MONTREAL.- The Canadian Centre for Architecture presents the exhibit Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Ecological Landscapes. Featuring material from the newly completed Oberlander Archive at the CCA and photographs by Etta Gerdes, the exhibition demonstrates Oberlander�s pioneering vision of socially conscious and environmentally sustainable landscape design.

Curated by Robert Desaulniers, CCA Head Archivist, the exhibition highlights selected projects by Cornelia Hahn Oberlander that have been executed in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Yellowknife, and Berlin over a period of more than 30 years. Drawings and writings from the CCA�s Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Archive, as well as photographs taken by the young German photographer Etta Gerdes in 2005, situate each project within the larger context of Oberlander�s lifelong philosophical and practical approach to design. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Ecological Landscapes also features commentary and insights from the landscape architect herself.

One of North America�s most accomplished and celebrated landscape architects, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander has shaped Canadian cities with parks and roof gardens in a style all her own. Oberlander�s simple yet technically innovative designs express a deep commitment to environmental sustainability and quality of life. Natural and architectural elements are seamlessly integrated, creating healthy and enjoyable spaces that respond to the needs of inhabitants and bring nature into densely built up urban areas. Her projects capture the ecological and social specificities of a site, while referring to the larger context of the Canadian landscape. Indeed, site plays a crucial role in the development of her designs: as she herself says, landscape architecture �must be viewed holistically in terms of plant relationships as well as the genius loci, or spirit of the place.�

The Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Archive - In January 2006, the CCA received an extensive body of material from Cornelia Hahn Oberlander related to some of her major institutional projects. This acquisition follows an initial donation of material in 2002 and completes the CCA�s Oberlander archive. Spanning 50 years of Oberlander�s still-active career, the archive now comprises more than 2000 conceptual and design drawings, as well as photographs, plans, and documentation pertaining to her botanical and technical research. The Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Archive also complements existing holdings at the CCA, such as the archives of Canadian architects Richard Henriquez, Arthur Erickson, and the firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg, with whom she has worked.

Born in M�lheim/Ruhr, Germany in 1921, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander studied at Harvard University with Walter Gropius and settled in Vancouver in the 1950s, where she continues to practice. She has collaborated with such internationally acclaimed architects as Renzo Piano, Arthur Erickson, and Moshe Safdie on a wide range of public projects in North America and Europe. Founded in 1953, the firm Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Landscape Architect has developed a highly varied expertise: children's playgrounds, beginning with the creative playground at Expo 67 in Montr�al; roof gardens and hanging planters, as in the award-winning landscape for the Canadian Chancery in Washington, D.C. (1989); native plant communities like the Taiga Garden at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (1988); and environmental planning and design, such as the C.K. Choi Institute of Asian Research in Vancouver (1995). Oberlander�s most recent project is the roof garden of the new Canadian Embassy in Berlin (2005).