The Cenovus courtyard, also known as the Husky Energy Courtyard, is the University of Ottawa’s “living classroom,” located at the heart of the University’s Biosciences Complex. Originally designed to simulate a Canadian Boreal Forest, with over 20 species of trees and over 85 species of plants, the intended use of the courtyard was a hybrid research and teaching space. Today, the courtyard has become overrun by nature: the pavers which once delimited the forest floor have been pushed up by roots and are cracked and unstable, the concrete slabs have collapsed. In its current state, the Courtyard lacks maintenance, is inaccessible, and concealed from the campus. The courtyard requires a rehabilitation effort to improve functional operation and accessibility, while ensuring viability and resilience.

Our team was mandated to both restore and reimagine the Cenovus courtyard. What already exists, overrun by different plants, is a teaching tool. Rewilding should be done with people, research and curation in mind, but with an understanding that the landscape will go on without us.

PLATFORM 19 is a biodiverse space, didactic teaching tool with diverse programming and uses, combining leisure, research and teaching. Designed to be outwards facing, a network of raised paths allows for safe circulation, is adaptable and flexible towards future uses and changing climate realities.

PLATFORM 19 embraces temporality. The intervention responds to transformations in the landscape by creating natural buffers between programs, simplifying maintenance by encouraging growth. The lightweight structure is designed to be easily dismantled and reused elsewhere. Designed around the garden, circular openings pierce the structure to make room for the ecosystem to grow. The circumference of the largest opening encircling the garden, with a diameter of 19 meters, is protected by an educational handrail that teaches us about the landscape. 

PLATFORM 19 aims to give back to the land, re-wild and create a curated wilderness.