Last November I posted a tour of various architectural ruins that have been selectively placed throughout the city. Since then I’ve discovered a few others so I came up with this second route which I tested out this morning.
First stop on the tour is this sculpture titled Enfin le soleil, located in the Gatineau community of Jardins Taché. It is a piece commemorating a legal struggle in the 1970’s pitting the Association des propriétaires des Jardins Taché against the development of a high-rise that was constructed despite not meeting zoning requirements. The Association des propriétaires persevered and the building was demolished. Two sections of reinforced concrete were recuperated from the demolition and incorporated into this piece.
Second stop is a short distance down river just off the Sentier des Voyageurs. They are steel pipes from an EB Eddy facility, recovered in 1977 during construction of a nearby park and arranged within the landscape as reminders of the area’s industrial past.
Third stop is Strathcona’s Folly, a play structure created in 1992 by artist Stephen Brathwaite, located in Strathcona Park along the Rideau River. It incorporates architectural details from a number of heritage buildings throughout Ottawa, as described on a bronze plaque mounted within the piece.
And finally, this Gothic Revivalist detail sits on the grass behind the Confederation Building, just to the west of Parliament Hill. There used to be a few others lying about with gargoyle motifs but I didn’t notice them on this occasion.
So there you have it – a few more strategically placed architectural remains commemorating the past within our ever changing built environments.
OttawaVeloOutaouais 
I always found that roof topper thingy at Parli.Hill to be rather odd and contrived. It is such a formal landscape and then BANG! this thing. It should have a plinth or something to separate it from the earth. It is almost disrespectful.
I agree in the sense that it’s placement may appear a bit contrived, but without knowing the intention of whomever placed it there, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and suggest it is in the spirit of architectural ruin.These often embody the character of what was there, and afford some personal interpretation as to how it may have contributed to the grandeur of the finished design.