Layered Landscape: Lost and Found
Toronto / Canada /1663
Located in a curious town, Port Hope, just east of Toronto, Canada, is an abandoned monument of a file factory commonly known as the “Globe File Manufacturing Company” with fiery brickworks remembered by many symbolizing the former glory of the industrial era. The Living Archive is an ambitious and sensible revitalization visionary that goes beyond the reanimation of the file factory’s past and aims to catapult visitors into the rich history and evolution of the site, the landscape.
It is a poetic idea to use the file as an analogy, of a “cover” that people see and presume, yet as they enter the “pages,” the site offers much more than what was expected. With a green spine through the middle of the site illustrating the Indigenous history of the land, the people, the river that precedes human intervention, and the versatile morphological past of the site, The Living Archive is about the landscape speaking to the people. It is about building and strengthening identity. It is about reactivating space and bringing vitality to the neighborhood through robust programming and seasonal dynamics. It is about demonstrating revitalization that honors history while integrating innovations of resilience and sustainability that look into the future. It is a grounded articulation of identity building and strengthening.
The Living Archive is an open-air library showcasing the landscape’s deep history, which continues to record and evolve.
