaza.
A cut away view of the same view, as you can see there will be space for dressing rooms, loading docks, etc… a far cry from “The Onion” which is half of the old entrance to the temporary Casino, that was located where the Art Gallery is today.
A bird’s eye view of the ramp from McDougall to the plaza, along with the new sound stage.
A street level view. Looks like the materials may be concrete with a bit of colour added in on the back of the stage with some wood cladding.
A 3D model looking east from the back of the stage, you can see the ramp to street level, as well as the loading docks.
A 3D view looking west from the front of the stage.
An artist’s conception of the stage
An artist’s view looking towards the west near street level.
While I’m not generally a giant fan of modern architecture, this is actually a very nice concept. Whereas some times, buildings look idiotic because they don’t fit in with their neighbours, in this case there are no other buildings for it clash with.
There has been some federal stimulus money given towards the project, and it will get rid of the joke of a stage that’s currently there, and it will also remove the blue buildings along the waterfront that are left over from the days of the Northern Belle Casino.
All in all I think it’s a decent design, and I really like how they’ll tie McDougall Street into the waterfront, and create a better pedestrian access point. Those wooden stairs that are there now are a disgrace, as is the onion.
This will be a great addition to the waterfront, and might just be the piece of the puzzle that transforms the Festival Plaza space into to something that Windsor can actually be proud of.
I just hope that the design doesn’t get scaled back and the project gets the typical Windsor cheapening.
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Also, this will be the last post this week, Check back here Monday the 28th following the holiday weekend, for a new post. I hope everyone out there has a safe a happy holiday weekend, whatever you happen to celebrate or believe in.
See you Monday.
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