Canadian Museum of Genos-cide

2008 Donald J. Caunter Architects Award for Excellence in Architecture Option Thesis

Genocide is as simple as a wall which is built by no one but us. In the end, the whole practice becomes one of the most complicated acts of humankind.

Architecture is a representation, a representation of the nation who creates it based on its experiences. The Canadian Museum of Genocide is in fact explored in the context of Canada. It is a systematic and planned journey like the acts of genocide itself. The ‘Hall of Hope’ is the concept behind the ‘Regeneration Hall’ of the Canadian War Museum. Raymond Moriyama defines the ‘Regeneration Hall’ as spiritual, a place of rest and thought: dramatic and memorable. The element of water herein is used as a symbol of life. At certain points during the journey it disappears, referring to the lives gone, and reappears like in the ‘Hall of Hope’ to encourage change and progression in humanity.