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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Canadian Firefighters Memorial in Ottawa, Canada by PLANT Architect Inc. in collaboration with Douglas CouplandNovember 10th, 2012 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: PLANT Architect Inc. The Canadian Firefighters Memorial officially opened on September 9, in Ottawa. Located at the site of the capital’s devastating fire of 1900, this urban-planning memorial ensemble was collaboratively designed by PLANT Architect Inc. and Canadian visual artist and novelist Douglas Coupland. The team won the national competition hosted by the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation (CFFF) and the National Capital Commission (NCC) in 2010.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.
 Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc. A symbolic landmark of our nation’s capital region, the memorial park honours the fire service of fallen Canadians, creates an intimate space for personal reflection, and provides a home for the CFFF’s Annual Memorial Ceremony each fall on Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc. As a mis-en-scéne of “characters” integrated into the Canadian landscape, the Canadian Firefighters Memorial embodies key aspects of our nation’s heritage, and shapes, enhances, and inspires experiences of ritual performance. Both to fulfil the purposes of ceremony and procession, and to navigate visitors through the space, a series of architectural, sculptural, and landscape interventions were introduced: the central ceremony area is defined and framed by the site’s two opposing landforms, leading visitors along the Name Wall to the base of the Dedication Pine Tree.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc. The project’s iconic design features a 2 1/2 times life-size bronze Firefighter statue, 60 foot-high Firepole, a Dedication Pine Tree, Sloped Grove, and stone Name Wall. The Grove features sugar maple trees set amongst dense plantings of seasonally changing shrubs and perennials that achieve full red vibrancy during the fall months, creating a thick red carpet of foliage. The granite Name Wall stands as an abstract interpretation of the Canadian map and provinces—its surface carved with the names of fallen firefighters. During the Memorial Ceremony each autumn, the newly engraved names of the recently fallen are shroud in black ribbon and unveiled during the ceremony. Within this larger ritual space lies a series of smaller, more intimate areas designed to foster introspection and support personal remembrance. The Sitting Nook and Reflection Garden are spaces of pause, allowing visitors to pay tribute to their fallen friends, family, and colleagues.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc. Deeply rooted in Canada’s political and physical landscape, the Canadian Firefighters Memorial explores the ways in which narratives of “home” and “nation” are constructed publicly—specifically through its iconography, design, and visual representation of Canada’s national heritage. The design of this new memorial park also considers the use of metaphor in ritual performance, prompting visitors to discover new ways of thinking about, and personally processing, experiences of memory, loss, and remembrance.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc. ABOUT PLANT ARCHITECT INC. PLANT Architect Inc. is an award-winning, collaborative firm that branches into the domains of architecture, landscape, ecology, furniture, art, and graphic design. Synthesizing their expertise in these disciplines, PLANT integrates architectural, sculptural, and landscape interventions to articulate new meanings, create visceral experiences, and form critical, interdisciplinary dialogues about place, memory, ecology, history, art, and culture.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.  Image Courtesy © PLANT Architect Inc.
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