Oh, In Spite of It All: Embracing Winnipeg's Messy Sub/Urban Condition
What is an identity, if not the embodiment of struggle and success? Failures or achievements in life may define a person and a city – but how is architecture defined? How does architecture persevere? Furthermore, can architecture embody will over reason? In my thesis, I will be exploring the optimization of space and the improvement of architectural quality between new and existing buildings within Winnipeg. Furthermore, how does this bring meaning to people and their own identity?
Perseverance finds meaning for me in the city of Winnipeg and the people that reside here. I think of my great grandparents who immigrated from the Netherlands. I take pride in the perseverance it took my family to travel here during World War Two and the perseverance it must have taken to start over in a new world. My great grandfather went from being a farmer to a soldier in war, then to a roofer and construction worker in Winnipeg. Stories of perseverance seem to surround the city of Winnipeg. Even if it is simply trying to drive through the seemingly endless road work or bearing through our harsh winters, Winnipeg embodies perseverance with its identity of space and its identity of people.
Notions of perseverance seem to be flooding away from our city with the ongoing construction of many strip malls and parking lot conditions. Most of which lack any consideration of the land and the stories that come with it. If stories are not celebrated or shared, they can become lost to time – much like the area of North Kildonan and the site 1126 Henderson Highway. History of this site has been bulldozed away - as what happens to many other ‘renewal’ projects. Rather than negating the past, this thesis project looks to accept and work with all architecture - good or bad - to restore the Winnipeg architectural identity.