Architecture in Cambridge: Shaping the City, showcases the
work of emerging young architects from the University of
Waterloos School of Architecture, celebrates the richness, boldness
and inspiring nature of the landscape bisecting Cambridges
historical urban core and celebrates a new partnership between the
University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the City of
Cambridge with the immanent relocation of the School of
Architecture to the banks of the Grand River in the centre of old
Galt.
The unique situation ofCambridges core has offered many
of the School of Architectures
students an opportunity to reflect
on the complexities of architecture,
urban design and landscape. The
intricate and symbiotic relationship
of the city to the Grand River is
exceptionally rich and offers
Cambridge an identity that few
North American Cities enjoy: a
sense of place and memory
intricately linked to the architecture
and industrial history of the city.
The challenges and opportunities
grow even greater as contemporary ecological and economic factors
come in to play in designing a new future for Cambridges Galt
core.
From bridges to boathouses to new
schools of architecture, or the projecting
of a 100 year urban/ecological master plan
onto the site – the aim of these students
has been to dissect the essence of the core,
analyse its complex layers and reconstruct
it with rigour and imagination, while doing
justice to its strong history and legacy.
This exhibit should be considered the first of many important
cultural transactions between the University of Waterloo School of
Architecture and the City of Cambridge, and the quality of the work
presented in the exhibit is a testament to Cambridges heritage and
the poetry it inspires among the University of Waterloos young
architects.
Repesented in the exhibition will be William Radfords illustrations,
models and plans from his masters thesis Water Levels --
Bridging the Distance, which won the Student of Excellence
Award, 2000, from Canadian Architect: National Review of
Design and Practise Magazine; plans for a new School of
Architecture in Cambridge by masters students Tom Kolbasenko,
Kaline Charrey, Adam Trotter and Jenny Francis; designs and
models for a rowing club house on the Grand River by 4th year
students Norman Li, Alex Lukachko, Dan Vrabec, Tim Ali and Dan
Gallivan; and houses on the Grand by 1st year students James
Swain, Deborah Wang, Melodie Coneybeare and Champika
Fernando.
IMAGE:
Adam Trotter,
University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge,
2001.
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