XPost: sac.politics, can.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: alt.politics   
   From: rrabin@newmexico.com   
      
   OTTAWA — A federal advisory panel lambasted an early, sombre   
   design for a national memorial to the victims of communism as   
   potentially “detrimental to the dignity” of nearby Parliament   
   Hill, newly released documents show.   
      
   The National Capital Commission’s advisory committee on   
   planning, design and realty also had concerns last year about   
   the project’s price tag, “negative symbolism” and structural   
   safety, particularly in the slippery Ottawa winters, the   
   internal records reveal.   
      
   Other documents disclosed under the Access to Information Act   
   say the projected cost of the memorial — to be covered by   
   federal and private funds — had almost doubled to about $6   
   million by January of this year.   
      
   The records help explain why the commission unveiled plans in   
   May for a redesigned and significantly smaller version of the   
   memorial. The commission is expected to consider a final design   
   in November, after the federal election.   
      
   The Conservative government has strongly backed the planned   
   memorial as a means of recognizing the more than 100 million   
   people around the globe who died or suffered under communist   
   regimes. The government is managing the project on behalf of   
   Tribute to Liberty, a charity established in 2008.   
      
   The initiative has drawn fierce criticism from critics who   
   object to the memorial’s stark design and location on a patch of   
   green in the parliamentary precinct long reserved for a new   
   Federal Court building.   
      
   A lawsuit aimed at blocking the project has been placed on hold   
   until after the final design has been approved.   
      
   It was well-known that the federal advisory committee, composed   
   of leading architects and planners from across Canada, had   
   concerns about the memorial. But the newly released minutes of   
   the committee’s Aug. 21 and 22, 2014, meetings reveal disdain   
   for the entry that would later be selected as the winner by a   
   jury.   
      
   The design by Toronto-based Abstrakt Studio Architecture   
   features a series of angular peaks, or “memory folds,” with more   
   than 100 million pixel-like “memory squares” — each representing   
   a person — covering the exterior face of the folds. The initial   
   idea was to have the folds depict a mural of dead bodies when   
   viewed from a distance. The design also includes a Bridge of   
   Hope and elevated viewing platform.   
      
   The members praised the plan to depict individuals as “a strong   
   gesture” and said the overall concept “makes a statement.” But   
   they also considered the design:   
      
   — Well over budget;   
   — Replete with negative symbolism that could be misinterpreted   
   as offering no hope, and be detrimental to the dignity of   
   Parliament Hill;   
   — A statement of negativity, since the images of corpses would   
   be seen from many vantage points in the capital;   
   — Problematic to build in that subtleties would be lost in the   
   execution;   
   — To pose safety and accessibility issues, including slippery   
   surfaces in winter;   
   — Too similar to a planned national Holocaust monument.   
      
   The committee also worried the Bridge of Hope would offer a less-   
   than-inspiring view of a heating plant and felt a planned   
   “aggressive lighting scheme” would alter the Parliament Hill   
   landscape.   
      
   The National Capital Commission cited ongoing input from the   
   advisory committee in late June when it outlined several changes   
   to the winning design.   
      
   The memorial would now occupy just over one-third of the site —   
   not 60 per cent — and its overall height had dropped by about   
   half to approximately five metres.   
      
   The new plan also included more attention to landscaping,   
   additional trees, nuanced lighting and better access for the   
   disabled. In addition, it emphasized the theme of Canada “as a   
   land of refuge” in the memorial’s imagery and message.   
      
   http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/planned-memorial-to-   
   honour-victims-of-communism-was-initial-slammed-as-detrimental-   
   to-dignity-of-parliament-hill   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)