THE CONVERSATION
Talking with architect Chris Crawford How diverse design tells our city’s story BY AMEETA VOHRA PHOTOS BY BRUCE MURRAY/VISIONFIRE
B
orn and raised in Halifax, architect Chris Crawford soon learned an old-fashioned East Coast value: if you need something, build it yourself. While at Dalhousie University, Crawford took classes that gave him a clearer understanding of how his projects could affect people’s lives for the better. When he worked towards his environmental design studies and architecture degrees, Crawford learned how design work can bring a deeper meaning to communities. He’s now at the helm of some big projects shaping the city, working through Dartmouth’s Fathom Studio. In the following interview, Crawford shares his unique perspectives on the shift Halifax is undergoing in architecture and design, how diversity plays a crucial role in storytelling, the challenges designers face in the city, and what the future holds. On the Press Block (a new development between Grand Parade and Province House): “We’re doing concept design, so our office did a fair amount of historical research to the site. There are two heritage buildings ... quite a rich history of buildings that were built, rebuilt, and lost on the site. The Dennis Building itself was rebuilt and added on to ... This site has always been a big missing tooth in the street of Barrington Street. It’s always been on the architectural community’s mind. In that process, we were really paying homage to not only the buildings that are there, making sure that the character-defining elements and heritage pieces already that were remaining were celebrated, but also making sure that the new pieces spoke to the past of the site.” The historical connection to journalism: “It really was the site of the founding of journalism in Halifax, so there were quite a few newspapers that were born and published on that site. That drove us into the branding, pushing this name forward as the Press Block ... Now, we’re working with the (construction) team on even the interior design wayfinding and we’re actually doing some interpretive planning. So, we’re actually going to be telling that story in the street. We’re tackling almost all the design disciplines to really reinforce that story.” Storytelling through architecture: “This is a new building and a new architecture, but it didn’t completely ignore what was there before. That ties into why people love heritage buildings. They love them not because they’re old; they love them because they’re articulated and they have a human scale … that’s certainly further
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MARCH / APRIL 2022
Chris Crawford and his colleagues are reshaping Halifax, to tell a broader story.
enriched when, for example, there’s a terraced planter that steps down George Street. That’s helping transition, that grade change, but we’re using that to have a timeline of the history of the site. That’s where it’s going beyond the building: we’re using the building to tell that interpretive story.” Diversity adding value to architecture and design: “Our office does a lot of cultural work and is proud and honoured to represent a much more diverse community ... We strive to make sure that our office itself is a diverse group of designers from all over the world and from different backgrounds ... The biggest piece is our clients. It’s understanding that we’re in service to the client. When we’re working with someone like the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre, we’re doing it, building, for them ... It’s really important that there’s a deeper understanding and ability to listen and represent your clients and help them get their voice out there. That ties into a lot that we are as interpretive planners. We are storytellers, so we’re used to listening and translating people’s visions to the built environment.” The vision and concept of the new Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre: “It was a very enlightening experience, as a designer, to get to go through that level of engagement with the Mi’kmaw community to develop that project ... It’s a great example of making sure that we spend the time to listen. It was one of the best design experiences I’ve had and the Mi’kmaw people were very generous in sharing their culture with us to make sure the space represented them. Outside of that and functionally, it’s something that is really needed in the city — a place where Mi’kmaw culture is celebrated and present in the downtown ... The Friendship Centre plays such a huge role in that community, but also in
