Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan Construction Underway
More visitors, art and creativity coming to the heart of Saskatoon
SASKATOON, June 7, 2013 – Today, officials from all levels of government celebrated the start of construction of the much anticipated Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. The Gallery will be a vibrant community gathering place and will distinguish Saskatoon as an important international art destination. It will also be a key element at Saskatoon’s River Landing and important to the ongoing revitalization of south downtown.
“Our Government’s investment in the Remai Art Gallery demonstrates our commitment to improving cultural infrastructure in Saskatchewan and throughout Canada,” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification) and Member of Parliament for Blackstrap. “I am proud that our Government is supporting this project that will create jobs and provide residents and visitors with the opportunity to enjoy various art collections and exhibitions in this exciting new location.”
“The Remai Art Gallery will be a significant cultural landmark for Saskatoon and Saskatchewan and our government is proud to support it,” said Paul Merriman, MLA for Saskatoon Sutherland, on behalf of Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan Government Relations Minister. “Through our Saskatchewan Plan for Growth, we recognize how vital infrastructure investment is to the quality of life in our communities, and special projects like this one showcase both the inspirations and the aspirations of Saskatchewan people.”
When complete, the Remai Gallery will have three times the area for exhibition space and two times the area for art education than the current gallery. In addition, it will have a café, gallery shop, and a 150-seat lecture theatre. The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is planned to be open to visitors in the spring of 2016.
"Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work by many community-minded people," said Saskatoon Mayor Donald Atchison. "Yet it is just the beginning of what will be a landmark destination on the river in Saskatoon. One of the goals of our strategic plan is to improve the quality of life for everyone. The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan will add to our quality of life and provide cultural opportunities we have never seen before."
“This is an important moment for both the gallery and community,” said Jason Aebig, President and Chair of the Remai’s Board of Trustees. “Thanks to the extraordinary contributions of our donors, volunteers and gallery staff, the vision of the new Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan will be realized and Saskatoon will have a gallery that matches the creativity, ambition and energy of our growing city.”
Read more: Media Release
Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan design receives prestigious architecture award
Design for Saskatoon’s New Gallery by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects in association with Smith Carter Architects and Engineers wins prestigious national architecture award
TORONTO, December 16, 2011 – With the announcement of a 2011 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence, the proposed new Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan (REMAI) is off to an auspicious start. This striking design, overlooking the South Saskatchewan River, is the result of collaboration between Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) as design architects and Smith Carter Architects + Engineers as architects of record. Scheduled to open in 2015, the Remai will be three times the size of the current 47-year-old Gallery it replaces.
“The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan will be a vibrant cultural centre for an exciting, dynamic city,” said Vincent Varga, Executive Director and CEO of the Mendel Art Gallery. “This award for the stunning design of the facility only reinforces our belief in the project, as we transition from the Mendel Art Gallery, with its own proud history in the community, to the expansive and exciting new landmark at Saskatoon’s River Landing.”
The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence, one of two major national design award programs, has recognized significant projects – from small-scale installations to complex institutional buildings – on an annual basis since 1968. The jury for the 2011 Canadian Architect Awards comprised Walter Frand Architecture Inc., in Vancouver, Diarmuid Nash, Partner in Moriyama & Teshima Architects in Toronto, and Peter Sampson, Principal of Peter Sampson Architecture Studio in Winnipeg. The Remai was 1 of 8 Awards of Excellence selected from 163 submissions.
In selecting the design of the Remai, juror Peter Sampson commented how the “rational composition of gallery and theatre volumes on the banks of Saskatoon’s river valley will be a compelling addition to the city’s south downtown precinct.”
Read more: Media Release
Children’s Discovery Museum poised to move into Mendel Gallery space
Less than three years after opening in Saskatoon’s Market Mall, the Children’s Discovery Museum is one step closer to moving into the space formerly occupied by the Mendel Gallery. A report submitted to the city’s planning and operations committee recommended giving approval for the museum to prepare a detailed business plan for moving into the space currently occupied by the Mendel Gallery. The expansion would allow the museum to increase its offerings to between six and 12 permanent installations, bring in travelling exhibits, and collaborate with the Saskatchewan Children’s Festival and Wide Open Children’s Theatre on various projects. The museum is also in talks with the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina about possible collaborations. The city has asked the museum to finish its business plan by June 30, 2012. The Mendel will become vacant when the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan opens in 2014.
Source: Tourism Saskatchewan
Expansion - Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
The Saskatoon Airport Authority (SAA) Board of Directors has given formal approval to the Airport Terminal Expansion project following the presentation of final design concepts by local architectural firm Kindrachuk-Agrey. The expansion, budgeted at $53 million and scheduled to begin early 2012, is expected to be completed by the summer of 2014.
The terminal expansion is part of a 10-year, $105 million overall Airport capital plan. Future capital projects to be undertaken by the SAA include a parking structure and a privately funded integrated on-site hotel complex.
Expansion Facts:
- Construction will begin early in 2012 with completion in summer of 2014. No construction disruption will be experienced until after the coming winter charter program.
- The new terminal will feature a pier design and offer eight bridgeable gates along with three ground-load positions.
- The expansion will include opportunity for a variety of food, beverage and retail services as well as a Business Lounge. The expanded services will primarily be post-security.
- Existing terminal is 139,000 square feet - new building area will be 266,670 square feet.
- Increased seating capacity is a primary focus and will incorporate comfortable seating areas, business stations, a fireplace and children’s play areas.
- The expansion will be funded through the current Airport revenues including the AIF fund.
Plans for the terminal expansion can be found on the Saskatoon Airport Authority website at www.yxe.ca.
River Landing Receives Two Prestigious Design Awards
Held in conjunction with the Design Council of Saskatchewan’s Design Week, the Premier’s Awards of Excellence in Design were announced on November 18. River Landing and its consultants won two awards recognizing outstanding applied design in Saskatchewan.
Crosby Hanna & Associates received the Design Council of Saskatchewan Premier’s Award of Excellence in Landscape Architecture for River Landing Riverfront – Phase One.
Stantec Consulting received the Design Council of Saskatchewan Premier’s Award of Excellence for River Landing Pedestrian Linkage (Collaborative Category).
The City of Saskatoon has worked with these two consultants over the past seven years to create the River Landing experience.
“We were delighted to learn of the awards River Landing received and congratulate our consultants,” said Sandi Schultz, Special Projects Manager. “River Landing is an amazing destination for residents and visitors alike, and we are thrilled that the Design Council of Saskatchewan recognizes the beauty, design, and positive impact of River Landing.”
Source: saskatoon.ca
Saskatoon fastest growing city in Canada
By Shannon Proudfoot, Postmedia News
Western Canada is home to an increasingly youthful and fast-growing population, while the eastern provinces are older and growing more slowly, according to new demographic analysis from Statistics Canada.
Saskatoon is Canada's fastest-growing city, with a population growth rate of 27.7 per 1,000 people between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010. That added 7,200 residents to the city, for a total population of 265,300, the agency said Wednesday.
Saskatoon is followed by Vancouver, growing at a rate of 22.3 per 1,000, and Regina, which swelled by 22.3 per 1,000 over that same one-year period.
"There are some differences happening in the western provinces compared to the eastern provinces, and what's happening in Saskatchewan is quite interesting," says Anne Milan, a senior analyst with Statistics Canada's demography division and co-author of the report released Wednesday.
International migration was the driving force behind Saskatchewan's booming population, the agency says, with nearly half the population growth fuelled by that factor. Saskatoon alone gained 3,300 people through net international migration in that year, outstripping the international draw of larger cities such as Hamilton, Ont. and Quebec City.
Toronto was Canada's fourth fastest-growing city, followed by Calgary, Moncton, N.B., Edmonton, Ottawa-Gatineau and Winnipeg.
In contrast, cities including Halifax, Montreal, Kelowna, B.C., Victoria and St. John's had growth rates below the national average. Only two cities — Windsor, Ont. and Sudbury, Ont. — registered negative population growth, driven in both cases by losing residents to other Canadian cities.
"In some ways, it's the opposite story (in Eastern Canada), where there's generally lower fertility, they don't receive a large share of immigrants and net interprovincial migration is frequently negative," Milan says.
Amid an aging Canadian population, Saskatoon is also the youngest city in the country, with a median age of 35.4 years, compared to the national median of 39.7.
Many of Canada's other youngest cities are concentrated in the west, with Saskatoon followed by Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Toronto and Winnipeg. Those cities are also aging more slowly, fuelled by far more births than deaths and net gains in migration from other countries, provinces and cities.
In contrast, Saguenay, Que., and Trois-Rivieres, Que., are the oldest cities in Canada, with median ages of 45.0 years, while Quebec City, St. John's, Kelowna, Victoria and St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont., are also older than average.
"Everything kind of interrelates," says Milan. "Population growth and the components of interprovincial migration and immigration and fertility — they all have an impact not only on population growth but the age structure."
Saskatchewan is also a front-runner in terms of the total fertility rate, or the number of children a hypothetical woman would have if she followed current age-specific fertility rates. Saskatchewan's total fertility rate was 2.05 in 2008, second only to Nunavut at 2.98 and the Northwest Territories at 2.08, and very close to the 2.1 replacement figure considered necessary to maintain current population levels without immigration.
In contrast, Ontario's fertility rate is 1.58, Nova Scotia's is 1.54 and Quebec's is 1.74.
But while longer life expectancies, aging baby boomers and fewer births have propelled population aging in recent decades, newly analyzed fertility data show a five-year trend toward more babies overall.
There were 377,900 babies born in Canada in 2008, up from 354,600 in 2006 and the highest recorded number since 1995, though the number still pales in comparison to the 479,300 bundles of Canadian joy welcomed in 1959 at the peak of the baby boom.
Source: canada.com
Hotel News
The James
Saskatoon is excited to welcome a new, independent hotel to the city’s inventory. The locally-owned boutique-style hotel – The James – opened its doors October 16, 2011, and is located adjacent to the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, along Spadina Crescent overlooking the South Saskatchewan River. The 59-room property is comprised mostly of suites, many with balconies. Guests can choose from a selection of studios, one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom Signature Suites including the 1,400 sq. ft. penthouse. The all-inclusive rates include parking, local calls, hot buffet breakfast and more. The design concept is upscale, relaxed luxury with a residential feel, catering to frequent travelers. www.thejameshotel.ca
Green Initiatives Taking Root in Saskatoon Hotel
Taking action towards green lodging practices and addressing eco issues head on is one way that Travelodge Hotel Saskatoon is proving it’s serious about the environment.
With the help of local alternative energy company WSE Technologies and guidance from parent company Airline Hotels as well as the NRCAN/SRC, Saskatoon’s longest-standing north end business has installed a series of 57 solar collectors on its roof to capture the sun’s energy as thermal heat, which is then transferred indoors to warm the hotel’s main pool and the domestic hot water system for one-quarter of the hotel’s guestrooms. Over the course of the expected 25-year lifespan of the system, the energy saved will be equivalent to taking 133 cars off the road. At the end of their life, the collectors and components can be broken down and recycled once again.
Another major project the hotel has undertaken is the $98,000 upgrade to the entire laundry facility including 12 brand new machines with optimized design to provide maximum energy efficiency. The property has been awarded a Green Key designation for its efforts to reduce energy consumption by using energy efficient light bulbs, earth-friendly cleaning products, fast-acting biodegradable garbage bags and by offering recycling bins in all guestrooms, implementing a linen and towel reuse program for guests who stay multiple nights and by modifying daily cleaning procedures.
To further solidify their commitment to the planet, employees of Travelodge Hotel Saskatoon actively participate in workplace recycling, take part in Earth Hour and Earth Day, and have even created a staff-initiated “green team” to provide solutions and suggestions to constantly improve the environmental performance of the hotel. www.travelodgesaskatoon.com
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