The newly redesigned FASSinate magazine – a publication issued by Carleton University’s Faculty of Arts & Social Science – was sent to me recently with a feature review of Exploring the Capital. You can read it here for those who haven’t been fortunate to receive their alumni copy: Fassinate-2018 The piece reveals our interest…
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The Smith Report: Hope for Ottawa’s Heritage Conservation Districts?
Ottawa is going through a difficult time. There is a structural flaw in its management and how it listens to its citizens, especially when it comes to protecting its heritage conservation districts (HCDs). Yesterday, the Smith Report was released, outlining the state of crisis in preserving and protecting Ottawa’s HCDs. There are key insights in…
When Architecture Fails to Speak for Itself…The Château Laurier addition.
Imagine it is 2030 and over the past decade the Château Laurier addition has been derided not only for its misunderstanding of architecture, but for the City’s poor decision to allow this decorated box to be constructed. In 2030, visitors to the Capital are surprised that a generic rectangular box, clearly struggling to relate to…
The Hill Times features Exploring the Capital
The Hill Times has published an article featuring sites in Exploring the Capital. Several entries have been included in the piece – and some of Peter Coffman‘s photos are well featured. This article is written by Shruti Shekar.
Building onto the National Arts Centre
Here is a piece that I wrote for artsfile. It reflects on the approach taken for constructing the addition to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. While I could have expanded the article to include many other aspects to the successes and failures of the project, it’s an initial reaction to the spaces added to…
Exploring the Capital Launched!
After several years of working on Exploring the Capital, outside of work, we have published the book in both official languages through Figure1 Publishing and University of Ottawa Press (French edition). The final design and layout is impressive, featuring 11 tours of the Ottawa-Gatineau Region. Peter Coffman’s photos are dramatic and draw your eyes.…
A Pillar of Conservation: Barbara Humphreys (1919-2017)
Barbara’s encouragement and support was an inspiration to me over the past fifty years. (Stuart Lazear) We had wonderful and exciting years working together on the Canadian Inventory of Historic Buildings. (Meredith Sykes) She was a consummate professional, a gentle mentor and a friend. (Christina Cameron) In recent years, we have sadly lost several pioneering…
Incentive for Historic Places
Years have passed since there has been attention to federal legislation for historic places in Canada. As Canada marks its 150th year, it may be the year to make a difference that would bring Canada to an equal footing with most G20 countries. A new private members bill has been tabled by Parliament: Bill C-323, an…
Kenopsia and Heritage?
Several years ago artist John Koenig began a word project by coining new words for odd emotions and experiences in contemporary life. They may not be in the OED yet, but some of the words resolve some of those unexpressed feelings that are hard to explain when working in the field of heritage. Heritage is…
Ottawa’s Suburban Heritage
Ottawa is transforming from a suburban city into a denser and more urban one. Light Rail Transit is coming, densification has brought more condominium towers to the city core and the post-war generation of baby boomers are beginning to downsize their living spaces. But what will become of the vast tracts of once sought-after suburban…