ORCAS COMING TO CENTENNIAL SQUARE
Kid-friendly play structure to arrive early in July
A pod of life-size orcas will be popping up for play in Centennial Square this summer.
The “Follow the Pod” play structure has been selected as the winning entry out of 33 submissions in the city’s Pop-up at the Square design competition.
The temporary play feature will be erected in the square near Victoria City Hall in early July. As well as being something kids can clamber over, it’s hoped interaction with the whale sculptures will help raise awareness of the threatened southern resident killer whale population, the city says.
Coun. Ben Isitt, who has been a vocal advocate of trying to make Centennial Square more kidfriendly, said the pod structure will be a hit.
The climbable feature, not unlike Cadborosaurus or the octopus in Saanich’s Cadboro-Gyro Park, will help animate the square, Isitt said.
“The design looks excellent … it’s a really good first step in bringing a child-friendly space into the square,” Isitt said.
“Ultimately, we want to look at a permanent feature, but what’s proposed here is really going to animate the square in a positive way … and gives us some really positive ideas about what we can do longer term in Centennial Square and other downtown public spaces.”
Coun. Chris Coleman said he loves the imagery that goes with the design.
“It is useful to remember that perhaps the most photographed image on the streets of Victoria the last couple of years is the topiary piece of mother and calf that resided by the Empress, across from the Tourism Info Centre. I hope this is as popular,” Coleman said.
Isitt would ultimately like to see some sort of a water-play feature in the square.
The winning design was submitted by a Vancouver Islandbased team led by WildVision Edutainment Inc. and Envision Designs and Development.
They will receive a $5,000 award and up to $50,000 for design, construction and installation.
Of the 33 submissions, some came from as far afield as Indonesia, Mexico and Poland.
The pop-up competition is a cooperative effort between the city and the Downtown Victoria Business Association, with the DVBA contributing $15,000 and the city contributing the balance.