Rendering courtesy of Smoke Architecture
Queen’s University - Indigenous Outdoor Gathering Space
SpruceLab Inc. provided landscape architecture and Indigenous design advice to Smoke Architecture (lead consultant), and Vertechs Design Inc. for the Queen’s University Indigenous Gathering Space. The Indigenous Gathering Space is an outdoor classroom inspired by the Wakaaigan (teaching lodge), which is a bentwood frame covered in birch bark. The design creates a culturally appropriate place for ceremony, and for use as a teaching / educational space for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the university community. The space can be used year-round and hosts a central fire pit, interpretive signage with Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe languages, and works of Indigenous artists. The design includes insulated rolling overhead doors which allows the space to be either be completely open or enclosed. The landscape fits within the existing topography and paths and connects the site to the nearby Indigenous learning suite. The site is interspersed with informal outdoor learning and seating areas and features Indigenous plantings. This project was made possible thanks to gifts from Isabel Bader and Bader Philanthropies and is located by the southwest end of Tindall Field. To support Indigenous initiatives on campus, the Bader family also endowed a Curator, Indigenous Art and Culture, at Agnes Etherington Art Centre, who will lead curation at the new Outdoor Gathering Space.
Read more about the project in this article.
Rendering courtesy of Smoke Architecture
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Indigenous Design
Landscape Architecture
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