Ekistics Plan + Design wins Canadian Society of Landscape Architects National Award for Bridgewater, Nova Scotia’s Pijinuiskaq Park & King Street

Nastaran Moradinejad - CSLA President, Devin Segal - Ekistics Plan + Design, Alan Tate - CSLA Awards Chair, Vincent Asselin - CSLA Past-President
Photo: CSLA & OALA

A project to convert a worn-out parking structure into a dramatic riverfront park in the downtown of Bridgewater, NS, has won a national award for excellence in landscape architecture.

On April 7,  the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) presented the National Awards of Excellence in landscape architecture. Ekistics Plan+Design of Halifax received an “Award of Excellence, Small-Scale Public Landscapes” for the design of “Taking Back the Riverbank: Pijinuiskaq Park & King Street,” in Bridgewater, NS.

The project's signature piece is a linear park sloping to the LaHave River, offering views and access previously blocked by a 1960s parkade.  Pijinuiskaq Park signifies a shift from a car-centric downtown to a pedestrian-oriented main street that emphasizes public space along the riverfront. The new park connects Bridgewater’s main commercial street to the river, creating an attractive space for residents and visitors.

Photo: Scotty Sherin

Jury Comments

A wonderful, robust, locally-oriented project exhibiting excellence in implementation. “The design has harmony. It is incredibly well executed: they got everything right,” said one juror. The Jury applauded the adaptive re-use of the timber structures of the dock, and appreciated the use of locally quarried stone. “I can’t overstate the impact this must have had on the town. It must have been transformative,” said one Juror. “Impressive.”