Project Description

The West Tower of L’Espanade Laurier remains what it always was— a government office. In this case the office for the National Capital Commission. Sadly, they go about their day, tasked with serving the people and places of our country in an isolated state. Can there be a condition where they face those who they serve? In a monolith tower with a twin brother directly to the east, we ask does it all have to be work. Can there be some play? Maybe just a little work and some play? It contrasts force (office work) vs. freedom (camping), as we all try to work so that they exist in harmony. 

Work play balance, the goal isn’t to turn the building into campsite, but to see what we can encourage from the temporary and lightweight inhabitation of camping. This second monolith holds not only those that look to camp within the boundary of the city but a variety of users. Worker’s on their lunch, immigrants to Canada in need for temporary and immediate residency, government workers looking to sleep close to work or simply a kid’s daytrip. By introducing camping as a form of inhabitation we begin to promote accessibility and freedom, rather than boundaries and regulation.