Planning a capital city using landscape architecture, design and placemaking
Beauty in architecture is a subjective and culturally influenced concept that goes beyond mere aesthetics. It encompasses a combination of visual appeal, functionality, cultural significance, and harmony or contrast with the setting. More so than other cities, a capital must present a dignified character and identity to the world, embodied by the quality of its buildings, landscapes and public spaces.
Join us for this event where panelists discuss the vision and planning of capital cities and how they are an inspiration to their country.
Our featured speakers:
Alain Miguelez
RPP, MCIP
Vice-President and Chief Planner
Capital Planning, National Capital Commission
Presentation: Ottawa’s City Beautiful Plan (the 1915 Holt-Bennett report)
Before the famous Gréber report, Ottawa had another major blueprint for its future, the now-forgotten but visionary Holt-Bennett Plan of 1915. Had it been carried out, Ottawa would have looked like a European capital, had its first subway line, and mapped its expansion in a very different way. This presentation will explore the unfulfilled legacy of this plan, which belonged to the also-abandoned City Beautiful movement of urban planning from the early 20th century.
Thomas Luebke
FAIA
Secretary, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
Presentation: Civic Art: The Commission of Fine Arts and the Design of Washington, DC
An exploration of how the design and symbolism of the U.S. capital city, Washington, DC, was developed from abstract philosophical principles into urban design, informed by the evolution of architectural expression and planning ideas over 200 years.
Julia Gersovitz
O.C., OAA, OAQ, FAPT, FRAIC, CAHP
Director, EVOQ Architecture
Professor of Practice, McGill University
Presentation: Architecture or Accommodation Engineering?
Questioning the status quo on new directions forward in architecture.
