St. Patrick’s Island Park

At the centre of an ambitious redevelopment strategy for the East Village in downtown Calgary, St. Patrick’s Island creates both a well-located community resource and a city-wide recreation destination. IBI Group was part of the design team that developed plans for the redevelopment of St. Patrick’s Island Park. The Park design prepares the places and elements that will trigger the imagination, exercise the body and mind, and lift the spirit of locals and visitors alike.

The Park design is based on the principles of Biophilia, translated from Latin as a “love of living systems.” An approach that honours and nurtures the instinctive bond between people and nature, the centre of the island has been restored as a bio-diverse and tranquil area of natural habitat.

The ‘Living Island’ is envisioned as natural landscape infrastructure with restored ecological vitality, unique place-making amenities, and sustainable resilience to the inevitable flooding of the Bow River. The variety of features, encounters and experiences integrated within the Park engage visitors in the landscape, enabling them to see and understand the significance of the land and the water, the processes, natural systems, and how the Island lives.

Social experiences are linked along a shared pedestrian and bike pathway and include event pavilions, a sun deck, picnic areas, an elevated transect walkway, and boat launch. Additionally, material that had been removed to help construct the historic wetlands channels were re-purposed to create the ‘Rise’, a feature that offers dramatic views of the Calgary skyline and an inviting slope for winter sledding.

Few major cities enjoy a river that is as healthy as Calgary’s Bow River, and with the redesigned St. Patrick’s Island Park, the whole city now has access to a vibrant, urban space.