Propolis: The PLANT connection to Stratford’s new monument

Stratford, Ontario, chose to commemorate Canada’s 150th with a public art competition. We’re proud to spread the news that PLANT’s Matthew Hartney and his colleague Megan Schaff designed the winning entry, which was unveiled on Canada Day in Stratford’s newly renovated Market Square, adjacent to City Hall. Matthew and Megan, who met in high school in Stratford and both went on to study architecture, call their work Propolis, from the Latin for ‘before’ and ‘city’. In plan, the alignment of the three weathering steel panels radiating out from a central Tulip tree represents the triangular convergence of three cardinal street grids – originating from early Perth County surveys – that occurs in the heart of Stratford. Imagery water jet-cut through each of the panels pays tribute to a different aspect of Stratford’s heritage: agricultural, industrial, and artistic. Propolis, in the words of its creators, is “both a depiction of the cultural history of Stratford and a mapping of the prime elements of its foundation.” For more information about the artwork and Stratford’s history, visit the Propolis site.