Bridgeland's 4th Avenue flyover repurposing takes national award

That space between Bridgeland-Riverside and the downtown core, underneath the Fourth Avenue flyover, is in the process of a makeover and the design can now be called award-winning.

"Great," project lead Tawab Hlimi told The Homestretch, on how the award feels.

"There was a lot of work that was put into it and our efforts are being recognized."

Hlimi is an assistant professor at the University of Calgary's faculty of environmental design and contributed to the project.

• 'Spectacular' 4th Avenue Flyover project needs funding

The flyover projectis the2018 recipient in the National Urban Design Awards, Community Initiatives category, awarded by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Hlimi says a lot of people worked on the project.

We looked at this project from multiple points of view," he said.

"We all had a unique goal with an interest in creating walkable streets. The Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association had the interest of reclaiming a lost space before the Fourth Avenue flyover that is an important [connection] between the community and the downtown core."

• Here's what the project looked like in October.

And students were tapped for their perspectives.

"The Grade 6 students came in with, how do we program this green infrastructure foundation? The series of rain gardens, trailsand permeable surfaces serve an ecological agenda. How can a social agenda be overlaid on top of that? We were looking for what kind of ideas the children had for the space. What kind of programs, from a child's point of view, could be integrated with the framework?" Hlimi said.

"A nature-play environment is what emerged through that process."

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With files from The Homestretch.