#PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS
KMA architects installs BMX supercross track in toronto's centennial park
toronto-based kleinfeldt mychajlowycz architects inc. have designed and constructed the ‘BMX supercross track legacy’ for the 2015 toronto pan am games, following the standards of the union cycliste internationale (UCI) certification board and making it today the only certified track in canada to be recognized.
the project is composed of a structure within a park that accommodates the park’s storage needs, two permanent start ramps for BMX supercross events, one at 10 meters and the other at five meters high, a permanent, concrete and steel screened structure, and a 517-meter, ephemeral dirt track. it is an object in a landscape and a landscape in its own right.
the site of the track, which was determined prior to the design team being engaged, was quickly found to be a low point of the park and its drainage catchment area was enormous. building a dirt track on essentially a catchment area required an extensive underground drainage system, influencing structural and civil engineering interventions. these flows had to be managed to allow the track to be dry within 30 minutes of a rainfall and the water quality had to satisfy the requirements of the toronto region conservation authority because a designated wetland area lies immediately to the south of the site.
the aesthetics of the concrete allowed the practical considerations of storage, ramp heights and retaining wall sections, enabling each one to be expressed as an architectural element within a single form. board-formed concrete, prefinished concrete block and a smooth-faced framing members all add to the distinct language of each element, at once separate and unified.
