Gréber's Plan and the “Washington of the North”: Finding a Canadian Capital in the Face of Republican Dreams

Pollock-Ellwand, Nancy

doi:10.3368/lj.20.1.48

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In Ottawa the more substantial landscape infrastructure moves from Gréber's plan were applied, while the classical top layer has so far remained unbuilt. Pollock-Ellwand (2001) believes that this approach has allowed the place of Ottawa to be reinforced by its greenbelt, decentralised government buildings and open-space corridors. Walter Burley Griffin's 1911 Canberra design also used the natural environment as a driver -it 'played a key role in locating the city's major axes and key structures' (Mossop 2006, p. 166).…”

Section: Design Methodology | 75mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Politically significant spaces are fertile ground for the expression of meaning through architecture, as they are understood to have meaning that is relevant to a wide group of people, and potentially the entire nation. This means that while people expect to find meaning in these spaces, political leaders also tend to try and control the meaning expressed through them (Pollock-Ellwand 2001;Vale 2008). This raises a question about whether people are seeing meaning because they expect it, given that it is a 'nationally' significant space, or because it has been placed there for them to see.…”

Section: Architectural Systems Of Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Its forms serve the power and control of a republican state, and its trademark classical formality has been used to express political power in dictatorships (Hall 1988). The ability of architecture to express some sense of national identity is hampered by the fact that decisions are made by the leadership, rather than the populace (Pollock-Ellwand 2001;Vale 2008). It questions once again the role of architecture in communicating grand ideas to the public.…”

Section: Architectural Expression In Capital Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The city of Ottawa has been subject to a number of grand urban design visions throughout its history, none of which were ever fully realised. It has instead developed in a more bottom-up manner around the planned aspects of its urban form, to become a city which successfully represents both national and local identity (Pollock-Ellwand 2001). The natural landscape has come to play an important role in this development, as has happened with Wellington's unavoidable topography and with Canberra's more deliberate use of natural features.…”

Section: Ottawamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meaning in Landscape Architecture: Negotiating Identity in a Landscape of Local and National Significance

Hunt¹

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<p>This thesis develops a landscape architectural approach to the design of meaning in locally and nationally significant spaces. It begins with an emerging contemporary trend: nationally significant sites that are ignored and reduced in importance by the changing, fluid urban landscapes that surround them. Adelaide Road, in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is the site of Government House, the National War Memorial and the Basin reserve. These three nationally significant colonial icons suffer from lack of connection to their urban context, and thus this site is used as design case study. The thesis first develops a position on the expression of meaning through architectural form, particularly the meaning of national identity in capital cities. The expression of meaning in architecture is hindered by problems to do with the cultural context the sites are found within. Cultural shifts quickly move on from original designed meaning, leaving only culturally ingrained meaning. For nationally significant sites to remain relevant they need to become used, active parts of the urban landscape, so that layers of meaning and identity can accumulate within them. To situate the thesis in the context of Aotearoa-New Zealand, cultural traditions to do with sense of belonging to the landscape are used to establish a base set of values on which to base a design methodology. Landscape, particularly the natural landscape, has become a cliché expression of New Zealand national identity, to the detriment of urban landscapes. The design methodology uses landscape architecture theory to draw together Māori and Pākehā landscape values and apply them to the complex problems of an urban site. The design outcome frames the re-connection of Government House, the War Memorial and the Basin Reserve to the urban landscape within the cultural context of Aotearoa-New Zealand.</p>

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Section: Design Methodology | 75mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Architectural Systems Of Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Architectural Expression In Capital Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ottawamentioning

confidence: 99%

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