My "Russian" Center

Work on the core exercise had commenced. Everyone in the studio had started producing their schematic diagrams for their future buildings. The program goes like this: each student must produce a building which includes a worship assembly place (pertaining to a very specific religious group; for instance, in my case, it's Russian Orthodoxy) and a gymnasium. Everyone was given the choice of working in one of either two lots in Ottawa: the first is in Rideau St./Cumberland St. intersection while the other is in Summerset St./Aurthur St. intersection (My choice was of the former).

What I have decided to do is to create a common base for both the church and the gym. I call this base, for want of a better word, "the museum" and it includes multi-functional spaces (such as galleries and administration area) making it appropriate also for people who attend the church and the gym; basically, it acts as a common denominator for the two and it makes the different ingredients work as in one complex. 

Also, the roof of the museum is at a moderate slope, creating an extended open public space, which people can go on top of, from the sidewalk.

First People

Going to the Canadian Museum of Civilization was not a comfortable experience for me. Located on the northern bank of Rideau River in the French and somewhat dull city of Gatineau in Quebec, the museum - which was founded more than a hundred years ago - exhibits primarily Canada's national history with a particular emphasis on the aboriginal people's culture, the first people who lived in what we call today Canada (before the European colonization).

As it turns out, the aboriginal people still exist. Although one hardly hears of them, they manage to keep part of their vernacular culture and history still go on. Today, they could be found mainly in British Columbia (on the far west coast of Canada), but there's no denying that they are a defeated minority.

I wonder if Canadians feel guilty when they visit this museum; after all, they would not be what they are, Canadians, if they did not dismiss the aboriginal people's culture in the first place. But, the more troubling question one may ask is why do Canadians insist on displaying this nasty history so finely and shiningly in their museums? I don't want to think that this specifically makes them less "aggressive" and "barbaric" than the most vernacular of cultures.           

Largest Skating Rink In The World

Canadians, in general, are professionals in skating and with anything to do with it (such as Hockey), and quite understandably; they only happen to own the largest skating rink in the world! For me it means nothing, having never tried skating in my life. But, now, when this rink happens to be two-minute bus ride from my house, it changes everything.

How To Design A Russian Orthodox Church?

Within the core exercise in my Design course I am supposed to include a place of worship. So, for the past days I've been researching Russian Orthodox churches, including some historical and contemporary examples, so as to design one. Where will this all eventually lead - I have absolutely no idea.

Tim Hortons, Starbucks and Second Cup

American coffee shops and if one should spit from above Ottawa it is most certainly to hit one of these. Today I went wandering through the streets of the city and I couldn't help but having a slight feeling that I was going in circles; in about 5 minutes I passed 2 Second Cups, 3 Tim Hortonses and 4 Starbuckses. At some point, because of the profound cold, I had to get to a building's interior to warm up a bit and how surprising is it that I soon found myself inside a grim-looking Tim Hortons.

Surely this is not at all exclusively the case of Ottawa. These coffee shops are spread universally and with most of our cities, the world over, this case is shared. And it is exactly this case which makes our so-called diverse cities look like one.

Now, I am not sure if diversity is necessarily a good thing. At the one hand, it can be argued that the more diversity you have the more freedom of choice there could be; but, on the other hand, the more diversity you have the more confusion and reluctance there is. The only reason I can think of which suggests the positivity of diversity is the fact that it increases the chances of survival, or like Mr Darwin once put it: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

So the next time you get to the likes of these coffee shops (which, judging by the rate they breed, is very soon), remember that they only make our society less diverse, therefore less adaptable to change and, by extension, weaker.

Urbanism In 10 Days

Yesterday Igor and I handed our first assignment. The job was to choose a bad urban space in the city of Ottawa and to suggest a fix, in 10 days! Just to add some proportion to the tale, urban projects in the Technion take at the very least three months to produce. So, being unfamiliar with the city we decided to choose an urban space close to where we live for the sake of documenting and scrutinizing it properly: Carling O-train station.

During the work on this short exercise we wished if we only had more time to perfect it; indeed, as time went on, we got attached to it. But sometimes you just have to let go.  

What is curious is that only 2 weeks after our arrival in Ottawa we already had a suggestion for an intervention in the city, very nearby. Obviously, now, whenever I take the O-train to Carleton I always walk through the parking where we made the intervention and I never see what is there in reality but rather what I have in my head.

Canadian Studio

Is there such a thing? Well, yes and no. The studio resembles very much what we have in the Technion except for the fact that it is occupied with old fashioned objects: yellowish drawing tables, stretching side lamps, etc. But other than that the same mess which normally dwells in the Technion studios dwells here also, and in great quantities. I soon realized after settling down that there is an inscription upon my table which made me think that this table chose me rather than that I chose it.

There is one more peculiar thing which characterizes a Canadian studio: those students who are lucky enough to have won tables adjacent to the window keep their food on the window pane from the outside instead of using the fridge. Isn't that useful? The different weather changes your conception of your being and makes you appreciate how much it has an impact over your life, for the good and the bad.

Farewell, Haifa - Hello, Ottawa!

After more than 26 hours of travelling - needless to say the flight I took was a four-hours delayed one - I arrived in Ottawa, at last. And so, leaving everything behind and knowing almost virtually nothing about Ottawa, nothing about Canada even, my journey began. I settled with my loyal friend, Igor, in a quiet and suburban-like neighborhood in Ottawa called "Little Italy" where we rented our apartment. Little Italy is proving to be quite nice and so is the apartment.

Anyway, all of this is not important compared to the cold here. It is nothing like any cold I have experienced in my life. I obviously knew it is going to be very cold before booking my ticket, but however hard I tried to mentally prepare myself for it, stepping out of Ottawa's airport gates for the first time was like hell. Therefore, new shoes where now in order. But other than that the clothes I brought with me from home seem to be fairly coping.

Using the O-train (Ottawa train) I travel daily to Carleton University. The journey takes about 10 minutes, carrying us from Carling station, which is the name of the area I live in, to Carleton station. The O-train is quite comfortable, especially because it's heated and once inside you would hardly want to get out to your final destination.