It’s the crossing of the two worlds, the old and the new.
The legacy of downtown Cobourg and the innovation of the young minds of Durham College will be coming together as one in the planning of a new vision for downtown Cobourg.
The idea of completely rebuilding isn’t the objective for the planning and development coordinators. The Durham College students will be asked to assess the town’s downtown, take the information gathered, and begin preparation for a proposal to the town of Cobourg.
The second-year architectural technician and architectural technology students will work in groups to send in design plans to give the downtown a new look.
“Cobourg is a perfect fit for our students as the heritage it has, provides a hands-on experience for our students,” said Ali Taileb, an architectural professor at Durham College.
The second-year students planning designs will be due in week 14 of fall semester, so they’ll spend the semester working on their designs. The students will be planning designs for five sites, all of them located on King Street in downtown Cobourg.
Cobourg and Durham College struck a deal back in June when Taileb met the town planners and discussed a new vision for the downtown area of Cobourg.
“They want to attract people to Cobourg,” said Taileb. “Cobourg is a city which has a long history and the character of the buildings provide an interesting learning opportunity for our students.”
The students visited Cobourg in September, and were given a presentation from the town’s planning and development committee.
“The purpose of the project is for the students to look at all the sites, do the feasibility study, and make proposals,” said Taileb.
The students will be graded on this project for their site analysis course in the program, and Taileb believes his students are up to the challenge.
“The students are looking forward to this experience with the municipality of Cobourg,” said Taileb. “The goal is to get the students the real-life experience of getting involved with the municipality.”
The planning and development committee must approve all of the planning designs sent in by the students. The co-ordinator of the planning and development committee, John Henderson, is excited for the proposals.
“I’m interested to see what their perceptions are and what story they’re going to tell us,” said Henderson.
Henderson is entering his fourth year in his first term as the co-ordinator of the planning and development committee and hopes the new vision will complement the heritage of the downtown area.
“We want to be complementary to the heritage, and yet at the same time be progressive in terms of what the future might look like,” said Henderson.
Although both sides are anxious for the final product to be produced, it’s the meeting of innovation and heritage that provides the new vision that both the town of Cobourg and the Durham College students are excited for.
