MVRDV designs national LGBTQ2 + memorial in Canada

The Canadian Heritage Institute has just announced the five finalist projects in the architecture competition for the LGBTQ2 + National Monument, an initiative designed with the primary aim of hearing the stories of millions of people, who for years have been excluded from the official accounts. in Canada, but all over the world. Among the proposals selected for the second phase of the competition is The lens, a project that seeks to transform one of the main symbols of oppression into a new element of pride, appropriating the natural landscape to create a space of empathy and identity. Developed in partnership by the Canadian office breaststroke studio, MVRDV and Two Row Architect, the proposal seeks to express resilience, by creating a didactic and memorial space while circumscribing a new space for meeting and socializing for the 2SLGBTQQIA + community.

Located on the shores of the Ottawa River and close to the National Parliament Building, the monument and public park in which it is located is designed to celebrate and honor the historic resilience of an entire community. Between the 1950s and the mid-1990s, the LGBT community was systematically discriminated against, harassed, arrested and excluded from official narratives in a period that is now known as the ‘LGBT purge’, which directly or indirectly affected the more life. of 9,000 people in the country.

In this sense, the proposal designed by the studio Fathom, MVRDV and Two Row Architect is presented in the form of an inclined circle with a triangular section, in reference to the pink triangle used for years as a symbol of oppression and a tool to persecute the LGBT community. The Monument itself seeks to transform the landscape by adapting to it, producing “ripples” on the surface of the land, which symbolize the reverberations that each action has caused in the community throughout history. In addition to this, the project also has a series of built elements and living spaces, providing meeting and social places while the landscaping project uses a series of native plant species, restoring the local biodiversity.

In designing the national monument project, we seek to challenge the lens through which the LGBT community has been viewed and judged for decades, inviting visitors to reflect on the theme as we seek to shape a new space where this community will be able to flourish and become stronger. Formally, this monument seeks to give voice and space to a community that for years has been oppressed and excluded from official narratives around the world. – Margot Durling, Creative Director of Fathom Studio

The proposal submitted by Fathom, MVRDV and Two Row Architect is one of five finalists in the architecture competition for the LGBTQ2 + national monument, which includes offices such as SOM, MASS Design Group, the BBB architects Ottawa It’s the Public city architecture. At this stage, the proposals of the finalists are judged by the public in an open vote and very soon the winning proposal should be announced.

• Customer: LGBT Purge Fund, National Capital Commission, Canadian Heritage
• Field and program: 6,300 m2 – Monuments
• Architecture: Durling team (Fathom Studio, MVRDV, Two Row Architect)
• Pictures: Antonio Luca Coco, Luana La Martina, Angelo La Delfa
• Strategy and development: Alex rodriguez
• Structural engineering: RJC Engineering
• Video: Mirror image
• Animation: ANNIEM: Motion Design & Illustration