(via) We’re digging the look and functionality of Liverpool’s outdoor Constellations Bar, which is much more than just a bar. It also sports a food truck, art space, cinema, and community garden. It got us thinking how cool it would be if Vancouver’s residential neighbourhoods each had a get-together hub that operated similarly.

Can you imagine a multi-purpose installation like this on the periphery of Vanier Park, David Lam Park, or Strathcona Park? Wouldn’t it be a thing of civic beauty if the Parks Board took this approach to its concessions and partnered with local craft breweries, farmers markets, community organisations, and food trucks?

On the design, which is remarkable in and of itself…

The structure is supported by a set of ten ‘quadrapods’ – doubled A-Frame supports -made from green oak. These have a duel function, as each one incorporated bench seating or a table. These quadrapods carry the load of the canopy via glue-lam beams, which project form the roof to form a wing-shaped rainspout. The courtyard garden is populated with green oak furniture, conceived as a set of tessellating components, and planted one-tone builders bags. These are easily movable, allowing the space to be reconfigured to accommodate the rolling program of arts events, performance, cinema screenings and a market.

MORE CIVIC IMPROVEMENT IDEAS