Biodome? Edmonton Project could bring giant globe park to Churchill Square
CBC News | Posted: January 18, 2018 10:56 PM | Last Updated: January 18, 2018
YEG Globe would be a temperature-controlled indoor park in the city centre
In the 1996 American comedy Bio-Dome, two hapless chumps on a wrong turn to the toilet end up in trapped inside a hermetically sealed habitat for an entire year.
If Cody Mathiesen gets his way, Edmonton will have its own version of the biodome experience — with all of the tropical benefits, but none of the bad bathroom humour.
He wants to construct a large globe park in Churchill Square — a year-round, temperature controlled sanctuary which would serve as a refuge from Edmonton's long winters.
"I wanted to re-purpose Churchill Square because you don't see many people walking through there in winter," Mathiesen said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.
"We're a winter city and I wanted to embrace that."
Mathiesen and Kayla Bradford Sinasac are calling their idea the YEG Globe.
They have pitched the idea to the Edmonton Project, a local competition — hosted by five local companies — which aims to construct a new city landmark.
YEG Globe is among 10 finalists. It's up against a river valley gondola, a food truck ferris wheel and other imaginative ideas.
While members of the public are encouraged vote on their favourite pitches, the winner will be selected by a panel of judges in a public showdown next month. The ideas will be pitched live at an "Idea Den" event on March 6.
'Local restaurants, local drinks, local talent'
The glass-encased globe would serve as an year-round indoor park. The structure would be entirely solar powered, said Mathiesen.
The globe could feature food and beverage vendors, projection displays, games, a stage for performances, and maybe even a patio, he said.
Creating a space where Edmontonians could enjoy a concert or a meal, with lush green grass underfoot during even the cruelest weeks of winter, would be a game-changer, said Mathiesen.
The globe could be a little microcosm of the best of what Edmonton has to offer.
"The main floor would be a grassy sort of structure, more of a pedestrian walkway, so you could go there and maybe there will be some cafes and a place for singer-songwriters, but it's all based around local talent," he said.
"You could have a local pub, maybe on top you could have a wine bar, but the whole idea is to embrace Edmonton, and have a real local feel.
"Local restaurants, local drinks, local talent."
CBC Radio's Edmonton AM will be talking to each of the finalists and profiling the final project pitches over the next two weeks. Submit your vote in the Edmonton Project online.
Listen to Edmonton AM with host Mark Connolly, weekday mornings at CBC Radio One, 93.9 FM in Edmonton. Follow the morning crew on Twitter @EdmAMCBC.