Ottawa – 2017 Urban Design Award Winner
Pindigen Park, part of the LeBreton Flats Interim Landscape Improvements, has an award of Merit in the ‘Public Places and Urban Spaces’ category.
This parcel of land is part of the LeBreton Flats revitalization undertaken by the NCC. Ruhland & Associates were part of the team to beautify these lands in time to mark the Canada 150th anniversary. Located adjacent to the Canadian War Museum / LeBreton Park, the National Holocaust Monument, the Canadian Firefighters Memorial, the LRT transit expansion, and existing and future development of the LeBreton Flats, this new parkland will draw both local users and tourists to this intersection, and greatly improves connections to the adjacent uses and future development.
Salvaged materials from the NCC storage yards provided landscaping materials.
The eastmost section of the new parkland, comprising the whole block east of Booth Street and south of Sir John A MacDonald Parkway, is now Pindigen Park, and is the result of a collaboration between Kitigan Zibi First Nation, Pikwakanagan First Nation, the National Capital Commission (NCC), the department of Canadian Heritage, and Ruhland & Associates Ltd.
The park was opened on June 20th 2017, the eve of National Aboriginal Day. The opening featured speakers from the indigenous communities and NCC, as well as live music by the First Nations, and a tree-planting ceremony signifying how all parties came together in partnership.
Singers at the opening.
The theme of the park is the Anishinabe philosophy of living well, which means harmony between the land, the water, the air and the people. If these elements are not kept in balance, the whole suffers. Pindigen Park is an expression of this idea, and a timely reminder to all people of the importance of seeking this balance.
Expressing this theme, a series of four interpretive panels with text in Algonquin, English and French feature colourful illustrations depicting Anishinabe people interacting with each element, the work of Sylvia Tennisco. Life-size steel animal silhouettes of a black bear, a moose, and eagle, a turtle and a beaver show the work of Tony Amikons.
The theme is continued in the visually engaging landforms and hardscaping, which represent waves and movement, combining the elements of land, water and air. People are invited in to complete the balance, the ideal harmony, or Engadjitonanan aki, in Algonquin. The park invites exploration and offers the visitor comfortably secluded, quiet, safe spaces. Visitors can explore a different type of landscape, bringing harmony back into focus through the dramatic landforming and planting, the art and interpretive content.
Pindigen Park is also nicely described in Annette Francis’ article and in the NCC article, as well as shown our previous post at NCC LeBreton Flats Open space Improvements
Night view of the Canadian War Museum across Pindigen Park
The new Holocaust Memorial under construction and the War Museum, projecting from behind snow-covered landforms of Pindigen Park, like a ship at sea
It looks as if various wild animals got in during construction….