Marie-Claude Fares and Peter Carter are transforming Ship Point in Victoria’s Inner Harbour into a scene out of a child-like dream this summer.
When initially envisioning the plaza north of the Inner Harbour, Vancouver-based designers Fares and Carter wanted to create something that would highlight Victoria’s dynamic harbour and all that it has to offer both tourists and residents.
That’s when Fares and Carter decided to incorporate elements of their childhood — folding paper boats.
“Everybody folded paper boats when they were a kid, you could almost pick up paper now and just remember how to do it,” Fares said of building paper boats.
With that in mind, they put their heads together and created a submission for Victoria’s pop-up design competition for the beautification of Ship Point, located in the Inner Harbour.
As part of the competition, the City of Victoria asked a team to design, build and install a temporary or “pop up” public space at Ship Point, with the aim of revitalizing the area and making it a more welcoming space for people to socialize, wander and explore.
The city received close to 50 submissions, but in the end, it was Fares and Carter’s design that was selected for the $35,000-project.
As part of the design, the duo has created pop-up ships that feature seating inspired by origami paper boats. A larger structure called the Beacon will have fabric wrapped around it so visitors can walk through and see different views of the Inner Harbour.
Part of the surface will also be painted a blue gradient pattern to reflect the nearby water.
“It’s a public space so we wanted it to be a fun and playful thing, something that can appeal to all ages,” said Carter, who has a boating background. “We were inspired by the nearby boats.”
This is not the first installation Fares has worked on. She worked on public space installations and activations in Vancouver as well.
“I’m hoping that somebody is going to want to buy an ice cream cone and sit there and enjoy it. It’s the definition of a childhood place — just playful blue and some place to be,” said Fares of the installation.
The project is expected to be installed at the end of the month.