BOOTH CABIN
Drawing on Gottfried Semper’s “Four Elements of Architecture,” Booth Cabin serves as a critical exploration of form and ornamentation, challenging their traditional associations with power. John Rudolphus Booth (1827-1925), whose extensive lumber operations marked him as a pivotal figure in shaping modern Ottawa, influenced this development. By the early 20th century, his business had become the world’s largest in the sector, diversifying into railway construction, paper production, and hydroelectricity. Booth Cabin, a transient and spectral structure, reflects this legacy. Its design, rooted in circulation networks and human anatomy, presents architecture as a seamless interplay of forces and material extraction, offering a nuanced and critical perspective on form, iconicity, and colonial legacy.
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Speculative / Unrealized
2016
