Bridging the gap

Here's a great example of the kind of work student's can be doing through classwork to bridge the student-community divide. Read on...

From the Chronicle Herald (http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1069904.html)



Students weigh in on future of famed waterfront

By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau
Sun. Jul 27 - 4:31 AM

LUNENBURG — A community theatre, sewage treatment plant and heritage resource centre. You could see all three if students asked for their ideas for the unused property on Lunenburg’s waterfront have their way.

Professor Steven Mannell said his students’ goal is to infuse life into the area while preserving the historic town’s UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

The 10 students, taking their Masters of Architecture degrees at Dalhousie University, will be presenting their ideas at a week-long exhibition beginning Tuesday.

Mr. Mannell thought it would be a good idea to focus on Lunenburg’s past and future after speaking with friends who live in the town.

"They’ve lived there for generations and they feel some sense of ambivalence toward the future of the town," particularly in light of Clearwater walking away from eight wharves, 24 buildings and 5.7 hectares in 2003. "Suddenly there’s this big vacancy."

He said the people he’s spoken to are also ambivalent because the success of the tourist industry has been a mixed blessing. Mr. Mannell said families have told him they are worried about what’s going to be there for their children to do when they grow up.

"It seems those who are able to live there are the wonderfully wealthy who come from elsewhere. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for local people to live there."

The community-based development agency Lunenburg Water Association took responsibility for the properties in 2005 and while it has found some new owners and tenants, many buildings are still not used — or are not used to their full potential.

The work began with a group of 14 students last summer. As part of their studies of Lunenburg’s heritage, they built a dory. "Dozens of students were working on the waterfront with the Picton Castle and Bluenose II. Suddenly, there were a lot of young, energetic people and that presents a different tone," Mr. Mannell said.

A summer stroll in Lunenburg often means encounters with older tourists. Young people bring a different dynamic, Mr. Mannell said, and that’s something the community should consider when it looks at redevelopment.

This year’s class picked up on the work of last year’s students. "They spent a few weeks looking at the physical and cultural history of Lunenburg," Mr. Mannell said, studying how Lunenburg evolved from a British colonial defence town to a seafaring community and how that transformation affected culture and values.

The students also studied more recent physical changes to the town as a result of tourism, looked at the state of these buildings and considered how they could turn them into something useful and attractive to the community.

They looked at a number of sites, including the old forge, Clearwater’s former fish plant and the Bluenose 2 shed. Ideas include community theatre, a music hall, sea school, youth hostel and worship space.

"It’s unlikely you can take one idea off the wall and hand it over and start construction," Mr. Mannell said.

But he hopes the ideas will stir discussion that will get the community moving.

The students’ projects will be unveiled at 6 p.m. Tuesday at 182 Montague St. and on display until 1 p.m. Friday.

( bware@herald.ca)