time + place temps + lieu - CSLA :: AAPC

LANSDOWNE PARK
1, 2 3
MARTA FAREVAAG
DEFINITELY NOT A MUSEUM
FR_
CECI N’EST PAS UN MUSÉE
Quand la ville d’Ottawa a fait un appel de candidatures pour le
réaménagement du parc Lansdowne, véritable figure emblématique,
Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg a remporté la palme. Comment? En
s’inspirant de l’identité même de ce paysage culturel, lentement
façonnée depuis un siècle et demi. Pour ce faire, il s’est allié à Julian
Smith, architecte et collaborateur. Ce dernier avait supervisé la
restauration du Pavillon Aberdeen dix ans plus tôt, et est l’un des
grands visionnaires canadiens en matière de paysages culturels.
Le résultat illustre à merveille la façon dont on peut renouveler un
paysage façonné – ce qui ne manque pas de défi, car il faut savoir
allier continuité et changement, patrimoine et modernité.
1 LANSDOWNE 2011 2 LANSDOWNE CONCEPT (CIRCA 2095) 3 ABERDEEN
SQUARE – BIRD’S EYE 4 ABERDEEN SQUARE – STREET VIEW 5 THE GREAT LAWN |
1 LANSDOWNE EN 2011 2 LANSDOWNE VERS 2095 3 LE SQUARE ABERDEEN VU DU
CIEL 4 LE SQUARE ABERDEEN VU DE LA RUE 5 LE GRAND PARTERRE GAZONNÉ
PHOTOS PHILLIPS FAREVAAG SMALLENBERG
ENG_
Lansdowne park has a long and rich history as a gathering
place. In 1868, the Ottawa Agricultural Society acquired the initial
19 acres; they held the first agricultural show at Lansdowne the
next year. Just a few years later, the site boasted a series of new
wood frame buildings, and was home to the annual Exhibition of the
Provincial Agricultural and Arts Association. From the earliest days,
the exhibitions featured innovation in agriculture, in industry and
in household technologies. Here, Ottawa people witnessed the first
telephone demonstration in Canada in 1879.
FROM PHONE OPERATORS TO SENATORS
Before the turn of the century, sports teams had discovered
Lansdowne Park: professional baseball arrived in 1898. The same
year, the Aberdeen Pavilion was built to expand display capacity,
and by 1902, the Ottawa Senators were using it for hockey games.
Professional football came in 1903, and when the new Horticulture
Building opened in 1914, it was home to winter curling.
Exhibitions and sporting events prospered for many decades,
but over time, the landscape context all but disappeared. Most of
the surface area was paved for parking, a stadium was added, and
the Pavilion hosted only the occasional trade show. For a time, even
the stadium was seriously compromised, its south lower stands
demolished.
After many failed attempts, the beautiful Aberdeen Pavilion was
sensitively restored, but for many years, politicians debated the
potential ways to revive the 16 hectare (40 acre) site. Finally, the City
agreed to permit the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group to
develop the northwest quadrant of the park site in return for renewal
42 LANDSCAPES PAYSAGES