Governor General’s Foot Guards choose design by Carleton students for Commemorative Gate Project
March 4, 2022
Architecture students at Carleton University have produced the design concept for a new commemorative gate proposed for Ottawa’s Confederation Park, marking the 150th anniversary of the Governor General’s Foot Guards (GGFG).
“The Governor General’s Foot Guards Regimental Association was absolutely pleased with the professionalism and quality of work demonstrated by the students and staff at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism,” said Major Gray Shanahan, project leader for the GGFG Commemorative Gate Project.
“We were looking to build a new signature landmark in downtown Ottawa, and the complex criteria were synthesized into a stunning design.”
In January, third-year students in the conservation and sustainability program, led by Adjunct Professor Lyette Fortin, produced eight design proposals for consideration.
Four finalists emerged after a presentation to the regimental association and the National Capital Commission, custodian of Confederation Park.
On March 4, the GGFG 150th Organizing Committee announced the winning proposal, Standing Steady, by students Erika Colmenares-Di Maria and Tess Coman.
It takes the form of a gateway to Confederation Park, made up of three linked stone arches. Visitors will pass through an arch that marks the threshold between the sidewalk along Laurier Avenue and the park landscape. The two smaller flanking arches hold bronze sculptures of foot guards at attention.
A slender inner arch of wrought iron tracery, alluding to natural plant forms, accents the central bay. The Guard’s Star, a heraldic emblem, is set in the centre of the ironwork. The design takes inspiration from the three arches on the facade of Cartier Square Drill Hall, home of the regiment.
The site at the south entrance of Confederation Park is across the street from the Cartier Square Drill Hall. The park contains numerous military memorials and is along the Veteran’s Affairs “memorial route” and the route the Ceremonial Guard takes to Parliament Hill.
The regiment has trained across from the park since its inception in 1872, particularly when it was mostly an open field before city hall and the courthouse were constructed. The regiment also utilizes the park for regimental events and activities. The gate would reinstate the regiment’s presence in the park after the Rodgers and Osgoode statue was relocated from it in 2006.
“This project was fun and upbeat from start to finish, and our group is so grateful for the opportunity that this project gave us,” said Colmenares-Di Maria.
The Governor General’s Foot Guards was established in Ottawa on June 7, 1872, and is the most senior reserve infantry regiment in Canada.
The GGFG performs the mounting of the Ceremonial Guard on Parliament Hill and provides soldiers and a band for military duties at Rideau Hall, the National War Memorial, and other ceremonial tasks in the National Capital Region.
Last December, the regimental association approached the school to see if there was interest in developing designs for the dedicated memorial entrance it planned as a legacy project celebrating its 150th anniversary.
“I thought it would be an exciting short project for the students to start the winter semester,” says Fortin, whose teaching assistant was Jillian Weinberger.
Eighteen students took part in the three-week project. They worked in eight teams and developed eight design proposals in three phases.
The project design goals include protecting and enhancing the heritage value of the site and cultural landscape and harmonizing with existing monuments, which include the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument and the Animals in War Dedication.
“Working with a real client on something they want, with the ability to be creative was an experience I will never forget,” said student Terissa Chalmers, whose project Gate of Stories, executed with Maya Thayalan, was one of the finalists.
In phase one, the students undertook research and did a site visit. They produced a report that synthesized the client’s vision and requirements, explored the history of the GGFG, and analyzed the site’s history, from Indigenous to present. They also
assessed the character-defining elements of surrounding buildings and cultural landscape and analyzed precedents of other commemorative gates in Canada and abroad.
In phase two, the students developed a preliminary design and schematic studies of their design ideas for the gate and its relationship to the context.
They translated their preliminary design ideas into a comprehensive overall design on a presentation panel in phase three.
The client provided feedback on all three phases of the project.
“I am just blown away at the effort that has been put in by the students — their imagination and attention to detail, let alone the artistry of all of their presentation boards,” said L. Col. Fran Chilton-Mackay, executive director of the GGFG 150th Organizing Committee. “WOW!”
Fortin notes that there are other stakeholders and interested organizations in addition to the regiment. These include the City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Heritage Canada, Rideau Hall, and the private sector for funding.
The winning design concept will go to a firm of practicing architects, and they will produce working drawings and specifications for the construction. The student designers will receive credit for the design and $5,000.
The GGFG is fundraising for the gate, which they hope to build next year. The goal is $1 million.
“I thank the Governor General’s Foot Guards Regimental Association for providing this wonderful opportunity to the students,” says Fortin.
“All eight teams demonstrated how their meaningful design proposals represented and conveyed the values of the Governor General’s Foot Guards and at the same time respected and enhanced the heritage values of Confederation Park, the site, the context, and the cultural landscape.
“While only one team was chosen as the winner, all eight teams are winners for having succeeded so well in what was an intense and challenging project.”
Here are the other seven proposals submitted to the GGFG.
Memory Lane
Finalist
Basil Currie, Wenjun Ma, Xinxin Wang
We’ve created a monument that commemorates all the significant figures and events in the history of the GGFG. The design of the entrance takes inspiration from the Canadian Maple Leaf and the buildings of Parliament Hill and the Drill Hall, both symbols of Canadian identity. Connecting the entrance to the pedestrian scale is a parapet that extends to the sidewalk in an embrace-like manner, defining the entrance and providing seating for the public. The parapet is to be engraved with the timeline and historical deeds of the Foot Guards and can be scaled up or down and even expanded as the history of the Foot Guards continues.
It was exciting to work alongside clients on a project with real-world implications. It made the course incredibly engaging.
– Basil Currie