Canadian Architect – "Susan Fitzgerald Architecture explores urban landscape as winner of the Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture"

“2011-08-16

As the winner of the $50,000 Canada Council for the Arts Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture for 2011, Halifax firm Susan Fitzgerald Architecture will study the environmental, health and social benefits of integrating agriculture and innovative green spaces within towns and cities.

Susan Fitzgerald Architecture will use the prize funds to pursue their research project entitled “Productive Urban Landscape.” Availability and accessibility of food is a growing concern both internationally and locally. The research will explore the relationship between ecology, agriculture, architecture and landscape in urban centres. Travelling to Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Panama and Chile, they will gather first-hand knowledge and investigate this connection and how it can work more effectively for the benefit of the population in the future.

Administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture recognizes excellent achievement in Canadian architectural practice. It is awarded to a young architectural firm that has completed its first buildings and demonstrated exceptional artistic potential. The prize allows the winners to travel to other parts of the world to hone their skills, develop their creative practice and strengthen their presence on the international scene. The project can involve multiple trips to a number of destinations, spread over a two-year period.

“The 2011 Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture will give much-needed attention to the architectural implications of urban agriculture,” said Canada Council Director and CEO Robert Sirman. “The Canada Council has a deep commitment to creative practice, and we are excited by the imaginative way Susan Fitzgerald Architecture is approaching the field.”

Founded in 2006, Susan Fitzgerald Architecture is a design/build/research practice based in Halifax. Working closely with her contractor partner, Brainard Fitzgerald, Susan Fitzgerald considers alternative ways of living, working and engaging with the particularities of site and place.”

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(Source: Canadian Architect)