| This thesis proposes that a region's genius loci is based not on a single historical or cultural movement but on an eclectic collage of various historical ideologies. It argues that the strength of an architecture which is based a region's genius loci depends not on the strength of individual histories but on the dialogue between the different movements and an architect's ability to articulate the arising tension. The ideology will be tested through an urban design which seeks to bring historical fragments to an understandable and coherent whole using a collage of the ideologies inherent to the fragments and their present context. The hypothesis will then be evaluated through the project's ability to respond to current civic needs without loosing the strength of the individual pieces.;Specifically, the project will address a site in a pivotal location on Lebreton Flats, Ottawa. The site is an urban junction between downtown Ottawa, downtown Gatineau, the Capital's Park and the newly developed Lebreton Flats Community through a convergence of bicycle paths, walkways, and roads, notably Confederation Boulevard. The site will be developed into a as a continuous man-made landscape composed of buildings and piazzas using an eclectic combination of two prominent, complementary yet opposing approaches to architecture and landscape in Ottawa's history. The first is the approach taken by the industrial builders who saw the local landscape as a source of construction materials and energy. The second is the approach taken by the NCC who saw the local landscape as a place for natural splendor pastoral views. The new landscape and buildings will serve as a node for non-motorized circulation, a community center, and an urban theater shared between the Lebreton Flats community and the surrounding municipalities. |
