As a juror on the Block 2 design competition, I had the immense privilege of participating in rich discussions about the architectural approach most suitable to this complex site. In the last days of deliberation, as the juror moved towards consensus around a winner, one of the topics that came up particular resonated with me. Which entry, among the many created by teams involving both a foreign-based partner and a local architecture firm,  is most “Canadian”"

Architecture, fundamentally, deals in complexity. What makes Canadian architecture ?Canadian? is, perhaps, its particular eagerness to engage in the dialogue that allows for seemingly competing interests to be resolved in built form.

Block 2 winning entry, by David Chipperfield and Zeidler Architecture This is inherently risky. At worst, it results in places that look and feel disjointed (?designed by committee?). But at its best, Canadian architecture is able to bring together the differing needs of human and non-human stakeholders in a single, clear and unifying vision that is palpable to those who encounter and use the resulting building.

In Canadian architecture, monumental gestures are rare, and often treated with some skepticism by Canadians. In the national capital region, even a place like Raymond Moriyama and Griffith Rankin Cook?s Canadian War Museum is sunk into its site, and is rendered as a series of subtly affecting spaces difficult to capture in a single heroic image. Moshe Safdie a...