Over the years, HTFC has worked with the community of Saint-Norbert on a variety of projects and plans, developing solutions that pay tribute to the strong sense of heritage and community in this ‘small town’ within the city limits of Winnipeg.
HTFC’s relationship with the community began in 1994 with the conceptualization and architectural detailing of the new twin span bridge over the LaSalle River. This bridge acts as the main entrance to Saint-Norbert’s main commercial strip, and establishes a character that all subsequent projects have drawn upon. Ten years later, HTFC worked with Saint-Norbert Heritage Trails and Rivers West to develop the Cloutier Trail, as part of the Trans Canada Trail system. This two-kilometre trail was field-designed with the assistance of local volunteers, resulting in a trail that is highly responsive to local conditions. It has become a valued and well-used community amenity, and helped spark Winnipeg’s active transportation renaissance.
In 2009 the managers of the Saint-Norbert Farmers’ Market worked with HTFC to rethink the infrastructure, circulation, and spatial reconfiguration of this wildly popular market to allow for sustainable long-term growth. Findings of a multi-faceted community consultation process were distilled into a planning document with design options that can adapt to funding availability, volunteer resources, and community partnerships. The plan is being implemented in phases.
Gateway projects between 2007 and 2010 helped to establish a unique ‘brand’ that can be applied through diverse media. New signage overlays land use patterns from pre-European contact to today, highlighting the rivers and river lot system. The result is a stylized and vibrant snapshot of the tensions that combined to shape modern Saint-Norbert.
Most recently, HTFC worked with the Saint-Norbert Business Improvement Zone to develop a series of seating nodes along the commercial strip. Each node was carefully sited based on an understanding of views, circulation patterns, and comfort, and designed to complement the materials, forms and colours established in previous projects.