When the Mont Blanc — a freighter packed with explosive munitions — collided with another vessel in Halifax Harbour on Dec. 6, 1917, Haligonians unaware of the Mont Blanc’s volatile cargo stopped to witness the spectacle from the shore.
Minutes later an explosion flattened 1,500 homes on the north shore, killed 2,000 people and injured another 10,000.
As the Halifax explosion tragedy approaches the 100th anniversary, a project by the city is underway to tell the story.
It will include 12 large commemorative sculptures or markers in neighbourhoods impacted by the blast.
"I think it is a really good project for our city because it is such a significant piece of our history and yet there is not a whole lot around the city that tells the stories of what happened," says Rayleen Hill, principal of Dartmouth-based RHAD Architects, who was awarded the contract to design the sculptures.
Hill says her firm’s designs are intended to be "distinct pieces of public art," visible from afar.
Three 15-foot markers are scheduled to be in place in Fort Needham Memorial Park, located at the heart of the explosion, in time for this year’s commemorative event which is held every Dec. 6.
The other nine sculptures will be installed throughout neighbourhoods by next March. They will be 10 feet tall.
RHAD Architects has a varied portfolio that includes private and public multi-residential housing, commercial interiors and small institutional work. Designing a dozen large sculptures was a departure from the norm, Hill states.
The first step was to design paper models, fine tune them and then create renderings in Rhino CAD modelling software. The renderings were segmented "so we could turn them into working drawings," Hill says.
One of the challenges was to create appealing abstract forms that were "not overly complicated to fabricate," she says.
Equally important was coming up with designs that could easily be installed.
RHAD turned to structural consultant Campbell Comeau Engineering to design concrete footings — about six feet deep with fixed anchor bolts. Steel plates with pre-drilled holes will be welded to the bottom of the sculptures so they can be hoisted into place and quickly bolted to their foundations, Hill says.
Steel was selected over alternative materials for the sculptures largely because of its durability and strength, which is "something that could be in the city for a very long time," the architect explains.
Each marker is comprised of two abstract shapes, one designed to represent the past event, the other the present day. One of each pair is made of Corten steel, which quickly develops a protective rust coating, and the other made of stainless polished steel.
"The intent is that each marker looks as if two people are having a conversation," Hill says.
The sculptures have four themes: man in the mirror, winter marches on, child’s story time and close encounter. Each will be inscribed with a story written by AldrichPears Associates in English and French about an event that happened in that neighbourhood. The city will include more information about each site on an app or on its website.
Hill says the contract has inspired the firm to take on more public art projects.
"We have done another project in Rhino…a unique bench made through CNC cutting. It’s a real piece of art in one of our clients’ studios," Hill adds.
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