The design process of architecture is not unlike UX Design. Here’s an architecture project told through a UX lens. 🔎
Education Hub in the North
Location
Northern Quebec, Canada
Role
Research
Masterplan Development
3D Modelling
Graphic Design
UI Design
Timeline
4 months
Tools
Rhino
Illustrator
Photoshop
Sector
Mining
Team
Diana Si
“Can a new town revitalize the Opinaca Reservoir?”
The Problem Space
The northern region of the James Bay region is a hotspot of mining activity, in particular, gold mining activity near the region of the Opinaca Reservoir.
The Northern Quebec area is home to various ore deposits, including Eleonore Gold mine and surrounding prospects (Clearwater, Eleonore South Venture).
-
Research has shown mining operations usually last up to 50-80 years, much longer than the projected timelines.
-
Despite current trends throughout mining companies to move towards a fly-in, fly-out setup, these operations are not environmentally friendly and do not contribute to nearby economies.
-
From observations of other mining towns, temporary camps and living quarters do not provide adequate accommodation for mining workers, nor do they create permanent fixtures and contributions to the nearby infrastructure.
A New Permanent Town
Education Hub in the North is a proposal for a permanent town - providing the necessary standards of living for workers, as well as an educational hub for developing skills in the trades for the local Cree community and region.
Accommodating for Growth
The project proposes four basic phases to the life of this town, taking into account economic conditions, gold deposits and nearby communities.
Phase 1 : Eleonore Mine (Pop. 2000)
Phase 2 : Expansion of Mine, opening of Eastmain in Eleonore South Joint Venture and Clearwater (Pop. 4600)
Phase 3: Closing of Eleanor Mine, migration of mining towards the South (Pop. 3400)
Phase 4: Closure of all Mines (Pop. 500)
Real life Learning Opportunities
By further developing the pre-existing programs in the area by creating a cycle between classroom on-site locations that could train young individuals, the project attempts to tap into the potential of a ‘co-op’ experience close to a mine, where practical skills in the trades and mining industries can be developed.
Giving Back to the Community
The construction of the new town will not only generate local jobs in construction, but create new and advanced higher education opportunities for many of the local residents in the James Bay region.
Here’s the design workflow 👇
Analyze
1
Research
To better understand the conditions and feasibility of the proposal of a new town, we need to start with the users we’re designing for. A new town must have occupants. We started with investigating the state and history of the current local residents, community and infrastructure.
From research, we found the following issues in the area:
-
Primary Roads to and within the Baie-James region include provincial and regional highways, and the Trans-Taiga Road - where access to hydro-electric stations.
Air transportation is abailable, providing scheduled serive to Montreal and Puvirnituq.
-
Current statistics show that a low number of individuals pursue higher education, with high rates of unemployment.
Small adult education programs, technical programs and colleges exist in nearby towns - however are sparse in their programming.
-
The Opinaca Collaborative Agreement aims to implement training and employment, allowing Cree people to join the Opinaca workforce.
It promotes economic and business opportunities during the constructioin and operation of the mine, including supply and services.
Travel Distances of Nearby Towns/Cities
Current Condition of the Baie-James Region
For a new town to be feasible in the long run, it must have backed up evidence that it can persist for a duration of time. The Eleonore South Joint Venture consists of three companies and mines - each with various anticipated start dates and life expectancies. Research and history has shown that many of these mines are projects to last longer than their anticipated life expectancies - usually double.
Eleonore Gold Mine
Eleonore Mine - Mining section and depth
Target Audience
The currently operating and open Eleonore Gold Mine, has established a small prescence for its operations.
Workers are either located in the permanent camp, or contractor camp. Beyond the bare requirements for housing, not much is around the area.
Plan of current state of the Elenore Gold Mine
Who are the Users?
From research, the target user(s) and resident(s) is identified as:
existing workers and miners currently at Eleonore Mine;
new employees contracted for future mining operations;
local residents interested in pursuing higher education in trades and related industries;
their families.
Define
2
Project Journey
Town Construction
To start to propose a new town, we must ask ourselves first - how are we going to accomplish this? The final proposal is only part of the battle - we must understand how we’re going to get there as well.
Construction of new town logistics - creation of new jobs in nearby construction companies
Tapping into the Existing Network
Many nearby towns and Cree communities have colleges and existing programs.
By tapping into this network, and existing programs like Northern Heavy Equipment Operations, Construction Business Management, Mining Mobile Mechanics, the town’s education center will be active at all times.
The project proposes tapping into nearby construction companies in nearby towns that may deliver. This will raise the employment rate in the area as well as motivate more individuals to enter the field of construction.
Exchange at new proposed town between various programs in nearby vicinity.
Design Goals
We’ve identified that the design of the new town must accomplish the following for it’s residents. Residents need:
to feel at ‘home’ when outside of this long work hours
middle spaces outside of his home where they can connect and socialize with others.
In addition, for the feasibility and longevity of the town in the long run, the newly proposed town needs:
to support and feed mining operations in the local area
a means to sustain the town’s local economy
permanence and sustainability of infrastructure
Design
3
Big Ideas
Education at the Core
Our team brainstormed multiple ideas that could meet the design goals.
Based on feasibility and longevity, we decided to focus on tapping into the education networks of the local area as a way to fuel to town.
From this, the following phasing and growth plan of the new town was developped.
Phase 1: The town location is to be located off of the existing Eleonore Gold due to ease of transport, and proximity to the local airstrip, which will aid in the town construction.
Phase 2/3 : The town expands in size as nearby mines simultaneously open.
Phase 4: As nearby mining operations close, the town reduced to its lowest point, and becomes solely an educational facility. Additional housing is demolished.
The Big Moves
The town location was to be located off of the existing Eleonore Gold due to ease of transport, and proximity to the local airstrip, which will aid in the town construction.
Several big moves were made in order to give structure and hierarchy to the design.
A large interconnected educational and community spine
An Industrial Corridor for ease of access
Easy Utility distribution, trough use of underground utilidor
A parkscape that meanders and connects the entire Town
Residential community pockets and Neighbourhoods
Click for larger image↗
At a Micro-scale
At the smaller scale, importance was places on the sectional conditions of spaces, allowing for visibility as well as wind coverage.
In addtion, a kit of parts - staple community building blocks were designed to be repeated, allowing for pre-fabrication.
Refine
4
An Iterative Process
Many conceptual sketches were made, constantly being refined by , continually building on the previous with studies of conditions such as wind, comfort, accessibility before the final plans was conceived.
Working Sketches
Evaluate
5
Next Steps
Explore additional masterplanning layouts. One solution may not be the best solution - if time permitted, it would have been great to explore more layouts to better meet user needs.
What’s the feasibility? Engage in some primary research and gauge the wants and needs of the actual local residents. Are we actually meeting their needs here? What other things do they need?
Keep your priorities! It’s difficult to propose a feasible project with so many moving parts and factors. It’s important to focus on a few and keep the priorities clear, otherwise its easy to get lost!