and east.

The BCC is the true center of the

community, since the site contains a library,
1
elementary school, secondary school, child
care facilities, recreational facilities like an
ice rink, a senior center, a youth center, and
an information center.

The BCC was built in the mid-1970s by the

Britannia Community Services Centre Soci-
ety, which sought to coordinate government
services and integrate a wide range of pro-
gramming to meet the interests and needs

N
of the residents. The non-profit society is
estled south of the Burrard Inlet and north
run through a locally elected Board of Management,
of Broadway Street between Clark Drive
which develops and facilitates the educational, rec-
and Nanaimo Street, the Grandview-Wood-
reational, library and social services for the commu-
land neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia,
nity.
is a mature and lively neighbourhood and is home
to a wide group of people and activity. Known for its
main retail street, Commercial Drive, Grandview-
Woodland is filled with a vibrant mix of heritage
homes, cooperatives, ethnic restaurants, coffee The main entrance to Britannia along Napier Street
shops, and annual celebrations. Grandview-Wood- from Commercial Drive opens into a square where
land began developing in 1891 when the Vancouver- the library, information centre, elementary school,
New Westminster interurban railway opened and and senior centre are located. At first glance, the
made a stop on what is today Commercial Drive. The square feels underwhelming and confusing; how-
provision of city water to the neighbourhood in 1904 ever, over time the centre’s low, painted cinderblock
encouraged further development. After the First buildings offer a certain sort of legibility and charm. Commercial Drive to the west and east, respectively.
World War, Italian, Chinese, and Eastern European Much of the activity in the Britannia square is cen- Specifically, the site in focus is the west-facing façade
immigrants arrived into the area, with a second tred on the library during weekends and afternoons of the Senior Center and Gym D along a footpath
wave of Italians arriving after World War II. and the elementary school during school hours. from William Street and Grandview Park in the
However, when the school and library are closed, the south to the main square of Britannia on Napier St.
Anchoring the middle of the Grandview-Woodland
neighbourhood is the Britannia Community Cen-
recreational and social centres of Britannia, like the Contents
senior centre, become more lively in the most unpre-
tre (BCC). The BCC is located between Venables
dictable ways. Site Analysis......................... 2-3
Street and William Street to the north and south,
and McLean Drive and Commercial Drive to the west The focus of this analysis, hereby referred to as “the Use Analysis........................ 4-5
site,” is the area within Napier Street and William
CONTEXT Street to the north and south, and Cotton Drive and Problem Definition.................. 6
 N Alley
Senior Centre
To Main Entrance
To Square, Info Centre, Library,
Elementary School
Experiencing the site from
Grandview Park to the Square
W
alking north along this pathway, the
most prominent feature of the site is the
19-meter tall expanse of cream-colored
cinderblocks painted “Gymnasium D.” The distrac-
tion of this wall detracts from the view of downtown
Vancouver to the west, visible in the winter beyond a
chain-link fence and roof of the elementary school.
Looking northwards, a dark and oppressive cov-
ered walkway between the gym and the elemen-
tary school avert the eyes from a spectacular view
of the North Shore mountains, which is especially
impressive when the piste is lit in the winter. Walk-
ing south from the Senior Centre and the Britan-
nia square towards Grandview Park, the dominant
feature of the site is the Gym D wall on the left and
a tall wooden fence to the south. The park can be
SITE ANALYSIS
Gym D
Gym D Exit
glimpsed in small part, but is mostly obscured by the
child care centre.
The site is in remarkably good repair, with no graf-
fiti and small amounts of litter. This may result from
community pride in Britannia, but also from the
transient population within Britannia, who glean
recyclables and other discards.
Senior Centre
The Senior Centre is most readily accessible from
the main entrance and the alley behind the Com-
mercial Drive retail. On Sunday afternoons and
Monday evenings, jazz and carnival band music
pours out of the senior centre while people of all
ages stop to partake in the music or just to listen.
Pauses are brief, however, as there is no suitable
gathering place outside of the senior centre.
Tree planters and benches indicated on the plan are
uncomfortable resting spots as the benches are often
damp, uncovered, and cold. They are also more than
1 meter below the entrance to the Senior Centre, dis-
couraging interaction with events going on there.
2
Child Care Centre
To Grandview Park
The ramp in front of the entrance to the senior
center was likely intended for people with mobil-
ity challenges, but it is frequently used by cyclists,
the age of 12 to 14 years old during gym classes. As
parents with strollers, and surprisingly, nearly all
caucasian men aged 40 or older. the doors swing out, it is an appropriate exit
Gym D Child Care Centre
No activity occured at this site during the observa-
While few people stop and pause to admire the mo-
tion periods, perhaps because it is winter. The emer-
saics outside or check the gym schedule, most either
gency exit below the Child Care Centre has a locked
purposely enter for a class or they pass by the gym
chainlink fence blocking the exit. This shows conflict
completely to head towards the park or the square.
between safety of Britannia users and the desire
The gym’s entrance is conveniently located under to keep transient people out, as the emergency exit
a covered walkway that connects it to the elemen- stairwell is a sheltered area.
tary school. This passage is used frequently during
the school day, especially by the younger children.
However, the walkway obscures the entrance to the
gym and to the square itself. Trees in planters out-
side Gym D further disguise this portal and make
the entrance feel blocked.
Gym D Exit
This exit is hardly used, except by children around
 Materials NATURE leaf.crunch.rustle.bird chirp. dog bark.
dripping water
3
PEOPLE children squealing.conversation.wild
ramblings.angry yelling.soaring trumpets.
footsteps
MACHINERY cars.honking.stereos.airplane
roar.heat exchange

NATURE leaf.crunch.rustle.bird chirp. dog bark

Cinderblocks Wood Reinforced Glass FOOD fried potatoes.coffee.bubblegum
In good repair, some peeling Stained very dark, Lots of sticky residue and
paint, no graffiti susceptible to rot posters UNPLEASANT damp.wet concrete.

Mosaics
Drab colors and geometric
designs, point of interest
COLOR brown.cream.gray
TEXTURE smooth cinder blocks
VOLUME vast.empty.boundless
VIEWS grouse mountain.grandview park.down-
town
ACTIVITIES purposeful walking.waiting.
strolling.kids playing.cycling
Metal Asphalt
Thick coats of paint, Darker in repaired patches, SWEET nothing
usually red areas painted for children
SALTY nothing
SOUR nothing

T
he most commonly used materials on the site are cinderblocks that appear
to have been painted with layers-upon-layers of paint. Despite the vast PLEASANT quiet.still.smiles.warmth.invita-
surface area readily available for graffiti, the site remains vandalism-free,
tion.new friends.discovery.well-lit
attesting to the care and attention bestowed upon Britannia from the community
members. UNPLEASANT lonely.cold.wet.neglected.empty

Britannia is also pleasanly free of garbage and other artifacts, though much of
the asphalt is stained with gum and heavily repaired. Tellingly, the few existing
benches are not worn much. Older community members and binners were ob-
served gathering refuse left by younger people in the centre.
SITE ANALYSIS
within movement.uncomfortable pauses.strange
people.harsh fluorescents
I TOUCH cold.wet.grimy.thick layers of paint.
sticky tape residue.hard.solid
IT TOUCHES ME falling leaves.dripping roofs.
soft gusts concentrated along passages.tree
branches.
T
he site evokes many feelings and sensations. Surprisingly, Britan-
nia feels quite empty despite the hundreds of people who pass
through the area daily. The lack of comfortable outdoor sitting
and gathering spaces, likely designed this way on purpose to dissuade
drug-users and transient populations from staying too long, encour-
ages people to complete their activities, like going to school, attending
a gym class, or going to the library, without stopping to socialize long.
This issue is excacerbated by the fact that people who do hang around
the centre to socialize tend to be teenagers, transients, and mentally ill
people.
WHO USES THE SITE
• Children attending school
WHO IS MISSING FROM THE SITE
• Young “hipsters” who are just moving into Commercial Drive area
4
• New immigrants to Canada
• Aboriginal people
• Mature, long-term residents of Britannia
• Transient population • These people are far more visible on Commercial Drive at all times of the day and
• Examples: Russian immigrant attending acrobatics class, homeless man smoking mari- week, but they are noticibly absent from the site
juana, people playing in the carnival band, older woman going to the gym

10 to 11am 2 to 4 pm 8 to 9 pm Note: On the pie/donut chart, where

people come from is the pie chart in
the middle and their destination is the
USE ANALYSIS donut around it.

A
nalysis of this area indicates that people use
the corridor between Grandview Park and the
library mainly as a means of getting elsewhere.
The above diagram illustrates that few people enter
the buildings, but many more people use the path to
transverse Britannia.
Although there are few behavior traces, such as trash,
cigarette butts were found near the entrance to the
USE ANALYSIS
5
Senior Center in the evening. Single-serving yogurt stairs along Napier as the ramp is non-contiguous.
containers, typical of school lunches, were also found
outside the Gym D Exit. The emergency exit for Gym D is blocked by a locked
chainlink fence. The fence was likely erected to dis-
Throughout the Britannia Centre, signage dictates suade homeless people from seeking shelter in the
appropriate behavior, though the rules are not fol- stair well. This complicates the use of the exit and
lowed closely. For example, at least two dozen people separates out who the centre serves.
were observed riding bicycles, often down the ramps
in front of the Senior Centre, despite the fact that “no Many signs are posted on the inside of windows, as
cycling” signs are painted on almost every building. the tape residue remains. This makes the signs feel
Some people choose to walk their bicycles up the temporary and unimportant.
 PROBLEM
O
Site lacks tastes and smells
fordable seating arrangements, façade improvements, festive lighting, smells and tastes, and vegetating the monolithic walls of Gym D.
GOAL
Provide a food-focused space for people to
socialize and engage all of their senses in
Britannia
DIRECTION
1. Develop a coffee roasting facility and
coffee shop in Britannia’s square
2. Build a bakery or relocate Uprising
Breads close to Britannia’s square
3. Grow an aromatic herb and butterfly
garden along the elementary school
fence, opposite of Gym D
4. Foster local food production so the cof-
fee shop can serve healthy and local
food, like sandwiches
PROBLEM
Users cycle despite its prohibition
GOAL
Create paths that are safe for cyclists and
pedestrians
DIRECTION
1. Replace bollards on Napier with plant-
er boxes and potted trees
2. Use strategically-placed planters to
force cyclists to slow down
PROBLEM DEFINITION
bservation of the site and the people who interact in it show that there are a variety of non-conformities, problems, conflicts, and oversights in the
design and management of the site. The main problem is the perception of safety and attractiveness of the site. Safety can be improved by giving
people a place to spend time and socialize that is less intimidating and boundless compared to the square. Attractiveness can be improved with af-
PROBLEM
Many users of the site are caucasian and
mature. High school youth tend to in-
timidate other users, such as parents with
small children and senior citizens. Young
adults, who are moving to Commercial
Drive in droves, are noticably absent from
the centre.
GOAL
Create a safe-feeling space to relax and so-
cialize that is open to everybody
DIRECTION
1. Build a cafe-type establishment that
serves food and alcohol in a relaxed
atmosphere which is open early in the
morning for school parents and late at
night for “hipsters”
2. Improve signage on Commerial Drive
to point the way to Britannia in order
to attract new residents
3. Place eye-catching and small hand-
outs with schedules of programming
in Britannia in Commercial Drive’s
businesses to encourage more people to
attend classes and use the facilities
4. Establish classes that focus on “craft-
ing,” like knitting or felting, to at-
tract more young adults in the neigh-
borhood
PROBLEM
Older users of Britannia tend to complain
about drug dealers and homeless people.
While transient people are a significant
user of Britannia, activities such as in-
stalling gates in front of emergency exits
both create an unsafe environment and
marginalize the population.
GOAL
Foster the feeling of safety for all users of
Britannia
DIRECTION
1. Train community guides or police to
show people around the site and answer
questions in the daytime and make
Britannia feel safer at night
2. Discouraged homeless people from
staying on the site by installing video
cameras and programming more loud
activities late at night
3. Build a clean and sober hostel some-
where on the site, but not near the
square, to house transient populations
4. White fairy lights can improve the
nighttime lighting of the site without
being too intrusive or glaring
6
PROBLEM
The site lacks comfortable sitting areas,
so people pass through the site and only
pause to listen to music or talk to each oth-
er. This may be a design result out of fear
of drug dealers and the homeless.
GOAL
Create a comfortable and attractive social-
izing area in the site in conjunction with
safety improvements
DIRECTION
1. Improve sheltered sitting areas so they
are dry year round and cool in the
summer
2. Design attractive and vegetated sit-
ting areas. These could look like gaze-
bos or garden benches
3. Replace the elementary school chain-
link fence with a leafy lattice fence.
4. Soften the cinderblock walls and re-
duce the heat-island effect by vegetat-
ing the walls of Gym D. An affordable
method is to grow vines on the wall. A
quicker alternative is to install vege-
tated lattices
5. Replace the covered walkway between
Gym D and the elementary school with
a more transluscent vegetated arch
that brings together the leafy walls
and serves as a portal