Five teams selected for design of Afghan mission monument
Five teams have been tipped to prepare design proposals for the National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan.
The federal government made the announcement on August 24, and the new monument will be built on the east side of Booth Street, north of the National Holocaust Monument and across the street from the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
The teams were shortlisted by a jury of experts following the Request for Qualifications that opened on August 2, 2019 and closed on February 27 of this year. The groups are:
- Team Daoust: Daoust Lestage, architects, urban designers and landscape architects (Montréal); The Honourable Louise Arbour, strategic advisor (Montréal); Luca Fortin, public artist (Québec City)
- Team Hapa: Joseph Fry, landscape architect (Vancouver); Jacqueline Metz and Nancy Chew, visual artists (Vancouver)
- Team Lashley + JMA: Lashley + Associates, landscape architects (Ottawa and Montréal); John MacDonald Architect, architects (Kitchener); Sandra Dunn, visual artist (Kitchener)
- Team PFS Studio: Jennifer Nagai, landscape architect, PFS Studio (Vancouver); Nicolas Demers-Stoddart, architect, Provencher Roy (Montréal); Jonathan Villeneuve, visual artist (Montréal)
- Team Stimson: Adrian Stimson, visual artist (Siksika Nation, Alberta); Jana Joyce, landscape architect, MBTW Group, (Toronto), Graham Carr, landscape designer, MBTW Group (Toronto); Christine Leu and Alan Webb, public art coordinators, LeuWebb Projects (Toronto)
The teams will have until spring 2021 to complete their proposals.
The National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan will recognize the commitment and sacrifice of Canadians who served in Afghanistan and the support provided to them at home. The federal government hopes the monument will be a permanent place for Canadians to reflect on their service, and that it will inspire future generations to learn more about the mission and Canada's efforts in helping to rebuild Afghanistan.
"I am confident that the five teams selected will present meaningful proposals for this national monument that is so important to veterans, the families of the fallen and all Canadians,” said said Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault. “I am sure the teams will develop thoughtful, reflective designs that will interpret Canada's collective gratitude to those who lost their lives in Afghanistan, those who served in the mission and those who supported them here at home."
Judging the design concepts is a team of experts from a variety of fields, including those in visual arts and urban design, as well as members of various stakeholder groups that include a veteran of the Afghanistan mission, a representative of the families of the fallen, a non-veteran representative of the Mission in Afghanistan, and a military historian.
Veterans, families of the fallen, Canadian Armed Forces members, other key stakeholders and the public will be invited to review the finalists' proposals before a design is chosen. That process is expected to take place next spring or summer. The monument is scheduled to be completed by 2024.