![\"City](\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/ottawa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2015\/09\/010-ottawa-west.jpg\")
<\/a>In Ottawa’s history, there was a period of time following the Second World War, when\u00a0great minds, Jacques Gr\u00e9ber foremost among them, envisioned a National Capital\u00a0reflective of Canada’s new and unquestionable position on the world’s stage. The\u00a0great minds of the Federal District Commission tackled difficult problems facing\u00a0Ottawa and established urban and national requirements. They found a city that had\u00a0been settled amongst an ideal setting of untouched beauty, but they believed that as\u00a0a Capital it would be problematic to grow and become the national centre of\u00a0intellectual development. It was\u00a0believed that a new city plan would bring\u00a0about a good civic life and secure prosperity. This new plan for the Capital would bring about material\u00a0improvements, moral progress, and consequently social order, it was believed.<\/p>\n
Today, it is safe to say\u00a0that no other contribution has played a greater role in defining the urbanscape of\u00a0present day Ottawa. However, contemporary\u00a0Ottawa is still locked in a struggle between city and Capital. This duality has come to\u00a0define Ottawa and makes it the most unique city in Canada. No other factor has\u00a0played a larger role in defining the evolution of Ottawa’s built form. The urban\u00a0artifacts of our city have become part of Canada’s collective memory and symbols of\u00a0our national identity. The Parliament Buildings, the National War Memorial, and the\u00a0National Art Gallery, are recognizable to most\u00a0Canadian, regardless of whether or not\u00a0they have visited our National Capital.<\/p>\n
This is a condition of Ottawa that every citizen\u00a0should be proud of. Since the implementation of the Gr\u00e9ber Plan, Ottawa has been recognized across the country as a beautiful city of cultural landscapes and urban\u00a0artifacts of national importance. Today’s National Capital Commission, the direct\u00a0descendent of the Federal District Commission, is owed a great deal of credit for\u00a0forming these symbols of the contemporary city. However, the work of the National Capital\u00a0Commission continues, as the struggle between city and Capital will always play a role in the city.<\/p>\n The duality of Ottawa, as city and Capital, is a condition specific to its\u00a0place in\u00a0Canada. For visitors and tourists, the National Capital strives to meet their\u00a0expectations for a place that symbolizes the entire country and is recognized as an\u00a0object of pride. For local residents daily life in the City of Ottawa is complex and\u00a0diverse. This side of Ottawa would be difficult to capture in the Official Plans of either\u00a0the City of Ottawa or the National Capital Commission. Many of the contemporary\u00a0spatial clashes in the City of Ottawa today are defined by the struggle between the\u00a0federal National Capital Commission, and the municipal City of Ottawa. In these well intentioned\u00a0conflicts, it is easy to lose sight of the role of the citizen, the local urban\u00a0actor.<\/p>\n The successful planning of Ottawa as a Capital occurs on a scale of time that operates\u00a0outside the lifespan of a building. This is a scale that is difficult for an individual to\u00a0relate and contribute to. But on a daily occurrence the local urban actor populates the\u00a0public spaces between the buildings. We negotiate and navigate parts of the city that\u00a0belong to different time periods and planning strategies. These local conditions are\u00a0the most relatable aspect of the architecture of the city to the individual. As local\u00a0actors and citizens of both the City of Ottawa, and the National Capital, it must be\u00a0remembered that space, and its subsequent planning, has the power to embrace or\u00a0exclude.<\/p>\n Ottawa’s architectural history extends far beyond the construction of the Rideau\u00a0Canal or the founding of Bytown. It existed before the explorations of \u00c9tienne Br\u00fbl\u00e9\u00a0and Samuel de Champlain. Long before European contact, the Algonquin people\u00a0knew this place as ‘adawe’, meaning \u201cto trade\u201d. It is from ‘adawe’ that we have the\u00a0name Ottawa. We define trade to be the act of exchanging goods or services for other\u00a0goods or services. To trade is an important part of society and life. It is a process which\u00a0requires two parties to undertake trust in the face of risk. This exchange of trust\u00a0continues to define the contemporary city of Ottawa. Trust plays a paramount role in\u00a0the compromises and collaborations between the National Capital Commission and\u00a0the City of Ottawa, trust allows for public consultation on city and Capital planning\u00a0issues, and without trust there would be no local actors to populate Ottawa’s public\u00a0spaces. Ottawa as a city is defined by exchanges between parties. Without exchange\u00a0and trust, there is no city.<\/p>\n I personally invite you to join us for the 27th <\/span>edition of Ottawa Architecture Week (OAW). This\u00a0year’s theme is \u201cthe capital & the city\u201d and we are looking forward to hearing your\u00a0ideas and opinions, as we explore the tensions between Ottawa the city and Ottawa\u00a0the National Capital. This year’s program features a variety of public events that\u00a0include talks, exhibitions, installations, workshops, film screenings, tours, and panel\u00a0discussions.<\/p>\n For more information and the schedule of events, please visit: Ottawa Architecture Week<\/a><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Story: Simeon F.A. Rivier is a volunteer of Ottawa Architecture Week.\u00a0 \u200b\u200bHe\u00a0recently graduated from the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture\u00a0and is working in Ottawa as an Intern Architect. \u200b\u200bHis professional M.Arch\u00a0thesis ‘The Post-Industrial Seaway Landscape’ championed a new urbanism\u00a0focused on community-based spatial agency. His favourite Ottawa pastimes\u00a0are walking in forests and swimming in lakes.<\/em><\/p>\n Images:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>
![Proposed Greber Plan Highway System, 1950<\/a>\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city is a house built by many hands. This alone does not make Ottawa unique, but as a place, Ottawa is the most unique\u00a0city in all of Canada. In Ottawa’s history, there was a period of time following the Second World War, when\u00a0great minds, Jacques Gr\u00e9ber foremost among them, envisioned a National Capital\u00a0reflective ofContinue reading “Ottawa Architecture Week 2015: The city is a house built by many hands.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[362,5299,5300,487,341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-community","category-culture","category-events","category-urban-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOttawa Architecture Week 2015: The city is a house built by many hands. - Spacing Ottawa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/ottawa\/2015\/09\/10\/13232\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ottawa Architecture Week 2015: The city is a house built by many hands. - Spacing Ottawa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The city is a house built by many hands. This alone does not make Ottawa unique, but as a place, Ottawa is the most unique\u00a0city in all of Canada. 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