Year: 2004
Client: Canadian War Museum in collaboration with Moryama Teshima Architects
Awards: 2005: Award of Excellence Public Places & Civic Spaces Ottawa Urban Design Awards
2005: Royal Institute of British Architects International Award
This project is characterized by a seamless integration with its surroundings: building and landscape become one. In this case, the ground literally rises gradually to the roof level of the building forming a sloped hill. Weeds and poppies cover most of the building’s green roof. The “Traverse”, which consists of a footpath connecting the sidewalk to the roof of the museum, evokes the path taken by soldiers during battle, a sort of open trench. Grassy knolls and hollows are reminiscent of bombed terrain where nature has begun to heal the landscape.
