Features
The new development was completed between 1979 and 1983, encompassing three city blocks and providing 1,300,000 square feet (120,774 m2) of space. The main component is the glass-covered Provincial Court of British Columbia, which houses 35 courtrooms.
It is 42 metres (138 ft) in height, and the glass roof has a size of 420 by 115 feet (128 by 35 m), is supported by a steel space frame structure, covering approximately 50,000 square feet (4,645 m2) of public space. Three cascading waterfalls throughout the complex provide natural air conditioning with 850,000 US gallons (3,218 m3; 707,773 imp gal) of water.
An outdoor skating rink can be found in a lower level that extends below Robson Street and connects on the other side to the Vancouver Art Gallery, which was renovated as part of the project. The University of British Columbia's downtown satellite campus, UBC Robson Square, is also housed in the lower level, along with restaurants. Typical of Erickson's designs, Robson Square is constructed primarily out of grey concrete, but softened by its environmental design. In addition to the water features are trees and numerous other plantings as well as gradually inclining stairs with integrated ramps. The open design allows for relatively unobstructed natural light and fresh air, and the waterfalls divert from the noise of downtown traffic. Landscaping on the project was designed by Cornelia Oberlander.
The complex was completed in three stages at a cost of $139 million. The provincial government offices were finished first in 1978, the Law Courts the following year, and the renovation of the old provincial court building into the new Vancouver Art Gallery was completed in 1983, a decade after the design was completed.
As of November 23, 2009, Robson Square has been reopened following a multi million dollar reconstruction project. Its reopening can be directly attributed to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler. Robson Square provides the only public outdoor skating rink in Vancouver--and is free to use.
Read more about this topic: Robson Square
Famous quotes containing the word features:
“It is a tribute to the peculiar horror of contemporary life that it makes the worst features of earlier times—the stupefaction of the masses, the obsessed and driven lives of the bourgeoisie—seem attractive by comparison.”
—Christopher Lasch (b. 1932)
“Art is the child of Nature; yes,
Her darling child, in whom we trace
The features of the mother’s face,
Her aspect and her attitude.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)