Architecte Acadien

This thesis is about a special place in time and memory. The place is now known as Caribou Harbour, Nova Scotia. This thesis will attempt to create a place to honour the memories that have an attachment to this place and allow a certain awareness to occur through the act of creating space and designing a way to see and understand this place. The act of making this place through the use of a variety of tools is an attempt to bring out the greatest awareness and most comprehensive understanding of this place.

That said; in creating this thesis it is admitted that it in no way can this one body of work compensate for the overwhelming magnitude of shared memories and collective space it occupies within the greater Canadian social imagination. What this thesis will do is strive for an authentic and pluralistic approach to synthesize the essence of this place through the means available to an architect.

The overarching theme of this thesis is the condition of Acadian Diaspora and becoming more aware of what it is. Questions on the subjects of place, time and memory will be examined through the polarized lens of an architect’s perspective as a striving of understanding through science and art will bring with it an academic bilingualism appropriate to Acadian cultural tradition.

Caribou Harbour is a special place that anchors the discourse related to Acadian Diaspora, it offers to all Acadians (in the most inclusive use of this term) a place to rest and contemplate. It allows Acadians a connection with the past as well as presenting them with a bright future and an outlook on the possible changes that can occur for them and the generations to come. The very name Acadia has with it the strong connection to the greek name “Arcadia” meaning “refuge” or “idyllic place” . It is in this spirit that this thesis will attempt to construct a contemporary space at Caribou Harbour.