roof deck


spiral ramp up

in all its majestic ugliness

Scene of the crime: Remic Scenic Overlook, along the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway at Tunney’s Pasture, between the parking lot and the river
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Object: brutal concrete round structure with spiral ramp up to viewing area on its “roof”. The Guggenheim museum it is not.
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Function: cobwebby door to interior. Sound of large pumps or motors working constantly. Probably pumps cool Ottawa River water through heat exchangers to chill the cubicle farms located in high rises immediately to the south (in area called a “Pasture”).
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Worth climbing to viewing platform? No, not really. The roofscape is ugly, utilitarian. The view not worth the climb.
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Alternative attractions: geese, ducks in river. Sculptures in river. People watching. Picnicing while warding off gulls. Bird feeding. Smooching. Social relationships unfolding in the surrounding bush areas.
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Not known as The Canadian Area 51. No recent sitings of UFO’s.
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Conclusion: the NCC has forgotten this ugly structure exists. Our national gardeners could not possibly view this structure as an asset to the site. It is too brutal, too man made, too coarse, too plopped down.
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Audacious Hope: NCC garden crews are on their way, sirens blaring, bearing truckloads of shrubs to plant around this abandonned foreskin and hide it from civilian eyes. If they cannot afford shrubs, then the old perennial fallback to hide architectural blots on the landscape should be dragged out: boston ivy.