Fort Common

Redesigning historic commercial community spaces in downtown Victoria.

The scope of this multi-faceted project involved the redesign of a 20th century commercial block located in downtown Victoria requiring extensive renovations and upgrades.

Type

Commercial

Interior

Community

Status

Completed 2017

Client

Fort Properties

Location

Victoria, Canada

Size

4,000 sqm

Awards

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Highlights

On-site stormwater management within the common area.

Installation of an eco-district within the structure (including the addition of blueberry bushes and apiaries).

Introduction of progressive heat recovery ventilation system (Be Love).

Creation of a new, open-air accessible space within Fort Common.

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Maintaining a sense of history while designing for the future.

Initial work focused on providing cosmetic upgrades to the existing building facade located at the busy Fort and Blanshard intersection. The addition of new paint, awnings, and a staged rehabilitation of the original storefront clerestory glazing was first completed at 801 Fort Street—breathing a renewed sense of life into the space occupied by Chorizo & Co.

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A second phase of seismic upgrades to the building was completed, as well as interior design work for new restaurants: Be Love and La Taquisa.

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The overall project sought to preserve the original spirit of the brick building while inserting contemporary interiors and technologies reflective of tenant needs, (this included the addition of a custom designed active sun-shading systems that function as significant examples of public art).

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Identifying new community space through the process of design.

Through the various different stages of our design work within this project, an opportunity to adapt and utilize the interior courtyard of Fort Common was identified. This resulted in evolving our designs to include creating a unique open-air market area that could be enjoyed by the public as an additional community hub within the city.