Music tracks : cultural diversity and the practices of mobile Architecture

Transcontinental railroads played an important role in the formation of Canada in the late

nineteenth century. Settlers from various parts of Europe were carried by steam trains to

different regions of Canada. Towns and cities sprawled from train stations and multiple

ethnic groups were distributed along railroads. After many decades of the discovery of the

New World, Canadian society, consisting of many co-existing identities within its national

borders, became a collage of ethnic faces. Music activities were the expressions of those

faces.

This thesis proposes that music events - with the character of representing different

cultural identities - should constantly participate in re-shaping and moulding the Canadian

culture as a whole. In so doing, this thesis will not only criticize the conventional music tour

carried by train, but will also explore the application of mobile architecture (facilitated by

existing rail infrastructure) as a circulation mechanism to carry performers throughout the

country. The design portion of this thesis proposes an annual cross-country music festival,

'Music Tracks,' which will be staged at two selected train yards in both Ottawa and

Vancouver. In the summer, twenty selected music bands across Canada will travel

separately from their own towns to the Ottawa festival site by train. They will make stops

and perform in small towns along railroads. Their sleeper carriages are designed to be

connected together and to be transformed into temporary residences and a concert stage.

After a series of concerts in Ottawa, the bands will travel all together to Vancouver’s festival

site to setup their festival once again. Portable architecture for traveling musicians, hence, is

a mechanism to promote the diversity of our cultural expression; at the same time, it

enhances the cultural integrity within the political borders of Canada.