ARCH350 – Assignment 1

Connor Manson
ID: 3607103

Nova Scotia is best known for its Maritime culture and heritage, European
settlement came as early as the start of the 17th century and was continually contested by
the ruling powers of the Old World. Yet, that settlement was only so desired because of
the great land formations found across the coastal landscape. Millions of years of
geological shifts, glacial lifts and formations produced what, settlers saw as protruding
rocky coastlines, sheltering bays and plateaued hills perfect for sheltered fishing and
military defense. Nova Scotia’s history is a long and complex one, however, when
thinking of landscapes that encapsulate this province’s vernacular and geological past
none come to mind faster than the historic fishing village of Peggy’s Cove, or the
Military base turned memorial park of Fort Needham.
In the province’s capital, Halifax, established for its great military defense, made
by large hills spanned along the city’s peninsula, you may find a number of parks
transformed from prior military use, however, none more modern and inclusive than Fort
Needham Memorial Park. Once an elevated military redoubt used to defend against
enemy forces is now a memorial public park commemorating December 6th, 1917. The
date when two ships collided less than a thousand meters East in the Halifax Harbour,
one carrying an extensive amount of explosives bound for France as party of the Ally
support in WWI, creating what we know as the Halifax Explosion.
As a result of the explosion the redoubt, surrounding neighbourhoods and nearly
2,000 people were gone, yet, not forgotten. As part of the rebuild the federal government
established the Halifax Relief which would establish the grounds of Fort Needham as a
public park for the citizens of Halifax and especially those of the devastated nearby
communities, to both pay homage to the tragedy, while also celebrating the community in
a recreational site built for the future enjoyment for those of all backgrounds and abilities.
(Photo of Fort Needham Park at the North Entrance)

Conversely, along the Southern Shore of the province is a vast prospect of raw and
jagged formation of granite shearing out of the water forming a defense for the quaint
fishing villages from the harsh Atlantic that slashes up against the dark rocks just meters
from the colourful shacks nestled into the surrounding coves. Although at a time there
were many small villages alike this one, none have preserved quite as well or with as
much unique character as Peggy’s Cove

(Photo of Peggy’s Cove Approaching the Lighthouse)

These two sites, although completely different, both hold natural and constructed
landscapes that speak to both the history of Nova Scotia and the changes they have been
forced to make to stay relevant in an ever-changing world. Yet, through change, we will
examine if they have lost their cultural and vernacular significance.
Driving the old Lighthouse Route along Nova Scotia’s Southern Shore the smell
of a cold and salty sea meets your nose while your eyes lift from the bare rocks sweeping
from the side of the road into the sea and around into the next cove meeting the horizon.
Approaching the community of Peggy’s Cove you will notice nearly all the structures are
built up from the rocks on stilts or resting on cradles over the sea. They all appear tired
and that they may blow away with the next strong gust, yet they have been housing
families of fisherman for generations.
(View of Peggy’s Cove from the Road leading towards the Lighthouse)
As you drive closer to the lighthouse the quiet scenery begins to louden. The old
cracked road quickly transitions to a wider, freshly paved street leading up to large area
of asphalt parking lots. Once parked you can be directed with signs towards the promoted
amenities, washrooms and a visitor information centre. However, after walking a few
steps out of the lot you are immediately funnelled into the wave of people all travelling
towards the lighthouse, the signs become irrelevant and you are able to walk aimlessly
enjoying the scenery outside of the new infrastructure. The barren landscape surrounding
the site seems to still hold the heritage that these villages were founded on still untouched
by society’s modern day requirements. You approach the new addition to the landscape
designed by Canadian renowned Architect, Omar Gandhi, and can immediate feel the
essence of his regionalist approach to design. On the edge of the addition you meet a
timber boardwalk, which mirrors the curves of the coastline constantly keeping you
orientated towards the lighthouse. As you approach the peak of the viewing platform you
feel lifted from the rocks, cantilevered towards the lighthouse, potentially giving you the
apex view on site, that is if you’re able to see around the crowd of tourists. As you
continue the path towards the lighthouse itself you are met with rocks piercing through
the deck forcing an altered circulation. These rocks, and new benches found sporadically
along the path are used by young and old for both play and rest. The winding path ramps
down away from the timber platform and onto the ground. It travels in a fun, accessible
and indirect way towards the lighthouse where the mass of the crowd can be found taking
pictures and enjoying the local scenery.
(View of The Lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove from the new viewing deck)

(View of the path from the viewing platform)

The intention of this new infrastructure, based on the Architect’s description of

the project, was to respect the site. Most of the new construction is recessed back from
the lighthouse, allowing the iconic structure to shine alone while on the boardwalk, yet
some locals believe it was a failed attempt. “If they wanted to respect the site they
wouldn’t have touched it in the first place.” One Peggy’s Cove resident commented. “The
new influx of people has change the community, we’ve become a tourist trap and a traffic
nightmare” said another. Perhaps it was the destiny for this iconic Canadian landmark, to
meet the needs of all who visit, and become the accessible and inclusive destination that
it needed to become. Certainly some people think so, “I love it! I haven’t been able to get
this close to the lighthouse since I was a little girl!” said one elderly woman using a
walker on the ramped pathway.

(Image of users traveling to and from the lighthouse)

(Image of the cantilevered viewing platform)

It is hard to draw the line when adding to a historic site. One must respect the
local character and history of the landscape while also bringing it to the new standard of
those with hindered abilities. Overall OG Architects did what they could for the challenge
of the site and the question does not lie on whether they did justice to the old village, but
rather was justice needed in the first place. As expressed by Simon Swaffield in his
Theory of Landscape Architecture, “Landscape theory is specific, not general. Like
Feminist criticism, landscape architectural design and theory are based on observation, or
that which is known through experience, or the immediate and sensory – that which is
known by all senses, not only the visual. Thus landscape architectural theory is
situational – it is explicitly historical, contingent, pragmatic and ad hoc. It is not about
idealist absolute universals. It finds meaning, form and structure in the site as given.”
(Swaffield, 2002)
With this in mind we may adjust our opinion to accept that all intervention has the
opportunity to be good, if done correctly. It is not the status of the existing site but how
the addition, removal or revival is preformed. This theory, although specific in action can
be broadly applied and will lend well to our next studied landscape.

The once gritty blue-collar community of the North End of Halifax has been
experiencing its own intervention. It is the natural progression of gentrification any
neighbourhood near a downtown core may experience. Above a busy street in the now
sought after ‘Hydrostone District’ is Fort Needham Park, the memorial site of the Halifax
Explosion. Few know the site’s old military history, yet the memorials and plaques
spread across the park make sure everyone who passes through understands the event it
commemorates.
As mentioned, after the 1917 Halifax Explosion, in early 1918 the Federal Government
established the Halifax Relief commission (HRC) to rebuild the neighbourhoods
destroyed from the blast. This rebuild led to the Hydrostone District, a new ‘garden city’
design by architect, Thomas Adams (Wikipedia contributors, 2023). Accompanying these
new ‘garden’ focuses neighbourhoods was the old redoubt, planned to be a public park
for the community. However, it was not until the 1940s and 50s that the park began
getting some needed attention. The HRC began some landscaping and levelled most of
the site to create sports fields. In 1959 “It was deeded to the City of Halifax in 1942 and a
park was built with the condition that it be used as a public park forever.” (Fort Needham
Memorial Park Master Plan, n.d.)
The park’s main memorial was built in 1985. A local architect designed a pitched
carillon with the bells donated by a local church with great efforts from prominent
community members. The design of the structure placed a gap in the slope, which if
stood beneath looking out towards the harbour, will point a visitor in the direction of
Ground Zero of the explosion. This monument, although grand and of good intention was
a stark image on the site and with no other memorial context it stood a single mass is a
park of unkempt baseball diamonds and tennis courts. The neglect of the park was
constant with the rest of the neighbourhood, creating a gritty and undesirable reputation
for the neighbourhood as a whole. For years it seemed that the North End played second
fiddle to the rest of Halifax, in both amenities and pride of ownership, it wasn’t until
2013 that a sight of change was ahead of the community and their park.
(Image of the Halifax Explosion Memorial)

“In the wake of the Green Network Plan for parks and the Urban Forest Master
Plan, the area Councilor held a public meeting to solicit local feedback on local park
issues. With approximately 40 people in attendance, HRM staff and public discussed
maintenance issues, short and long term improvements, and opportunities for
commemorative projects for the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion (2017).”
(Fort Needham Memorial Park Master Plan, n.d.)
Halifax’s Fathom Studio (Formerly Estistics) was given the task to create a
Master Plan for the site. The plan would be created though a series of public
consultations, surveys, workshops and discussions with both community and city
officials. Their work and study was thorough and implemented a design in three phases,
the first as part of the 100th anniversary commemoration.
The designers set out to achieve not only a contemporary park but to create a
playful ode to history. As Swaffield (2002) acknowledged, “A person literate in
landscape sees significance where an illiterate person notes nothing.” (Swaffield, 2002)
The general population uses a park absentmindedly. They are able to arrive, be present
and depart all while remaining aloof or within their subconscious. The direction of design
performed aimed to pull the user to consciousness and interact with the site as they
arrived, used and departed.
Today you can arrive at the park from five locations, all highlighting different
additions that were implemented in the past ten years. Walking in through the ‘Hennessy
Gateway Plaza’ you are immediately aware you are entering a space separate from the
city. Climbing up a low-sloped hill you arrive at the top looking beyond to gardens, a
nature-inspired playground, the grassed sports field and an ongoing path that will lead
you through an informative trek. Local plants and intimate green space can be found
along the perimeters of the park. A modern barrier free washroom pavilion sits next to the
‘Needham Driveway Plaza’, which holds the small but sufficient amount of parking
serving the site. As you continue on the paved pathway you begin to encounter benches
and altered grades along the hill leading up to the common greens that narrate the details
of the explosion. Each bench or weathered steel piece implanted in the hill has bits of
information about the vessels or the cargo they were carrying on December 6th, 1917.
Eventually you will come to a change in ground material. The smooth asphalt contrasts to
concrete pavers leading up to the gigantic concrete bell tower. At night the tower is
beautifully lit, showing off the architectural features that can be hidden in sunlight. The
tower has plaques along its side telling the story of the tragic day. Where the gap breaks
the tower on the line of ground zero you will notice a perfect line of stairs leading down
to the many parallel streets below. Arriving to the park from the steps will also give
information about the event in a playful way, each step holding a word, the staircase as a
whole telling a story. Three of the five entrances are at three of the tower’s sides; all
interact with nature and history in a noticeable way for even the most passive walker.
Leaving the site you may be left with wonder and appreciation. Wonder of the event, the
impact it had on the surrounding communities and city as a whole and appreciation that it
is commemorated in such a simple yet elegant way.

(Image of a bench designed into the hill revealing historical information of the materials
aboard the ships that collided on December 6, 1917)

(Image of landscape border showing information about the SS Imo, one of the ships that
collided on December 6, 1917)
 As time passes the need for repairs and renovations are inevitable for sites that
either aim to have more of a presence in their region, or need to manage the already
popular and ever growing presence. These upgrades must be ones that pay homage to the
heritage of the location, the existing environment and the people that use them. Returning
to Swaffield (2002), the goal of any landscape revitalization should be through Bridging,
Mediating, and Reconciling. “Bridges span, Mediation intercedes. Reconciliation joins.”
(Swaffiled 2002) In the cases of the two sites discussed, change was needed, and through
thoughtful intervention with community, design and historical remembrance the affect
was positive and paid respect to each owns vernacular and cultural significance.
Citations:

Swaffield, S. (2002). Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader. University of

Pennsylvania Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (2023, January 22). Hydrostone. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostone

Fort Needham Memorial Park Master Plan. (n.d.). Halifax.

https://www.halifax.ca/parks-recreation/arts-culture-heritage/halifax-

explosion/fort-needham-memorial-park-master-

plan#:~:text=Fort%20Needham%20is%20a%20Memorial.