41° to 66° at the Venice Biennale of Architecture
Viewpoint by Jyhling Lee and Paul Koopman
41° to 66°: Architecture in Canada – Region, Culture, Tectonics was on exhibit at the Venice Biennale for Architecture from September 14 to November 23, 2008.
The exhibition 41° to 66°: Architecture in Canada – Region, Culture, Tectonics” co-curated by architects John McMinn and Marco Polo, represented Canada at the 2008 Venice Biennale in Architecture, arguably the premier international showcase for architectural ideas.
The exhibition presented contemporary buildings from six distinct geographical areas of Canada: Atlantic, Continental, Prairie, Mountain, West Coast, and Arctic, which have drawn their inspiration from vernacular building types and responded to the climate, geography and cultural differences characteristic of each region. Perhaps more importantly, the curators chose to display buildings that address the related issues of sustainability and cultural identity.
The exhibition is a study of contemporary architecture in Canada without being a greatest hits compilation. Instead, the featured buildings have genuinely attempted to address the challenges of sustainability, not only in conservation of energy and resources, but also in response to issues of regional identity and culture.
McMinn and Polo argue that the most relevant architecture in Canada is that which has resisted global trends and instead responded to climate, geography and regional cultures. They further argue that indigenous and historical building types such as the tepee, igloo, and sod house are appropriate models for contemporary Canadian buildings. Principles such as conservation of resources, use of local materials, effective ventilation and the way the shape of a building responds to climate are embodied in the design of these structures.
Indigenous people used the resources that were available to them: animal hides, pine trees or in the case of the igloo, snow. Today’s architects and builders have far more options available to them in terms of materials and methods of construction. What is important is not the appearance or iconic shape of these structures, but the way they are built and the methodology behind their design.
Nowadays, it is rare for a building to be constructed entirely out of local materials. Instead, materials and building systems are often imported from distant parts of the world. The new buildings selected by McMinn and Polo are part of this modern building industry, yet manifest a clear effort to address regional methods of building.
The Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre in Osoyoos, BC has some of these qualities. Designed by Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects for the Osoyoos First Nation, the building uses curving rammed earth walls as a focal design element. The rammed earth walls have low embodied energy but are also a construction, quite literally, a part of the surrounding earth. As the walls blend in with the mountainside, the building appears contemporary and ancient at the same time. The exhibit argued not for a return to historical building techniques but instead for a return to a sustainable use of materials and regional building practices.
A central concept of the exhibition was building “tectonics”, a term traditionally used to describe the inherent use of materials in buildings and the method of construction, but one which the curators have broadened to include the way buildings function from an energy point of view - a key factor in sustainability.
Many vernacular buildings display very clear tectonics such as the way wood poles are lashed together on a tepee, or the way frozen water makes the joint line between two layers of snow in an igloo. The contemporary buildings on display shared an equally strong tectonic, although a modern one: steel or wooden structures are often exposed with carefully detailed connections, natural materials such as wood are left unpainted, the junctions between dissimilar materials are highly articulated.
Richard Kroeker’s Murdena Marshall Meeting Hall in Eskasoni, NS is a good example. Here small diameter spruce and pine trees are selected for their natural flexibility to form curved arch truss members. The result is a sinuous and organic building that links to the craft traditions of the region and reflects indigenous cultural practices.
The Kugluktuk Recreation Complex in Nunavut by Pin/Matthews Architects responds to the severe environmental forces of its Arctic location. The design of the walls and roof form responds to patterns of snow accumulation and drifting, as well as sun and wind patterns across the site. Many of the modern architects have attempted to tune their buildings to their local climate and have begun to look at the tectonics of energy use. The solar orientation of the buildings are carefully observed taking advantage of passive solar heating and daylighting. The flow of air within and around buildings is also a key driver of form.
41° to 66°stood out from the other Biennale exhibits. Content-rich and broad in scope, it lacked the preoccupation with immediate visual impact and novel stimulation that characterised many of the other national exhibitions. Instead, the Canadian exhibition was searching for answers to more elusive questions regarding sustainability and cultural identity. For McMinn and Polo, a clearer understanding of Canadian architecture, and by implication our national identity, could be reached by celebrating the differences that exist within the distinct regions of the country.
Jyhling Lee and Paul Koopman of Lee-Koopman Projects are both multi-disciplinary designers and architects practicing in Saskatoon. www.lee-koopman-projects.ca
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