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PUBLIc LeArNING 11 News

Design of M2 mixed-use building along Calgary’s Bow River unveiled; Royal Architectural Institute of Canada seeks new executive Director.

42 INsItes

The winners of the Moriyama RAIC International Prize and student scholarships articulate their ideologies and intentions for architectural practice.

46 BooKs

22 cANADIAN MUseUM For HUMAN rIGHts This hulking new structure by Antoine Predock Architect and Architecture49 dominates the winnipeg skyline while undertaking the ambitious mission of promoting human rights. teXt Lisa Landrum

31 FrAser MUstArD eArLY LeArNING AcADeMY Kohn shnier Architects design a new kindergarten for 600 pupils in Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood that meets the needs of its diverse immigrant population. teXt Terri Peters

37 teMPorArY PUBLIc Art INstALLAtIoNs

Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects’ latest monograph is reviewed, alongside recent publications on 21st-century landscape design and First Nations architecture.

47 cALeNDAr

Rooms You May Have Missed at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal; IIDeXCanada 2014 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

50 BAcKPAGe

sited across from the Canadian war Museum in Ottawa, a National Holocaust Monument will open next fall, described by Alessandra Mariani as an experiential environment depicting the darkest chapter of human history.

SAnDY WonG

As a contrast to the long timelines and delayed gratification inherent in architectural practice, architects and designers are engaging in temporary public art installations as a form of research, testing out their ideas and connecting with a wide audience. teXt Pamela Young

coVer Canadian Museum for Human Rights in winnipeg by Antoine Predock Architect and Architecture49. Photograph by Tom Arban.

V.59 N.11 THe NATIONAL ReVIew OF DesIGN AND PRACTICe/THe JOURNAL OF ReCORD OF ARCHITeCTURe CANADA | RAIC

canadian architect 11/14

NOVeMBeR 2014

EDITOR ELSA LAm, mrAiC

Birds and vines weave through the Liyuan Library in Jiaojiehe, China by Li Xiaodong. The project won the inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize. LeFt

Li XiAoDonG

canadian architect 11/14

VIewPOINT

In mid-October, the inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize was awarded. The winning project? Not a big-city monument by a globe-trotting starchitect—but a low-budget contemporary library in a modest village by a lesser-known Chinese architect. Architect Li Xiaodong won the $100,000 award—one of the largest architectural prizes in the world—for a project that cost a little under twice that amount to construct. The 175-square-metre Liyuan Library occupies a lakeside site in the 200-person hillside village of Jiaojiehe near Beijing. Construction-wise, the project is a simple glass box, clad with panels made of vertical sticks. Inside the library, the cladding creates pleasing shadow patterns. The repeated modules also give the building a quiet sense of grandeur—making it feel larger than its twostorey height and 175-square-metre floorplate. One of the award’s criteria is the recognition of projects that have been in use for at least two years. By doing so, it explicitly seeks out buildings that have been proven to last—or even improve—over time. That’s certainly the case with the Liyuan Library. At its opening in May 2012, it had only built-in bookshelves and a simple policy: visitors must donate two books before taking one away. A few months later, the library shelves were full. “Everyone feels part of the ownership of the new library,” Li said. Outside, vines are now beginning to creep up into the stick-cladding panels, and Li hopes that eventually, birds will nest there too. While Li is far from a household name, his modest production has garnered significant critical acclaim. The Yuhu Elementary School, a stone building on a UNESCO World Heritage site in China’s Yunnan province, earned six international awards, including BusinessWeek/ Architectural Record China’s Best Public Project Award. His 2009 Bridge School, which spans a creek in the Chinese village of Xiashi, garnered a prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The inaugural edition of any award lays the

ASSOCIATE EDITOR LESLiE JEn, mrAiC EDITORIAL ADVISOR iAn CHoDiKoFF, oAA, FrAiC CONTRIBUTING EDITORS AnnmAriE ADAmS, mrAiC DoUGLAS mACLEoD, nCArB, mrAiC REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS HALIFAX CHriSTinE mACY, oAA REGINA BErnArD FLAmAn, SAA MONTREAL DAViD THEoDorE CALGARY GrAHAm LiVESEY, mrAiC WINNIPEG LiSA LAnDrUm, mAA, AiA, mrAiC VANCOUVER ADELE WEDEr PUBLISHER

Tom ArKELL 416-510-6806 groundwork for its future evolution. Choosing SALES MANAGER the Liyuan Library sends the message that the FAriA AHmED 416-510-6808 Moriyama RAIC prize generously recognizes CIRCULATION MANAGER BEATA oLECHnoWiCZ 416-442-5600 EXT. 3543 projects that exhibit quintessentially Canadian CUSTOMER SERVICE mALKiT CHAnA 416-442-5600 EXT. 3539 values: modesty, sensitivity, and a quiet ambiPRODUCTION tion to make a difference in a local community. JESSiCA JUBB ART DIRECTOR These values are evident not only in the LiLiSA ZAmBri yuan Library, but also in the essays by three VICE PRESIDENT OF CANADIAN PUBLISHING ALEX PAPAnoU student winners of $5,000 scholarships, awardPRESIDENT OF BUSINESS INFORMATION GROUP BrUCE CrEiGHTon ed in conjunction with the International Prize. HEAD OFFICE Students were asked to compose essays re80 VALLEYBrooK DriVE, sponding to the prompt: Why do I want to be ToronTo, on m3B 2S9 TELEPHONE 416-510-6845 an architect? The seemingly simple question, FACSIMILE 416-510-5140 E-MAIL editors@canadianarchitect.com reasoned founding donor Raymond Moriyama, WEBSITE www.canadianarchitect.com would elicit genuine answers: with this quesCanadian Architect is published monthly by BiG magazines LP, a div. of Glacier BiG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information tion, he said, “you can’t hide.” company with interests in daily and community newspapers and businessto-business information services. The proof is in the results. You can read the The editors have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate and authoritative information, but they assume no liability for the accuracy two English-language winners starting on or completeness of the text, or its fitness for any particular purpose. page 44. I was privileged to be on the jury for Subscription Rates Canada: $54.95 plus applicable taxes for one year; $87.95 plus applicable taxes for two years (HST – #809751274rT0001). the student scholarships, and was thoroughly Price per single copy: $6.95. Students (prepaid with student iD, includes taxes): $34.97 for one year. USA: $105.95 US for one year. All other forimpressed by the strength of personal conviceign: $125.95 US per year. Single copy US and foreign: $10.00 US. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: tion of the applicants. The jury deliberated Circulation Dept., Canadian Architect, 80 Valleybrook Dr, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2s9. hard to arrive at only three winners from Postmaster: please forward forms 29B and 67B to 80 Valleybrook among over 140 entrants. So many of the esDr, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2s9. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced says were heartfelt, inspiring and moving. either in part or in full without the consent of the copyright owner. From time to time we make our subscription list available to select At a brunch for the three student winners, companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made Moriyama offered them the advice he had reavailable, please contact us via one of the following methods: ceived as an inheritance from his father, who Telephone 1-800-668-2374 Facsimile 416-442-2191 had little money but was a masterful calligE-mail privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca Mail Privacy officer, Business information Group, 80 Valleybrook Dr, rapher. He wrote a single sentence to the Toronto, on Canada m3B 2S9 young Moriyama: “Into God’s eternal temple, MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN BUSINESS PRESS MEMBER OF THE ALLIANCE FOR AUDITED MEDIA drive a nail of gold.” PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #40069240 ISSN 1923-3353 (ONLINE) Moriyama’s hope is that the Prize paired ISSN 0008-2872 (PRINT) with the scholarships will spur Canadian architects to hold to the values that drew them Member of to the profession. In his speech at the ceremony, he said: “Canada has a long way to go to be a golden Canada. But we have potential to transcend to a higher level of architecture—to a spiritual level of architecture that is lacking today. More than being pretty, this architecture is the affirmation of life.” WE ACKnoWLEDGE THE FinAnCiAL SUPPorT oF THE Inc.

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Projects

New York City firm nARCHITECTS, in collaboration with local architect Riddell Kurczaba, has revealed an innovative design for a new building in Calgary’s East Village. The zigzagging building, provisionally named M2, will contain two restaurants on the ground floor, with offices and large terraces on the upper floors. Designed for Calgary developer XYC Design + Development on a prominent site fronting the Bow River’s stunning new pedestrian RiverWalk, the 17,000 to 20,000square-foot building will be a new icon on the Bow River for the East Village and Calgary at large. M2’s form emerges from its irregularly shaped lot and a need to comply with zoning requirements that limit the extent of shadow that can be cast on the adjacent RiverWalk. While the building’s zigzagging form initially emerged from a response to these regulations, the architect and client team see in it a great potential for a variety of civic connections between the building and the river due to the resultant large terraces. From RiverWalk, the building will appear to gently recede upwards from floor to floor, culminating in the sloping roof of the fourth-floor bulkhead. New building for York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering.

York University’s newest addition to its campus is an iconic and ambitious building that will redefine engineering education in Canada. A $60-million project, the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence is a space designed to cultivate renaissance engineers—a new breed of engineer that possesses a social conscience and a sense of global citizenship. Opening in August 2015, the school will offer students a learning environment without walls. Lectures happen on devices outside of the building, traditional classrooms are nowhere to be found, and in their place are spaces designed to foster collaboration and innovation. Celebrating the interdependency between architecture, engineering, landscape and program, the building and landscape blur on a “landscape of learning” which assimilates the site and building into the surrounding natural environment and campus. It challenges the traditional notion of the limits of an academic building and the domain of learning. Nearly 16,000 square metres of floor space on five levels rising from the campus will contain learning spaces for civil, mechanical and electrical engineering

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Design of nARCHITECTS’ M2 mixed-use building in Calgary unveiled.

ABOVE The proposed M2 building on a key site along Calgary’s Bow River manifests in a bold zigzagging form that offers the potential for a variety of civic connections between the building and its riverside context.

programs. Inside, a variety of teaching and research labs, workshops, collaborative classrooms, studio spaces and social areas for students and faculty create an innovative learning environment. Rooted at the lower levels of the building is the civil engineering program, with the electrical and mechanical engineering departments at the building’s upper levels. The entrance level to the school contains most of the student service functions while administration for the faculty occupies a mid-level location in the building ensuring accessibility and engagement with the school’s faculty and students. The project design team was selected by York University in a three-stage international architectural competition that included competing teams from across North America, Europe and Asia. Led by ZAS Architects + Interiors, the team is also working in collaboration with Arup Engineering and Scott Torrance Landscape Architects. Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects’ Highlands Branch Library in Edmonton opens.

by the low-rise buildings in the neighbourhood. The new library is designed as a composition of pitched roofs, which is given a contemporary and modern expression with the implementation of large windows and the metallic façade material. The building sits like an open pavilion in a garden and expresses that it is open to all; a free public space, a place to read, a place to learn, a place to meet, a place to be. As a distinctive landmark in the community, the new library stimulates the further development along 118th Avenue as well as improving the quality of life for citizens in the area. From whichever direction the building is approached, visitors will be able to see into the library space; its transparency and openness contributes to its social-hub function, which is essential for a modern library. The new facility now offers a larger children’s area, expanded reading areas for adults, dedicated teen space, quiet study and reading areas, 18 public computer stations, new technologies and devices to promote making and creation, and two 24hour return chutes. http://shl.dk

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects’ first built library in Canada, the Highlands Branch Library in Edmonton, has officially opened. The 1,500-square-metre library project, which was won in 2010 with local firm Marshall Tittemore Architects, provides the Highlands community with an open and accessible new creative centre for learning. The new building, which replaces the existing branch library that has been in existence since 1962, was inspired

Awards VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre named Most Sustainable Building of the Year by World Architecture News.

The World Architecture News (WAN) recently announced that Perkins+Will’s VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver

canadian architect 11/14

News

canadian architect 11/14

News was named its Most Sustainable Building of the Year for 2014. This LEED-NC Platinumcertified project was also the first building in Canada to apply for the Living Building Challenge. Inspired by natural forms and organized into a petal-like floor plan, the building uses on-site renewable sources to achieve net-zero energy on an annual basis and treats 100% of its blackwater in an on-site bioreactor—the first of its kind in Vancouver. The jury awarded the Visitor Centre its top honour based on the project’s holistic approach and exceptionally high building standards. Requiring extensive collaboration between the architecture practice Perkins+Will and the structural engineering firm Fast + Epp, the project’s most innovative feature is the dramatic free-form roof structure. Appearing to float above the building’s curved rammed-earth walls, the roof form metaphorically represents undulating petals, flowing seamlessly into a central oculus and the surrounding landscape. The design team pioneered a panelized wood solution in the interests of economy, sustainability and innovation in the creation of a geometrically complex form. Curving along all three axes, the roof consists of 71 different panels, each with a different geometric form but similar framing system. Engineers were able to tackle a complex

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problem by breaking the project down into manageable pieces—trapezoidal-shaped roofpanel modules that were typically within a 3.6-metre-wide by 18-metre-long shipping size. The units consisted of doubly curved glulam edge beams and sawn timber joists spanning between them. Part of the ingenuity of this simple panelized approach was using the curved glulams as a “jig” in the shop to frame the complex geometry. All panels were prefabricated and pre-installed with thermal insulation, sprinkler pipes, lighting conduits, acoustic liner, and wood ceiling slats. Comprised entirely of FSC-certified Douglas fir, the roof structure supports an extensive green roof, carefully designed to include native plants and to connect to the ground plane to encourage use by local fauna. The Visitor Centre previously won the top WAN Engineering Award in 2012, which honoured the project’s innovation and craftsmanship with wood. http://backstage.worldarchitecturenews.com

winners of the 2014 Heritage toronto Awards announced.

The winners of the 2014 Heritage Toronto Awards were recently announced; specifically, the William Greer Architectural Conservation

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and Craftsmanship Award honours owners who have undertaken projects to restore or adapt buildings or structures that have been in existence for 40 years or more or are included in the City of Toronto’s inventory of heritage properties. In addition to the quality of craftsmanship, appropriateness of materials, and the use of sound conservation principles, the jury considers how well the project meets current needs while maintaining the integrity of the original design vision. Two Awards of Excellence were given to the John F. Taylor House— Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto by ShimSutcliffe Architects Inc. (new addition) and ERA Architects Inc. (heritage conservation), and to the Market Street Redevelopment by Taylor Smyth Architects with heritage consultant Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects. Two Awards of Merit were also issued: the O’Connor Estate Buildings by Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., and the Goldring Student Centre by Moriyama & Teshima Architects with heritage architect AREA (Architects Rasch Eckler Associates Ltd). An Honourable Mention recognized the Lassonde Mining Innovation Centre by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects with heritage consultant William N. Greer. http://heritagetoronto.org

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A Short History of the Highrise wins Emmy award.

A Short History of the Highrise, an interactive documentary co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and The New York Times for the latter’s Op-Docs section, has won the News & Documentary Emmy in the New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle, Culture category. This Emmy win is just the latest honour for A Short History of the Highrise, which has also won a Peabody Award—the fifth for the NFB—and first prize at the 2014 World Press Awards in the Multimedia Category, as well as the Sheffield Innovation Award from the 2014 Sheffield Doc/Fest, which honours original cutting-edge documentary projects. Created by Katerina Cizek and produced for the NFB by Gerry Flahive, A Short History of the Highrise is the latest installment in the NFB’s multi-year, multimedia documentary project HIGHRISE. The executive producers are Silva Basmajian (NFB) and Jason Spingarn-Koff (The New York Times). Previous productions in the multi-year HIGHRISE project include the interactive documentaries Out My Window (2010) and One Millionth Tower (2011). HIGHRISE has to date garnered some of the interactive world’s top awards, including the inaugural IDFA

DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling, an International Digital Emmy Award, and the first-ever award for Best Original Program for Digital Media—Non-Fiction at the Canadian Screen Awards. http://highrise.nfb.ca/shorthistory/

Competitions Winter Stations open international design competition for Toronto beachfront.

Although the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto is a summer-long festival of colour and pageantry, this is not true of the winter months. No place is this more evident than along the boardwalk of Toronto’s east-end beaches, where vacant utilitarian lifeguard stations stand out as symbols of public space beholden to weather. In an effort to infuse colour and vibrancy back into one of Toronto’s most underappreciated winterscapes, RAW Design, Ferris + Associates and Curio have teamed up to launch Winter Stations, an open international design competition that welcomes artists, designers, architects and landscape architects. Competitors are askedB:9.25” to create temporary wintertime installationsT:9” anchored to the lifeguard stands that injectS:8” colour, movement and

humour into the landscape. The theme chosen for this year’s inaugural competition is “Warmth.” There is no limit to the size of the installation, but jurors will take durability and constructability into account. Judges include Toronto Star architecture and urban affairs critic Christopher Hume, Design Exchange President Shauna Levy, Sputnik Architects Principal Peter Hargraves, independent curator Catherine Dean, and Toronto City Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon. Registration is now open and submissions are due December 5, 2014. This year’s competition will focus on Kew, Scarborough and Balmy Beaches in the heart of the Beach community, broadly located south of Queen Street East, between Woodbine and Victoria Park Avenues. On the beach between the Leuty Lifeguard Station and the Balmy Beach Club are five evenly spaced metal lifeguard stands. These utilitarian structures will be the armature or foundation for pieces of public art. The selected pieces will be temporary installations and need to be able to withstand the rigours of Toronto winter weather. Installations will be unveiled on February 16 and will remain until March 20, 2015. Winning teams will spend time in Toronto during the last phase of construction and will participate in activities surrounding the opening.

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News These events include an opening party at the Balmy Beach Club and a speaking engagement at Toronto’s Design Exchange in February, where the team’s entry and portfolio will be exhibited. Winter Stations sponsors include Streetcar Developments, Urban Capital, Rockport Group, City of Toronto, Waterfront Toronto and Ryerson University’s Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science. http://winterstations.com

What’s New RAIC seeks new Executive Director.

The RAIC is seeking an Executive Director with excellent leadership competencies, experience, skills and abilities to steer the affairs of the organization in accordance with the strategic direction set by the RAIC Board of Directors. Reporting to the Board and the Executive Committee, the Executive Director has direct responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the RAIC. He/she is responsible for accomplishing the vision and providing the strategic leadership and responsible administration and management of the organization including, but not limited to: advocating and promoting the objectives of the organization as

outlined in the Key Result Areas (KRA) of the RAIC Strategic Plan and Vision; implementation of the annual and long-term goals and objectives of the organization; strategic planning, budgeting, financial, human resources, stakeholder-relationship management, fundraising, organizing work plans and projects to achieve goals on time and within budget. The RAIC is looking for an experienced individual with a successful track record leading a formidable organization; a leader with proven consensusbuilding and problem-solving abilities. The candidate should possess exceptional interpersonal skills, and be able to balance diplomacy, good judgement and decisiveness to advance the work of the organization. www.raic.org/notices/miscellaneous/2014/Executive_ Director_RAIC.pdf

Changes to Ontario Building Code allow wood-frame buildings up to six storeys.

Ontario is introducing safer, more flexible and affordable design options for the construction of wood-frame buildings. Through changes to the Ontario Building Code effective January 1, 2015, wood-frame buildings can now be built up to six storeys high, raising the limit from four storeys. Most European Union and several

North American jurisdictions allow woodframe buildings up to six storeys. In British Columbia, over 50 wood-frame buildings have been built since its building code was changed in 2009. The changes give builders a safe option that can help make building a home more affordable and support more attractive, pedestrian-oriented buildings that enhance streetscapes while continuing to protect the safety of residents and firefighters. Ontario’s mid-rise wood-frame construction requirements offer the highest degree of public and firefighter safety in Canada. New safety requirements for wood-frame buildings that include building stairwells with non-combustible materials and roofs that are combustion-resistant now make Ontario’s regulations the most rigorous in Canada. Safe and flexible building options that help make housing more affordable and support our forest industry is part of the government’s plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure, and support a dynamic and innovative business climate. More demand for mid-rise wood buildings may help generate new demand for forestry products, which currently supports more than 150,000 direct and indirect jobs in more than 260 communities across Ontario.

http://news.ontario.ca/mah/en/2014/09/

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uPDaTe Fall 2014

raymond Moriyama, fraiC,

said he was “knocked out” by the winning entry for the inaugural Moriyama raiC international prize – the Liyuan Library by Li xiaodong of beijing, China. “he’s a genius, and he’s pointing the way to the future,” Moriyama told an audience of 350 who attended the prize gala on october 11 at the aga khan Museum in Toronto.

liyuan library Jiaojiehe, beijing, China architect: Li xiaodong

Canada’s prize The liyuan library opened in 2012 in a village outside beijing. it is a glass volume screened with local twigs; the jury called it “a lovely object in a dramatic landscape, a wondrous thing to use and be in.” The 175-square-metre building was built for $185,000 with funds from the Luke him sau Charitable Trust of hong kong. visitors are asked to donate two books for each one they borrow. “The building becomes the platform for the exchange of ideas,” Li said. barry Johns, fraiC, Chancellor of the raiC College of fellows and chair of the jury called it a “modest, yet powerful” building. a juror visited the library during deliberations. Consideration of a ‘building in use’ – occupied for at least two years – differentiates the prize from competitions that judge buildings when they are new, says David Covo, fraiC, who served as Professional advisor.

Moriyama, the raiC and the raiC foundation created the biennial prize which recognizes a single “transformative” work that reflects values of respect and inclusiveness. Li said he was “totally overwhelmed” at receiving the $100,000 prize, which includes a crystal sculpture by Canadian designer Wei yew.

The jury consisted of edward Cullinan, hon fraiC, Maximealexis frappier, MiraC, barry Johns, fraiC, brian MackayLyons, fraiC, Patricia Patkau, fraiC, and bing Thom, fraiC. They evaluated submissions for projects in Canada, China, france, germany, israel, Japan, south korea, the united kingdom and Tajikistan. The gala included a presentation of three bMo financial group scholarships. raymond loïc Jasmin, Moriyama, université de FraiC, with the Moriyama raiC Montréal; Benny international prize recipient Kwok, Dalhousie li Xiaodong / Photo : university; and alexandra shu Yin Wu, Petruck university of Waterloo each took home $5,000. Their essays on why they want to be architects were selected from almost 150 entries across Canada.

RAIC Architecture Canada The national voice for architects and architecture in Canada, supporting the profession through:

Advocacy, influencing government policy at all levels The promotion of excellence in architecture Continuing education offerings and practice support

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Editor: Maria Cook MasthEad photo: Language TeChnoLogies researCh CenTre aT universiTy of QuebeC in ouTaouais | Menkès shooner Dagenais LeTourneux arChiTeCTs / forTin Corriveau saLvaiL arChiTeCTure + Design | PhoTo: MiCheL bruneLLe

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raymond Moriyama, fraiC,

s’est dit émerveillé par le projet lauréat du prix international Moriyama iraC inaugural, la bibliothèque Liyuan conçue par Li xiaodong de beijing, en Chine.

IRAC Architecture Canada Le porte-parole national des architectes et de l’architecture au Canada, qui appuie la profession par :

son action de sensibilisation qui influence les politiques gouvernementales, à tous les niveaux; la promotion de l’excellence en architecture; des activités de formation continue et des outils d’aide à la pratique.

raic.org 55, rue Murray, bureau 330 Ottawa (Ontario) K1N 5M3 613-241-3600 info@raic.org

rédaCtriCE En ChEF: Maria Cook photo En CartouChE dE titrE : CenTre De reCherChe en TeChnoLogies Langagières De L’universiTé Du QuébeC en ouTaouais | Menkès shooner Dagenais LeTourneux arChiTeCTes / forTin Corriveau saLvaiL arChiTeCTure + Design | PhoTo : MiCheL bruneLLe

« Cet architecte est un génie et il trace la voie pour le futur », a-t-il déclaré devant les quelque 350 personnes qui ont assisté au gala de remise du prix le 11 octobre dernier au musée de l’aga khan à Toronto.

l prix le du Canada

Bibliothèque liyuan Jiaojiehe, beijing, Chine architecte : Li xiaodong

La bibliothèque liyuan a ouvert ses portes en 2012, dans un village à proximité de beijing. elle se présente comme un volume de verre recouvert de branchettes de la région; le jury l’a qualifiée de « merveilleux objet dans un paysage spectaculaire, un lieu extraordinaire qu’il fait bon fréquenter. » Le bâtiment de 175 mètres carrés a été construit au coût de 185 000 $ grâce à une subvention de la fiducie caritative Luke him sau de hong kong. Les visiteurs sont invités à donner deux livres pour chaque livre qu’ils empruntent. « Le bâtiment devient ainsi une plateforme qui favorise l’échange d’idées », souligne Li xiaodong. barry Johns, fraiC, chancelier du Collège des fellows de l’iraC et président du jury, a qualifié le bâtiment de « modeste, mais puissant ». L’un des membres du jury a visité la bibliothèque pendant les délibérations. soulignons que les modalités de ce prix exigent que le bâtiment ait été occupé depuis au moins deux ans, ce qui le distingue des autres prix attribués à des

raymond Moriyama, l’iraC et la fondation de l’iraC ont créé ce prix biennal qui récompense une œuvre unique au caractère « transformateur » qui traduit les valeurs de respect et d’inclusion. Li xiaodong s’est quant à lui déclaré totalement heureux de recevoir le prix de 100 000 $ accompagné d’une sculpture de cristal de l’artiste canadien Wei yew.

bâtiments récemment achevés, a ajouté David Covo, fraiC, qui agissait comme conseiller professionnel. Le jury était composé d’edward Cullinan, hon. fraiC, Maximealexis frappier, MiraC, barry Johns, fraiC, brian Mackay-Lyons, fraiC, Patricia Patkau, fraiC, et bing Thom, fraiC. Le jury a évalué des candidatures provenant du Canada, de la Chine, de la france, de l’allemagne, d’israël, du Japon, de la Corée du sud, du royaume-uni et du Tadjikistan. Le programme de la soirée de gala comprenait la présentation de trois bourses raymond Moriyama, étudiantes de FraiC, avec li Xiaodong, bMo groupe récipiendaire financier. Ces du prix international bourses de 5 000 $ Moriyama iraC / chacune ont été Photo : remises à loïc alexandra Petruck Jasmin, université de Montréal; Benny Kwok, université Dalhousie; et shu Yin Wu, université de Waterloo. Leurs textes expliquant les raisons qui les amènent à vouloir être architectes ont été choisis parmi les quelque 150 autres textes provenant des quatre coins du Canada.

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Difficult Harmonies an ambitious Winnipeg landmark, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights offers a choreographed architectural journey through the complex topic of human rights.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba Design Architect—Antoine Predock; Executive Architect— Architecture49 Inc. (formerly Smith Carter Architects & Engineers Inc) Text Lisa Landrum Photos Tom Arban Project

Architects

Justice has long been sought at the site of a gnarly rock. With its jagged mountain of Tyndall limestone rising formidably from the banks of Winnipeg’s Red and Assiniboine Rivers, the newly opened Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) resembles an ancient geological formation on par with the Areopagus, mythic first court of the Greeks, while simultaneously launching a phantasmagorical tower more Tatlin than Babel. A bold addition to Winnipeg’s cityscape, it appears as an ominous Mont SaintMichel from the northeast, and an anachronistic homage to glasarchitektur from the southwest. Whatever else this Museum may evoke, its appearance—however hyperbolic and controversial—tells only part of its story. Conceived in 2000 by the late philanthropist and media magnate Israel Asper, the Museum was jointly developed by Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, and the Forks North Portage Partnership. The latter owns and manages the former rail yard and river junction known as The Forks, a site serving as a peaceful meeting ground for Indigenous peoples for six millennia. Branded as an “ideas museum” dedi-

cated to enhancing public understanding of Canadian and worldwide human rights, the CMHR is among the most significant cultural institutions in Canada. As a national museum, it joins ranks with the Canadian War Museum (Moriyama & Teshima, 2005), the Canadian Museum of History (Douglas Cardinal, 1989), and the National Gallery of Canada (Moshe Safdie, 1988), but stands apart from these by its unique mission and unlikely location. On the international stage, the CMHR connects with a distinguished set of museums commemorating atrocity-related events, including the Jewish Museum in Berlin (Daniel Libeskind, 1999) and the newly opened 9-11 Memorial and Museum in New York City (Michael Arad, Peter Walker, Snøhetta and Davis Brody Bond). Yet, whereas the Jewish Museum primarily gives representation to anguish and the 9-11 Memorial to absence, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights strives to manifest hope. The designer of this hopeful institution is Albuquerque-based architect Antoine Predock, Hon. FRAIC. The jury selected Predock’s proposal from among 62 submissions to an international design competition as “a

ABOVE The glass tower and façade of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights give the building a glowing presence in the Winnipeg cityscape. The institution occupies a prominent site on the banks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, a historical meeting place for the region’s First Nations.

symbolic statement of both the rootedness and the upward struggle for human rights.” Predock, along with local architects Architecture49 (formerly Smith Carter Architects & Engineers), have provided more than a monumental symbol. They have choreographed an architectural experience meant to tangibly contribute to understanding the complexity and imaginative tenacity imperative to human rights pursuits. Though Predock insists the Museum is an open work for visitors to “take on” as they choose, movement through it follows a heavily promoted narrative: a journey “from darkness to light.” The journey begins with a descent into the earth. Intended as a psychological departure from city, street and car, the approach veers off a historic east-west trail, drawing pedestrians northward between two of the Museum’s four so-called Roots. Covered with tall Prairie grasses (save for one terraced for outdoor seating), these massive volumes grow

in height as the path descends, humbling visitors while prefiguring powerful encounters to come. Straight ahead upon entering is the Great Hall, a dark and somber space of assembly. It is a calming chamber for digging into heated topics. Beneath the Hall’s distressed concrete floor is an archaeological trove, which during excavations yielded some 400,000 Indigenous artifacts. Regrettably, only a casting of a single 750-year-old footprint is displayed. Looking up from the Hall’s margins, visitors catch what Predock calls “furtive glimpses” of the light-filled atrium and Garden of Contemplation, hovering above on a thick plinth of basalt. To reach the exhibitions, visitors penetrate a battered Root wall stretching into the museum, then wind up and around the Hall on a ramp lined with translucent backlit panels. The 11 themed galleries, arrayed on six levels within angular masses of Tyndall stone, feature few artifacts but

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canadian museum for human rights

1 tower of hope 2 cloud wings 3 cloud structure 4 hall of ramps 5 garden of contemplation | PLUG 6 mountain galleries 7 roots

numerous interactive displays designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Unlike many museums, here, Appelbaum says, “the precious object is the visitor, whose participation becomes the catalyst,” bringing human rights stories to life. Moving from gallery to gallery and floor to floor involves traversing one of the Museum’s most successful interventions: a stunning array of ramping bridges wrapped with backlit alabaster, spanning a 50-metre chasm between black-tinted concrete walls. For Predock, these luminous bridges crisscrossing the dark void act as “experiential palate-cleansers,” enabling a reflective pause between the heavy content of each gallery. They also continue the “thread of light” begun at the Museum’s entry ramp, and offer reorienting views out to the street and up to the Tower of Hope, thus drawing the city and its aspirations into the peripatetic situation. By facilitating access to each gallery, then doubling back at higher levels, the path literally provides multiple perspectives onto exhibitions attempting the same. With its spatial complexity, material contrasts, and recursive play of dark and light, this labyrinthian passage embodies an architectural reconciliation of opposites, inviting appreciation of difficult harmonies. Throughout the exhibition, visitors can step out of the galleries onto cliff-like balconies overlooking the Garden of Contemplation and its enormous atrium. The 30-metre-tall curtain wall, designed to resemble both clouds and the wings of a dove, is composed of 1,335 unique panels of fritted glass, supported by a robust armature of ring beams and raking Vierendeel trusses. Against this expressive structure, three tiers of relatively banal open-office mezzanines hover, putting the prosaic workings of this institution on display.

Visitors are guided to the entrance by Tyndall limestone walls that anchor the building to its site; the simplicity of the curved glass elevation contrasts with the complex volumetric composition of the northeast faรงade. Above, top to bottom Alabaster-clad walkways bridge between the galleries; these circulation paths are integrated into the galleries; the walkways offer multiple vantage points onto exhibited materials. Opposite, top to bottom

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1 Radio | Electrical Room 2 Israel asper tower of hope 3 hall of hope 4 elevator lobby 5 inspiring change 6 expressions 7 terrace 8 boardroom 9 archives 10 reference centre 11 offices 12 rights today 13 examining the holocaust 14 actions count 15 turning points for humanity 16 breaking the silence 17 protecting rights in canada

18 Stewart Clark garden of contemplation 19 canadian journeys 20 ceremonial terrace 21 indigenous perspectives 22 what are human rights 23 buhler ramps 24 theatre 25 bonnie & john Buhler hall 26 era bistro 27 boutique 28 main entrance 29 group entrance 30 loading bay 31 classrooms 32 theatre 33 temporary gallery

ABOVE The central atrium includes a basalt-strewn indoor garden, wrapped by a curved glass façade and ringed by the Museum’s offices. At centre, a stair and elevator bring visitors up to a lookout that pierces through and above the roofline.

After navigating the galleries, the “thread of light” continues up the 100-metre Tower of Hope. Touted since the Museum’s inception, this symbolic centrepiece is meant to dissolve into sky; but in actuality, the athletic ascent brings one face to face with heavy-handed structural machinations devised to hold it up. Many will marvel at the muscular array of converging roof trusses, and the ingenious turkey tails, wishbones, and other crazy connectors mediating the odd-angled intersections of some 5,400 tonnes of structural steel permitting column-free space below (the Museum earned an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction). But these brute super-nodes seem at odds with a pursuit of hope and more nuanced understanding of rights. As a climactic experience, the close encounter with colossal members gives the uneasy impression that might still makes right—a mixed message, obscuring the metaphor of light. Descending via elevator, visitors land in the Garden of Contemplation. Though somewhat compromised by the jungle of steel overhead and banal administrative surround, this garden—with its reflective pools, medicinal plants, winged cloud, and landscape of volcanic basalt—aims to balance water, earth, air and fire, while providing a gathering place for discussion. Unfortunately, its jagged rocks and ill-considered seating are not conducive to relaxed dialogue. For a space of this prominence, one woud have expected generous basalt benches integrated with the landscape. Completing the journey requires descending another lengthy ramp, before returning to the public space of The Forks, where peaceful assem-

bly—one of the four fundamental freedoms under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms—will hopefully continue at a scale proportionate to this international institution. While delightful in certain material and experiential qualities, the design embodies contradiction. This is not an architecture of fetishized details. Neither is this a model of spatial efficiency. The Canadian War Museum, by comparison, has roughly twice the floor area in half the volume for a third of the price. But perhaps it is appropriate that war recede and rights be more boldly and generously asserted. For some, the CMHR will be too audacious and too indulgent, or too contrived and too confusing. And in spite of the rhetorical simplicity of its “darkness to light” narrative, the Museum is, at times, tortuously complex. Even its fire stair resembles an M. C. Escher drawing. Challenges in translation between design and delivery may have contributed to the incidental disjointedness. Predock’s preliminary design process involved sculpting soft clay with a sharp knife, sticking his head into large mock-ups, and working “old-school,” as he explains, with immersive collages and physical “model after model after model.” Conversely, the construction management team delved into BIM, involving 40 consultants in three countries in a virtual design and construction approach that earned a 2011 RAIC Honourable Mention for Innovation in Architecture and a 2014 Global Best Project Award from Engineering News Record. If as much creative energy had been invested in developing Predock’s

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ABOVE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The Tower of Hope offers vistas of the surroundings, as well as close-ups of the roof’s complex structural joints; a view of the cloud-like glass façade and open offices; the Museum’s galleries include interactive displays and artists’ reflections on human rights.

original design intentions as was spent on resolving structural gymnastics, then this institution dedicated to the important task of promoting human rights could have more effectively engaged the real possibilities of its social program. For instance, Predock intended the Museum’s Roots to serve as a supportive framework for ceremonial events. But, the Root terrace for outdoor seating is, as of yet, unoccupiable. During the opening ceremonies, these bastion-like volumes served more to exclude protestors than to frame public involvement. Two of the Roots, meant to accommodate an auditorium and special gallery, remain empty shells. Moreover, the Roots are severed at their tops—just where they ought to join the elevated interior Garden to create a continuous topography interconnected with its meaningful site. Despite these issues, a sense of hope prevails. Predock’s original project statement asserts that the Museum makes “visible in the architecture the fundamental commonality of humankind.” Ultimately, that “commonality” must be found not simply in the Museum’s visual metaphors, but through our engagement with the Museum’s difficult content, programming and provocations. There is great need for venues committed to advancing human rights while enabling appreciation of humanity’s differences, interdependencies

and capabilities for change. Whatever the design shortcomings and excesses, Predock and his team have given Winnipeg—and the world—a work of architecture commensurate with the Museum’s ambitious mission. It is now up to the administration, the visitors and world citizens to follow through. Lisa Landrum, MRAIC, is an architect, writer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Manitoba. CLIENT CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS | ARCHITECT TEAM ANTOINE PREDOCK ARCHITECT—ANTOINE PREDOCK, GRAHAM HOGAN, JOSE SANCHEZ, PAUL FELAU, CHRISTOPHER BECCONE, CORY GREENFIELD, SAM STERLING, GEOFFREY BEEBE, KAROLE MAZEIKA. ARCHITECTURE49—GRANT VAN IDERSTINE, JIM WESELAKE, RON MARTIN, COLIN REED, BRAD COVE, KIRK MCLEAN, WENDY TYSON, ROLLY RUTKAUSKAS, PAUL LAVALLEE, NAN ZENG, RAY SMYRSKI, RON PIDWERBESKY, RICHARD CHAN, BRAD BECK, MARCUS COLONNA. | STRUCTURAL CH2M HILL (FORMERLY HALCROW YOLLES) WITH CORSIER KILGOUR & PARTNERS | MECHANICAL THE MITCHELL PARTNERSHIP WITH SMS ENGINEERING | ELECTRICAL MULVEY BANANI INTERNATIONAL WITH MCW AGE POWER CONSULTANTS | LANDSCAPE | SCATLIFF+MILLER+MURRAY | INTERIORS ANTOINE PREDOCK/ARCHITECTURE49 | EXHIBIT DESIGN RALPH APPELBAUM ASSOCIATES | EXHIBIT FABRICATION KUBIK | CONTRACTOR PCL CONSTRUCTORS | CODE LRI ENGINEERING | LIGHTING MULVEY AND BANANI (ENGINEER OF RECORD), OVI (BASE BUILDING), TILLOTSON DESIGN ASSOCIATES (EXHIBITS) | INTERIOR STONE PICCO ENGINEERING | CIVIL & MISC METALS KGS GROUP | ELEVATOR AYLING | UNIVERSAL DESIGN DESIGN FOR ALL | LEED ENERMODAL | PROJECT MANAGER GRAHAM BIRD ASSOCIATES | ACOUSTICS VALCOUSTICS | AREA 24,155 M2 | BUDGET $351 M | COMPLETION SEPTEMBER 2014

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Playing for Keeps Canada’s largest kindergarten provides a welcoming environment for small children to play, learn and explore. Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy, Toronto, Ontario Architects Kohn Shnier Architects Text Terri Peters Photos Tom Arban Project

There is a cardboard cutout named David in the meeting room of Kohn Shnier’s downtown Toronto office. It stands a bit taller than the chairs in front of a wall of books, magazines and models. It reminds everyone just how tiny the average 5-year-old really is. David is a bit tattered, from being moved around the office over the last few years. When architects Kohn Shnier were commissioned to design the Fraser Mustard Academy for Early Learning in Thorncliffe Park, Toronto, they were faced with the sensitive task of designing for a lot of Davids—600 junior and senior kindergarten pupils. The local community is composed

ABOVE A ramp wraps around the central skylit atrium, making it easy for children to travel between the school’s two levels without tripping on stairs. The atrium is ringed by windows that offer glimpses between spaces, facilitating wayfinding.

almost exclusively of new immigrants to Canada, and from the first consultations, the architects could see that residents held high aspirations for the building. They hoped it would be multi-functional and build on the diversity of Thorncliffe Park’s dense postwar neighbourhood of residential towers. Given the multicultural urban context, what kind of character should this building have? How could it become an inspiring and welcoming place for many young Davids to learn and play? This very large kindergarten—the largest of its kind in Canada—is actually the “small building” on the site. It’s joined to the largest elementary

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1 Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy 2 Thorncliffe Park elementary School

school in North America, Thorncliffe Park Elementary, with 1,600 students. The recent introduction of full-day kindergarten to Thorncliffe Park Elementary generated the need for additional classrooms, larger than standard size and equipped with their own bathrooms. The initial brief given to Kohn Shnier was simply to create a school extension that would house a mix of students, including kindergarteners as well as older students. “One of the first things I did was to read the Pascal Report, which advocates the connecting of childcare and kindergarten,” says partner Martin Kohn. By charting how students could be divided between the buildings, the architects discovered the best solution would be to create a kindergarten-only facility with daycare and community spaces. This required minimal alterations to the existing school, including the conversion of existing kindergartens into elementary classrooms. Visiting on a sunny fall afternoon, one is greeted by a red brick façade at the north entrance with an integral art installation by Kohn’s friend, artist Micah Lexier. Coloured bricks, used in a custom pixellated font, spell out “WELCOME.” The installation, done pro bono, is continued along the 150-metre-long façade with other letters and numbers, creating a textured material strategy of addressing the building’s elongated scale. From this approach, the wedge-shaped school presents a hard urban front, pushing up to the edges of the East York Town Centre’s loading and delivery area. The architects felt this would help create a safe pedestrian and play zone shielded within the dense urban block. Inside, the building includes three levels of carefully defined program: 25 kindergarten classrooms each with bathroom and cloakroom facilities, a gymnasium, library, play spaces, community rooms, multipurpose zones, a daycare and staff areas. At the heart of the building is a grand atrium. Today, daylight is streaming into this high, bright space. It is surprisingly quiet: school is out for the day and the building has reverted from a kid-filled hub to a more calm and peaceful environment. Some of the 74 staff are planning activities, talking together and tidying up their classrooms. Roof lanterns above the atrium exemplify the beautiful and highly functional aspects of the school—the lanterns bring in sunlight as well as drawing hot air upwards, promoting natural ventilation. Another example is the ramp that loops up and around the atrium, offering easier access for groups of small students than a staircase. The ramp also provides a platform from which curious children can look down, over to, and up into various spaces. Floor-to-ceiling slots and picture windows overlook the atrium from the second-floor corridors, providing orientation and making everyone aware of activity in the courtyard-like space. Even the cluster of multi-coloured

Opposite, top to bottom The southwest façade of the school is screened by a perforated metal scrim and faces a landscaped play area; the northwest entrance incorporates an art installation by Micah Lexier that spells out the word “WELCOME” in red bricks; extra-wide corridors double as activity spaces. Above A sunken courtyard houses outdoor play areas for preschoolers, infants and toddlers on the school’s lower level.

foam furniture in the middle of the atrium seems considered, perhaps because the school benefits from a refreshingly muted colour palette. And, the corridors include recessed pinboards for adding the student work that creatively customizes these spaces over the course of the school year. The upper level of classrooms is equipped with an extra-wide hallway that can be programmed for small groups and otherwise used for running around. Another installation by Lexier runs across the panes of glass that face into the atrium—a pattern that looks like a monochrome ticker tape of symbols, or a made-up language (it’s actually a series of markings found from discarded cardboard boxes). The window film stops kids from walking into the glass, but is also conceived as a fun detail that little David and his friends would enjoy. The building´s customization for young children continues in the small details found in its classroom spaces. The way that 4- or 5-yearolds use their classrooms is different than older children: they spend a lot of time sitting on the floor reading, playing and stretching out. In response, the classrooms have radiant heating, as well as operable win-

dows for fresh air. There is no air conditioning, saving on energy and possibly helping reduce the spread of germs. On the southeast and southwest façades, a perforated metal overhang reduces heat gain and creates playful shading patterns inside. Each classroom has the same hard-wearing finishes: plain wood cabinets for storage, floor-to-ceiling windows and pale nondescript walls. As we pass by one classroom, two teachers are tidying up different learning centres that were set up around the room, putting away feathers and leaves, brightly coloured papers, differently shaped blocks, and various dress-up costumes—all part of a play-based curriculum. The junior and senior kindergarten classrooms each house about 30 children along with a teacher and assistant, and have been designed to be bright, organized and comfortable. Adjacent to the lower-floor daycare, a kind of wide moat extends along the southwest side of the building, allowing the daycare classrooms to open up into sheltered play gardens. On such an “incredibly tight, no slack” urban site, every inch of ground has a program with

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ABOVE, clockwise from top Each kindergarten classroom is generously daylit and can be flexibly configured with play-based learning stations; the all-kindergarten facility shares an outdoor playground with its sister school, Thorncliffe Park Elementary; covered and open spaces along the southeast building edge provide gathering places for parents waiting to pick up their children.

consideration for security, maintenance, age appropriateness and cost. Kohn explains that using artificial turf for the intensively used kindergarten playground makes sense here: “it helps to think of the field as a piece of play equipment, as a surface.” The roof of the school was initially designed as an important amenity: a garden and playspace for the kindergarten students. Sabina Ali, winner of the Jane Jacobs Award and part of the local design community panel for the school design, laments the loss of this important space, and its late-stage post-tender transformation into staff car parking. “It is a huge missed opportunity for play and for hands-on learning,” she says. A public park to the south of the site compensates to some extent. “We have already had 10 to 12 kindergarten classes visiting the park—we are trying to fill in the gap, so that the kids have not lost the opportunity entirely.” Kohn Shnier´s site-specific response to the challenging brief and focus on architectural spaces and experiences has been key to the building’s success. “The most important thing is that the school is beautiful

and welcoming for students, and that it brings a lot to the community,” says Ali, who explains that seemingly small details bring significant benefits. At the south entrance for instance, a covered terrace and canopy offer shelter from the elements, creating an informal meeting point for parents picking up their children. The school is designed for David— but its impact extends outwards, to David’s parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and his entire community. Terri Peters is an architect and post-doctoral researcher at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto.

Client Toronto District School Board | Architect Team Martin Kohn, John Shnier,

canadian architect 11/14

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Here Today Krista Jahnke

Architects from coast to coast are creating temporary public art installations as a form of research, an opportunity to experiment, and a chance to explore new modes of practice. Text

Pamela Young

Architectural timelines tend to be more Galápagos tortoise than mayfly: design teams generally spend months or years developing projects that are expected to last for decades. For some architects, however, creating something meant to exist for one brief shining moment has a lot of appeal. Temporary installations are a means of testing out ideas and connecting with a wide audience—and they can offer a stimulating reprieve from the prosaic constraints that routinely weigh down flights of fancy. A sampling of architects and recent graduates from Vancouver to Quebec City spoke to us about their latest art installations, and explained why pouring one’s heart and soul into a project that’s here today and gone tomorrow can be a source of lasting joy. This year for West Vancouver’s multidisciplinary Harmony Arts Festival, architect Matthew Soules, MRAIC, designed Vermilion Sands, a canopy that unites the natural and the artificial and exploits tensions

For a Vancouver arts festival, architect Matthew Soules created an inverted green-roof canopy using hydroseeding technology.

ABOVE

between them. The name comes from a 1971 collection of science fiction stories by J.G. Ballard, in which hybridizations of nature and technology yield singing plants, cloud sculptures and other surreal results. For the entry to the festival grounds, Soules and his team created a canopy of 260 inverted, pyramid-shaped modules in two sizes: smaller ones hydro-seeded with white clover and larger ones with rye grass. Constructing the modules involved sewing a geotextile fabric—normally used to stabilize plant growth on steep slopes—over a wire frame and then spraying a slurry of water, wood pulp, guar gum and seed onto each form. After a month of watering and fertilizing, the vegetationcovered modules were transported to the site and suspended from a fine

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Latreille Delage Photography

canadian architect 11/14

Clockwise from top left Urban Reef was the winning entry to the inaugural Robson Redux competition; the temporary installation featured CNC-cut wood plates held together by threaded metal rods; the curved forms invited sitting, lounging and leaping. Opposite, clockwise from top Winnipeg’s temporary Little Red Art Gallery hosted a series of micro-exhibitions over the summer, including Steal this Poster; at times, a bookshelf was in place, inviting visitors to take a book in exchange for another; the installation was open 24/7.

grid of aircraft cable to form a 1,800-square-foot oblong canopy. An integrated misting system kept the modules hydrated during the 10-day installation and also provided cooling for festival attendees. At night, LEDs positioned on the canopy’s perimeter columns bathed the installation in eerie light. Soules says that Vermilion Sands was a huge amount of work: growing the pyramid modules and then keeping them alive while hung upside down in the August sun was “not easy,” and throughout the festival his team was constantly tweaking the misting system to suit changes in the weather. But he loved how children in particular responded to Vermilion

Sands, running and giggling under the canopy when the mist came on. And he considers the time invested in the project well spent. “To my knowledge, hydro-seeding has never been used in this manner,” he says. “It was a risky endeavour, and we didn’t know it would work until the project was installed on site. When you can take these risks, you develop new methodology and approaches—the projects become like research. They have a big influence in my career as an architect, in that I learn things that I can incorporate into permanent, larger projects.” Early in 2014, Kaz Bremner and Jeremiah Deutscher were intern architects working at Perkins+Will’s Vancouver office when they decided to

Jacqueline Young

enter VIVA Vancouver’s Robson Redux competition. The 800 block of Robson Street is one of downtown Vancouver’s signature public spaces: bordered by the Vancouver Art Gallery, Arthur Erickson’s landmark Provincial Law Courts, and the University of British Columbia’s urban campus at Robson Square, the site is open to vehicular traffic for much of the year, but transformed into a pedestrian plaza in the summer. The Robson Redux competition called for a summer installation that would strengthen people’s connection to the space and to one another. Local talents Bremner and Deutscher beat out entrants from as far away as Japan and Spain with their entry, Urban Reef. The three undulating islands are made from 987 CNC-cut birch plywood sections, linked together with threaded rod. As better benches, they supported activities ranging from sitting and lounging to eating and watching street performances. A coral reef is an armature that supports an ecosystem; similarly, Urban Reef fostered social interaction and strength-

ened the 800 block’s identity as a locus of activity. For Bremner and Deutscher, Urban Reef was a win on several fronts. “It always bolsters your design reputation in and out of the office to win a competition,” they said in a joint e-mail response. “It has also catalyzed our drives to seize or create entrepreneurial opportunities. It was interesting to manage all aspects of the project, from sourcing materials through to installation on site. The experience definitely translates into confidence when managing larger projects professionally.” Bremner is still with Perkins+Will and Deutscher has since started his own practice, Deutscher Studio. Winning this competition forced them early in their careers to come to grips with the challenges of coming in on cost, which in this case entailed designing and constructing the entire project for $40,000. “We had a robust concept design, but the realities of manufacturing and budget hadn’t been examined with a sharp pencil.” Some architects view installation work as a liberating change of pace.

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Robin Dupuis

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Above A team of recent Laval University graduates equipped a Quebec City alleyway with pool noodles this summer. Left Visitors were invited to wend their way through the whimsical installation. Opposite, top to bottom For Toronto’s Nuit Blanche festival, LeuWebb Projects sprinkled the Fort York embankment with LEDs; the lights formed a pulsing cascade emanating from the Fort’s cannons.

“It provides an opportunity to execute my design ideology in a purer, less complicated format,” says Winnipeg’s David Penner, FRAIC, principal of David Penner Architect, whose credits include the University of Winnipeg’s Buhler Centre and numerous residences. “Perhaps its value to me is as a release from the ever-increasing parameters and constraints that drive the day-to-day work.” One of Penner’s best-known installations has undergone an adaptive reuse. Created for a wintertime warming huts competition on The Forks, the structure originally known as Little Red Library is a transparent red cube constructed by thermo-stretching a welding curtain over a tubular steel frame. In keeping with the international literacy-promoting Little Free Library movement, visitors were invited to take a book from the bookcase within it and leave another book in its place. This summer, the structure was relocated across from Winnipeg’s Peanut Park and took on a new temporary life as Little Red Art Gallery. Members of the community could borrow the art books it contained on an honour system, and four art shows were also held in the tiny venue. The last of them, Steal this Poster, involved partnering with a local printmaking centre to produce copies of one free work of art each day for a month. To Penner, the most gratifying response was the sense of intrigue Little Red Art Gallery generated. “I saw people asking themselves, ‘What is this?’ ‘Why is this here?’ and ‘How does it do that?’” he says. “Few buildings today achieve that. Our physical environment seldom really competes with what is expected, or with the magic and intensity of the virtual world.”

artillery of glowing good feelings”—sequentially lit rows of coloured lights that cascaded down the hillsides below the cannons. In addition to the dusk-to-dawn light show, a soundscape of lapping waves and tranquil harp music laid a “defence” against the freeways and condos swirling just beyond the Fort’s perimeter. Leu, who formerly specialized in multi-unit residential projects with RAW Design, recently left private practice to concentrate on LeuWebb Projects, and also teaches courses in architecture and interior design at Ryerson University. Webb works in the University of Toronto’s Campus Planning office, but in the coming year, he and Leu will both be taking a sabbatical that will include an extended artist residency and travel abroad to further develop their art practice. “Knowing that these projects have a limited life span encourages more adventurous prototyping and leaves room for play and whimsy,” they say. Many architects can surely understand the appeal of play and whimsy, and may wish that their own working lives left more room for both. Pamela Young is a Toronto-based writer and editor.

Nick Kozak

Speaking of magic, three Master of Architecture graduates from Laval University worked some crowd-pleasing alchemy in a nondescript Quebec City alley over the summer as part of Les passages insolites (The Unusual Passages), a public art festival curated by EXMURO arts publics. Gabrielle Blais-Dufour, Robin Dupuis and Alexandre Hamlyn of the design collective Les Astronautes won Laval’s student-funded competition to create an installation for Les passages insolites with a project they called Delirious Frites. “We decided to work with pool noodles, called frites de piscine or ‘pool fries’ in French,” Hamlyn explains. He and his colleagues installed more than 1,700 of the kid-friendly flotation devices on both sides of a narrow alley, creating something that was, as Hamlyn says, “colourful and fun, but also uncanny, organic and lifelike—almost like vines in a jungle.” For Les Astronautes, the installation presented an opportunity to bridge the gap between a computer-designed project and a constructive reality, using software such as Rhino and Grasshopper. For festival-goers of all ages, Delirious Frites was, quite simply, fun. “People were not afraid to interact with our installation in part because they recognized what it was made of,” Hamlyn says. “It was not seen by the public as something precious or out of touch, but as something they could very directly engage with. In that sense, I think we succeeded in creating authentic public art.” While installations are a sideline to architectural practice for many designers, ephemeral pieces are a primary focus for Toronto-based architects Christine Leu, MRAIC and Alan Webb. They founded LeuWebb Projects to take on cross-disciplinary installations that, as Webb says, “reveal layers of history, uncover latent narratives, play with materials, and engage the senses.” For Toronto’s recent all-night Nuit Blanche arts festival, they collaborated with electronic musician Jeff Lee and software designer Omar Khan on Melting Point, an installation for the Fort York National Historic Site. The Melting Point team stocked two of the Fort’s cannons with “an

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Insites

Moriyama RAIC International Prize On October 11, 2014, the inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize was awarded to architect Li Xiaodong for the LiYuan Library. Three scholarships were also awarded to Canadian architecture students, BASED ON PERSONAL ESSAY SUBMISSIONS. Here are the winners. Liyuan Library, Jiaojiehe, China Atelier Li Xiaodong Text and Photos Li Xiaodong Project

Architect

This project is a modest addition to the small village of Jiaojiehe, just under a two-hour drive from busy Beijing urban life. On the one hand, it forms a modern programmatic complement to the village by adding a small library and reading space within a setting of quiet contemplation. On the other hand, we wanted to use architecture to enhance appreciation of the site’s natural landscape qualities. Instead of adding a new building inside the village centre, we chose this particular site in the nearby mountains, a pleasant five-minute walk from the community’s core. In doing so, we provided a setting for clear thoughts for those consciously making the effort to head for the reading room. Because of the overwhelming beauty of the surrounding context, our intervention is modest in its outward expression. We can’t compete with na-

SITE PLAN

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ture’s splendour. The building blends into the landscape through the choice of delicate materials and the careful placement of the building volume. Material choice is crucial in harmonizing with the regional context. After analyzing the local material characteristics in the village, we found large amounts of locally sourced wooden sticks piled around each house. The villagers gather these sticks all year round to fuel their cooking stoves. So we decided to use this ordinary material in an extraordinary way, cladding the building in familiar textures in a way that is strikingly sensitive. The final design concept is for a building that acts as a carefully placed frame that contains a filtered interior world. The exterior appearance is a modest addition to the natural surroundings, in which the building helps to direct the experience of the visitor. It frames views towards the sur-

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Opposite, left to right The Liyuan Library is clad with locally gathered sticks, a material that resonates with village culture and with the building’s stunning natural surroundings; the waterside location allows for natural cooling of the library during the summer; the sun-dappled interior includes built-in bookshelves and strategic level changes that create a variety of nooks for reading and study.

rounding landscape and acts as an embracing shelter. In order to minimize the impact of the building on its surroundings, the architecture carefully integrates the existing topographic and seasonal characteristics into a lasting sustainable complement. For me, sustainability needs to be socially agreeable, environmentally friendly, operationally and functionally efficient, economically viable and locally processed. The interior of the building has a very expressive character. It is made spatially diverse by using stairs and subtle level changes to create distinct places. It frames views towards the surrounding landscape and acts as an embracing shelter. The building is fully glazed to allow for a completely daylit space. The wooden sticks temper the bright light and spread it evenly throughout the space to create a perfect reading ambience. In order to let the library participate as a place for social knowledge exchange, our suggestion was to not have a static collection of books. Instead, people are encouraged to bring two books when they visit, and take one back home. In this way, the small library becomes a living hub of knowledge, with a constantly updated collection. The everchanging interior of the building extends to its exterior, as it evolves with its surroundings into a habitat for local flora and fauna. In this way, the skin of the building can be inhabited and becomes part of the local ecology. Beijing has a harsh climate with very cold, dry winters (down to -20°C) and very hot, humid summers (up to +40°C), with intense sunlight. This normally requires advanced air-conditioning devices to control the interior climate. However, our library is disconnected from typical building infrastructure, and there is no electrical power. Instead, we relied on passive building systems and traditional knowledge to create a

comfortable atmosphere. In summer, a clever system of openings stimulates natural air flow throughout the building with air that is chilled over the pond in front. In winter, these openings are kept largely closed, and the underlying glass box creates a greenhouse effect that warms the building during the day. When I started this project, I was working pro bono with the local community on a design intervention that would initiate the regeneration process towards a qualitative village environment. Simultaneously, we hoped that this would bring new tourists to the village, providing a lasting means of raising local income. During this time, the Lu Qianshou Trust from Hong Kong contacted me, and wanted to provide funding to enable me to develop certain rural areas, as they had heard of similar self-initiated projects that I had successfully realized before. Since its completion, the library has seen tremendous appreciation and usage by a wide variety of people. A new bus stop accommodates the frequent visits by thousands of people, including local villagers, tourists from the Beijing urban area, and many international visitors. Everybody is welcome to visit. As a professor, it’s great to have such a project so close to the university. I bring my students there every year at the start of the fall semester, to set the standard for their work to come. Rather than a building as a discrete object, this project is about the relationship of a building to its surroundings and its role in serving the community. Client Luke Him Sau Charitable Trust and Pan Xi | Architect Team Li Xiaodong, Liu Yayun, Hunag Chenwen, Pan Xi | Area 175 m2 | Budget $185,000 | Completion May 2012

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Ground Floor 1 reading space 2 Storage 3 Toilet 4 Washroom

SECOND Floor

1 DISCUSSION AREA 2 READING SPACE

canadian architect 11/14

Insites

canadian architect 11/14

Benny Kwok, Dalhousie University I was cleaning out my room recently, and found a scrapbook I put together when I was in Grade 8. Flipping through the pages, I found a lot of spelling errors in my writing, some of my childhood memories, and also evidence of my thought process at the time. It described the attitude and feelings I had about my family, friends, education, and the career aspirations I had. When I got to the end, I found this passage that touched on what I wanted for my career: “In the future, I hope that I can graduate from university and become a professional architect. In my [spare] time I can still contact my friends and go have a drink with them. While I’m alive, I really want to build my own house and be an honest, successful person.” I have always known that I wanted to be an architect, but I have never asked myself the intention behind it. Is it for building my own house, or for the simple reason of creating a place where I can enjoy a drink with my friends and family? Having had the opportunity to live in various cities at different stages in my life, I have been exposed to different built environments. From the crowded skyscrapers of Hong Kong to the quiet suburbs of Auckland, I have seen a contrast of building styles and city developments that are deeply tied to a place’s resources, technological advancements, economic necessity, cultural history and natural surroundings. Architecture has continued to give me a lot of opportunities to travel around the world. It has led me from Vancouver on the West Coast to the other side of the country in Halifax, driven me to the bright lights of Tokyo and different parts of Japan, and across the Atlantic Ocean to various countries in Europe. Through these experiences, I have discovered that while cultures are different and unique, there are a few common characteristics we can identify within them. We have the need for shelter when the weather gets rough, the need for indoor comfort when we want to rest, and the need for place-making for activities and rituals involved in our daily routines. These characteristics are manifest in what we create as architecture. It not only becomes the spaces we inhabit, but also the language we use to share our culture and identities. I was involved in a building workshop on Sandhornøy, an island located in the northern part of Norway, along with students from different parts of the world. Rather than staying in local establishments, we stayed in military camps on site for the duration of the workshop. The

intention of the workshop was to design and build a series of portable shelters called siidas (which means “meeting place” in the North Sami indigenous language) on an Arctic beach within a two-week period. I worked in a group of five, with each of us having various levels of understanding of English, making it difficult to communicate from time to time. We spent hours on discussions, using drawings, sketches and models to help us illustrate our points. However, we could not make any progress on paper. We learned that the most effective method of working was to engage with the beach and draw around our bodies in the sand; to engage with the tools and materials by building our ideas to their true size. We were able to communicate by the act of doing, by using our bodies and actions as the words and sentences that we all understood as a common language. We accomplished something simple and beautiful: a place for people to gather and enjoy each other’s company, and a place that illustrates our culture, knowledge and identities. The workshop at Sandhornøy was a truly amazing experience, where I learned things that were beyond the realm of architecture. Architecture should not be understood as an object, but rather as a process of what one of my professors calls “architecting.” It is a process in which we engage and therefore includes all our relationships—with each other, with materials, with tools and landscape. It includes our relationships with land and territory, wind, sun and rain; with water, animals and with words—the words we know and the words others say. When one can just let go and focus on these relationships, architecting becomes so magical, so entangled with people, their personalities, their personal relationships, and their cultural background and social upbringing. When I ask myself why I want to be an architect, I believe I want to accomplish something more than what we associate with architecture. Architecture should be a realization of an original thought, or an architectural idea. It should improve urban environments, and be energy-efficient and sustainable. However, it should also be something more. It should be an act of architecting, a language of communication, and an opportunity for us to forge and strengthen relationships we share with one another. I believe we can create a better place for each other with all that stems from the rudimentary ideas I had when I was young: to build my own house and create a place where I can enjoy a drink with my friends and family.

Below, left to right A view of a portable shelter in northern Norway, designed and built by a team of students from around the world including author Benny Kwok; the team takes a moment to relax inside the shelter after its completion.

Shu yin Wu, University of Waterloo A poet uses a pen to make space speak the unspeakable. As an architecture student, I like to trace a pen upon the skin of the city, hearing, for example, the sound of a continuous texture cut by intervals of abrupt silence when the pen dips down into the eroding holes of the stone. To me, Chinese cave dwelling—yaodong—is an area of practice that I will pursue for my Master’s thesis and long after. It is a reconciling between nature and culture, death and birth, silence and screams. “Yao” are beehive-like structures used throughout China’s countryside to fire bricks and tiles. “Dong” are caves, recessed cavities, or holes in the earth. They are one of the earliest forms of human shelter. Today, 30 to 40 million people still live in yaodong homes, where their ancestors lived thousands of years ago. From primitive worship of the female body to the caves of Taoism, the yaodong tradition sustains people’s spiritual belief of exorcism and blessing. When people die, they are buried in caves near their homes; when people marry, their first night of marriage is called “into the caves.” Being inside a yaodong feels like being inside mother’s womb. Yaodong’s feminism comes from its internal form without external shape. A yaodong’s carrier is the courtyard, the courtyard’s carrier is the village, the village’s carrier is a mountain or ravine, or the Loess Plateau. Villages are integrated into the environment with low impact. Yaodong dwellings are typically carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a square hole in the earth that serves as a sunken courtyard. During construction, the soil removed from a hill can be reused. After the yaodong’s time is up, it is buried again and returned to nature without a trace, as time flows on. Because yaodong construction is cheap, quick, easy and energy-efficient, it has survived the warring states and provided shelter for refugees, the homeless, and soldiers in preparation for critical battles. The yaodong where Chairman Mao lived for 13 years is regarded as a sacred place of revolution, and has played an important role in both political and popular culture. Unfortunately, for most of history, yaodong houses have been associated with poverty and backwardness. Today’s Chinese architecture is based upon the framework theorized by architectural historians Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiying. They suggest that only one dominant architecture—the standard timber structure that was the official structure of Northern royal palaces and temples—could represent China’s national style. This stance led to the dismissal of China’s rich cultural diversity. The multiple construction systems and building types, especially the regional architecture of remote areas and minority communities, were largely excluded in their work. As anywhere in the world, professional architecture has done much to prevent ordinary members of the community from interpreting their value systems through their homes and has inhibited their capacity to shape their domestic environment. In recent years, China has experienced social tension through urbanization, and the main reason is the income gap between different classes of citizens. For migrant workers who face sky-high property prices, the only option is to live in urban villages and even underground. I want to be an architect to reconceive yaodong as a new shelter—a spiritual as well as a physical shelter. This cave-dwelling study not only treats the yaodong as a shelter for living but also as an urban intervention. It envisions yaodong buildings, not only as a physical substructure of landscape in remote areas, but also a vital force for regenerating cultural, social and economic life. The new yaodongs could engender a feeling of community and hope for the future among the inhabitants of rural communities. We should not

simply ban or deconstruct them. Instead of accepting the condition as it is, we should try to transform their features through positive design methods. My first proposal is an underground dance centre. China has a long tradition of dancing, and people in the Loess soil dance as they pray for the rain. Through the dancer’s movement, space is filled with energy and lightness. By designing a cast-glass screen for its only façade, I hope to solve the lighting issues by brightening the interior with dispersion of light. I recall an experience in Capri on a school field trip. After climbing a rock, I started making my way back toward my companions in the water. I called their names but failed to catch their attention. This feeling of isolation struck me strangely as if I were in my ghostly form—as if I had died while I was climbing the rock. Rome, the city we studied, has this ability to make you feel like you are being resurrected from a massive tomb, a puzzling underworld where everything has aged so remarkably well. Since then, I wear this invisible veil in order to understand the silence of statue and stone better. Once they were particles in the air; then, they became hard as stone and lost their ability to fly. Once, they were sculpted by artists whose hands moved like the wind, but now they are dead. They are immobile and speechless, but some invisible spirits must float in between stone and us, helping us communicate with the past. Yaodong to me is a memory box as remote as the earth, buried beneath layers of dust. To reconceive yaodong, I want to stir this dust of thousands of years. I wish through the juxtaposition of light and darkness, the lightness of glass and the heaviness of earth, that a new dynamic may be channelled inside the cave. Canadian Architect extends its congratulations to Li Xiaodong, Benny Kwok, Shu Yin Wu, and Loïc Jasmin of the Université de Montréal, whose French-language essay also won a Moriyama RAIC International Prize BMO Financial Group Scholarship.

ABOVE A rendering and model of an underground dance centre, designed by author Shu Yin Wu as part of a studio course at the University of Waterloo.

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Insites

canadian architect 11/14

Books

Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects

Operative Landscapes: Building Communities Through Public Space

New Architecture on Indigenous Lands

Contributions by George Baird, Thomas Fisher, Mark Kingwell and Mirko Zardini. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2013.

By Alissa North. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2013.

By Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013.

Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, KPMB Architects has been in existence since 1987 when Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg assumed leadership from their erstwhile employer, Barton Myers, when he decamped for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. And like the phoenix, which soared with renewed youth and promise, KPMB has in its distinguished 27-year history become what is arguably Canada’s pre-eminent architectural practice. As a testament to its prodigious output, this is the third monograph of the firm’s work since 1997, documenting its most significant projects since 2004. KPMB’s indelible imprint is keenly apparent in its home city of Toronto: the TIFF Bell Lightbox and the Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning are iconic cultural hubs; Vaughan City Hall is a remarkable example of place-making in an otherwise bleak and sprawling suburban condition. Further afield, the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa exhilarates with its lanternlike addition; Manitoba Hydro Place in Winnipeg breaks new ground with a highly collaborative integrated design process; and when complete, the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is certain to elevate the discussion and practice of architecture in Saskatoon. What unites the disparate array of building types is the profound enhancement to the public realm they engender. KPMB’s best work seems to emerge from conditions in which historical context and heritage demands force the firm to exercise its particular and consummate skill in stitching together old and new in the creation of something not quite seamless, but rather sublimely harmonious. The results are enduring, respectful and unfailingly elegant.

Operative Landscapes offers a thorough breakdown of what it means to design a landscape in the 21st century, foregrounding the vital role communities play in creating successful urban public spaces. Alissa North methodically describes the process of public-space design, and provides an in-depth look at how landscape architecture can act as a medium to develop and expand healthy sustainable communities. The book refers to numerous projects worldwide, including Dockside Green in Victoria, BC (produced by a team including landscape architects PWL Partnership and architects Perkins+Will), which demonstrates the adaptive reuse of an old industrial site as a sustainable urban space integrating wildlife habitats and green spaces, along with a transportation plan that prioritizes walking and cycling. It has become a unique ecologically oriented community that will evolve over time. The need for improved urban public spaces and green infrastructure has never been so widely recognized, and this is beginning to take shape across the globe. Referencing strategies in Europe, North America and Asia, Operative Landscapes provides a compilation of global landscape architecture projects that showcases the current trajectory of the profession. Increasingly, landscape architects are moving away from simply designing aesthetically pleasing green spaces, instead creating functional landscapes that operate within a larger context. These new landscapes provide valuable spaces for community engagement and development, making the book a good starting point for students, professionals, and anyone interested in landscape architecture.

In this recent examination of First Nations architectural projects, authors Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka predict a new architecture is on the rise—with implications that stretch far beyond reserve boundaries. They cite the design sensitivities implicit in First Peoples’ world views, but also the field’s ability to bypass “homogenized conventions of mainstream white society.” This design approach—a blend of the cultural, sensory and symbolic—offers a depth and insightfulness absent from current practice. The true value of this book lies in its extensive testimonies regarding best practices. Those who have worked in the field understand the myriad of non-standard procedures related to design, consultation and approval. The expanded notion of design, encompassing spatial, social, spiritual and experiential factors, is one challenge. Others include the collective design process, qualitative data, community engagement and consensusbuilding. The authors have done their research, balancing it with the necessary historical, legal and economic framework. The authors cite an additional important challenge: infiltrating the design assumptions of Western-trained architects. This is critical for a number of reasons. Canada’s Aboriginal population is growing at nearly four times the non-Aboriginal rate. Reserve-based projects are also becoming increasingly visible. Many now border, or exist within expanding cities. Finally, there is a cultural rebirth occurring as First Nations, once outlawed for engaging in the spiritual, linguistic and cultural expressions of their ancestors, are fervently trying to put the pieces back together. Architecture—as a depository of cultural meaning and a community-based teaching tool—will play a prominent role in this revival.

architecture student at the Daniels Faculty of Architec-

Wanda Dalla Costa is the Director of Redquill Architecture,

Leslie Jen is the Associate Editor of Canadian Architect.

ture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto.

a firm specialized in design for First Nations clients.

James MacDonald-Nelson is a third-year landscape

The City Lost and Found: Capturing New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, 1960-1980 October 26, 2014-January 11, 2015

The Art Institute of Chicago examines the changing landscape of American cities through the intersection of photography, film, architecture and urban planning. www.artic.edu

Rooms You May Have Missed November 4, 2014-April 19, 2015

This exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal presents the work of architects Bijoy Jain and Umberto Riva. www.cca.qc.ca

Bryce Miranda lecture November 12, 2014

Bryce Miranda of Toronto-based DTAH lectures at 6:00pm at the Epcor Centre in Calgary. www.evds.ucalgary.ca

Stephen Teeple lecture November 13, 2014

Stephen Teeple, founder and prin-

cipal of Toronto-based Teeple Architects, lectures at 6:00pm at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture. www.umanitoba.ca/architecture/

Sean Lally lecture November 13, 2014

Sean Lally, founder of Weathers in Chicago, lectures at 7:00pm at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge. https://uwaterloo.ca

Joyce Drohan lecture November 17, 2014

Joyce Drohan, director of urban design at Perkins+Will Canada, lectures at 6:30pm at Robson Square in Vancouver.

Architectural Science.

On Architecture and Structure November 20-December 14, 2014

www.arch.ryerson.ca

This exhibition at Toronto’s Corkin Gallery features an installation by Williamson Chong Architects alongside works by Barbara Astman, Thaddeus Holownia, Gina Rorai, Grit Schwerdtfeger, Ramón Serrano and others. www.corkingallery.com

One of a Kind Christmas Show & Sale November 27-December 7, 2014

The 40th edition of the One of a Kind Show & Sale features over 800 artisans and designers. www.oneofakindshow.com

Building Cities: Perspectives from China

IIDEXCanada 2014

November 24, 2014

This event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre brings together the multidisciplinary design and architecture communities for a sourcing, networking and educational event that celebrates creativity and best practices.

December 3-4, 2014

Visiting architecture professors Joe Carter and He Hong Yu of Beijing lecture at 6:00pm in Room G10 of the Macdonald-Harrington Building at McGill University. www.mcgill.ca/architecture/lectures

www.sala.ubc.ca

www.iidexcanada.com

Michael McClelland lecture

Conversation: Architecture on Display

Bruce Kuwabara lecture

November 17, 2014

November 27, 2014

December 11, 2014

Michael McClelland, founding partner of ERA Architects in Toronto, lectures at 6:00pm at the National Gallery of Canada.

Panellists Aaron Levy, William Menking, Sascha Hastings and Mirko Zardini will participate in this conversation at 6:30pm at Ryerson University’s Department of

Bruce Kuwabara of Toronto-based KPMB Architects lectures at 6:00pm on the University of Calgary’s downtown campus.

www.facebook.com/ForumLectureSeries

www.evds.ucalgary.ca

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CANADIAN ARCHITECT 11/14

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Ron Arad Architects

Studio daniel libeskind

canadian architect 11/14

Remembering Shoah Text

Alessandra Mariani

A planned monument offers visitors an experiential journey evoking the holocaust. Next fall, a National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa designed by a team including Daniel Libeskind is anticipated to open. Located across from the Canadian War Museum, the sculptural design is marked by six triangular volumes, aggregated in an elongated Star of David. The concrete volumes mark the ground the way badges marked victims of Shoah. The monument is a rare case of a Holocaust monument without a Holocaust museum. While the monument frames views of Parliament Hill and is visually linked to the Canadian War Museum, the educational content usually provided by companion institutions is limited. To compensate, the team opted to integrate an interpretive process in the structure. As team leader Gail Lord of Lord Cultural Resources explains, the sculpture invites visitors to journey through an experiential environment depicting the darkest chapter of human history. Visitors travelling along the memorial’s paths will view large-scale photographs of Holocaust death camps and killing fields embedded in its concrete walls, captured by Edward Burtynsky. They will also access a surrounding coniferous rocky landscape, designed by Claude Cormier, to symbolize the resilience of Holocaust survivors and their descendants. As Paul Ricoeur put it, “monuments risk becoming statements of forgetting, rather than prompts for remembering.” In this light, one has to ask, would a proposal with a higher sensory impact have been a better prompt for remembering the Holocaust? Among the finalists, David Adjaye, Ron Arad and Irene Szylinger’s proposal stands out in terms of the visceral experience it promised. The design features an array of steel-reinforced concrete walls, each measuring an imposing 14 metres high and 20 metres wide, spaced a little more

ABOVE left The winning proposal for Ottawa’s National Holocaust Monument, designed by Daniel Libeskind, Gail Dexter Lord, Edward Burtynsky, Claude Cormier and Doris Bergen. ABOVE Right A finalist entry by David Adjaye, Ron Arad and Irene Szylinger.

than a metre from each other. Twenty-two passages were proposed, representing each country where the Holocaust took lives. One visitor at a time would have transited through each narrow passage, confronting a variety of emotions—not least an oppressive feeling generated by the visual upward pull of the massively scaled walls. If the experience speaks metaphorically of the unnameable voyage of millions of Jews, the foils framing it resemble the warped pages of a book, referring to a biblical passage in which God promises Abraham and his descendants deliverance following long-endured hardship. It is easy to imagine how this proposal could have delivered an experience as vivid as the ones offered by Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses and Passage of Time. As a presence in the landscape, the memorial would have been immediately impactful, and offered a stronger contrast with the adjoining Canadian War Museum. However, its autonomy was perhaps a disadvantage in the competition—by its formal daring, it risked becoming too much of a strange presence for the conservative tastes of Ottawa’s cultural scene. To their credit, both Libeskind’s and Adjaye’s projects go far beyond the standard words-on-a-plaque monument. Both possess a sculptural dimension that creates an instant dialogue with space and invites visitor interaction. And both address a subject left largely unaddressed in the Canadian War Museum, filling an important place in the Capital Region’s memorial landscape. Alessandra Mariani is a researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and the editor of Muséologies journal.

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