A prominent architect who was part of the jury that recommended    the winning design for a major new Ottawa memorial to victims    of communism says she has a massive problem with the chosen    site and doubts the memorial can be built for anything close to    its $5.5-million estimated cost.  
    Shirley Blumberg, a founding partner of KPMB Architects of    Toronto and member of theOrder of Canada, was part of the    seven-member jury that evaluated six finalists for the new    memorial lastsummer.  
    In an interview, Blumberg said her biggest concern is the    inappropriate location chosen for the memorial  a    5,000-square-metre site on Wellington Street, between the    Supreme Court of Canada and the Library and Public Archives    building.  
    For decades, the site was reserved for a new building for the    Federal Court of Canada or another national institution. But    Public Works released the site in 2012 for the new memorial.  
    Blumberg doesnt understand why amemorial to victims of    communism was givensuch an incredibly prominent, almost    sacrosanct site. It is so centrally placed that it would seem    to quite overshadow Canadas true history.  
    She doesnthaveany problem with thememorial    going on another site, but I have a massive problem, a huge    problem, with this memorial going on that site. I think it    completely misrepresents and skews what Canada is all about.  
    Moreover, Blumberg believes there is no way the memorial can    be built for its estimated price of $5.5 million.  
    The way it is now, its at least two or three times that, with    the technologies they are proposing for the concrete.  
    The kind of architectural building technology theyre talking    about is super-expensive, at the cutting edge, unaffordable and    I dont think would stand up to our climate.  
    Last week, Heritage Minister Shelly Glover said$5.5    million is the approximate cost of the memorial, adding: As    we move forward, well have a more final number.  
Original post:
Top architect slams choice of 'sacrosanct' site for victims of communism memorial