Human Rights Museum to
Put Winnipeg on Architectural Map
By Scott DeGroot, Uniter

Currently, when it comes to architecture, Winnipeg is hardly on the cutting edge. Although we have a few gems - the legislature, St. Boniface Basilica - it has been decades since any construction has generated much interest outside the perimeter.

But a lot can change in four years; when the Canadian Human Rights Museum opens its doors at the Forks in 2008, Winnipeg's skyline will be hardly recognizable. And while the new centennial library, Manitoba Hydro's head office, and the MTS centre are all significant they will pale in comparison. Already architects from around the world are taking notice of the museum, and Winnipeg seems poised to make a name for itself on the international architectural stage.

When the late media mogul and philanthropist Izzy Asper proposed Winnipeg as the future site of a national, multi-million dollar museum dedicated to human rights a few years ago, few thought it possible. But by April of 2003, as a result of Asper's lobbying and promises of substantial contributions from the province, the municipal government, and private sources such as the Asper Foundation, the Federal government announced just that.

Within a month of Asper's death in October of 2003, a call went out for proposals from some of the world's top architectural firms. The response was astounding; firms from Canada, to South Africa, to India all vied for the $270 million project. The committee responsible for selecting the finalists, comprised of architects, academics, and business executives from around the world, was faced with a daunting task due to the number and quality of applicants. But after months of careful deliberation, eight finalists have been selected.

Their designs, currently on display at the forks and the Canadian Human Rights Museum's website at www.canadianmuseumforhumanrights.com, have procured an excited response from many Winnipeggers including Gail Asper, chief organizer of the museum and daughter of Izzy Asper.

"Even with our exceedingly high expectations, we were truly moved by the extraordinary sensitivity, vision, intellect and transcendent qualities of the proposals," she said. The innovative designs include a South African entry from the firm Mashabane Rose that envisions the museum protruding from the ground, covered in grass, with a sod roof. A Quebec entry calls for a teepeeshaped structure that uses darkness and light to show that opposites can unite across international boundaries and cultures.

By April, only three of the eight semifinalists - each of who have received $12,000 for their designs -will be allowed to move into the final phase of the competition. Out of the top finalists, who will be paid an additional $100,000, one winning design will be selected this July. The stated goal of the competition is to select an artistic structure that will be admired and recognized around the world. The winner will be charged with the complex task of working out the logistics (so far the contestants designs' are only conceptual) of a structure that must be accessible, complementary of Winnipeg's skyline, and capable of absorbing the 300,000 visitors expected annually by the museum.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will have a lasting impact on Canada and our perceptions of the world and, indeed, ourselves. Like the famed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which catapulted a regional city into the world's consciousness, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights can elevate the awareness of Western Canada. It will become a destination for hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. As in Bilbao, this museum project will become a symbol for the future of Western Canada, in Canada and the world.