Muscowpetung Powwow Arbour
A venue, established to strengthen traditions, celebrate culture and encourage community members to pass along knowledge to future generations.
A collaboration with Dalhousie University Professor Emeritus Richard Kroeker, the Muscowpetung powwow arbour is a cultural venue for the Saulteaux Nation. Its purpose is to strengthen traditions, celebrate culture and encourage community members to pass along knowledge to future generations. The building design was established with community and band leadership consultation, most notably with local indigeneity leader and knowledge keeper, Jeff Cappo. Community engagement was critical to the refinement of the arbour’s function, size and the development of a unifying design intention that ties all aspects of the structural design and architectural expression.
The structural system requires a circular geometry to balance the loads, reinforcing the importance of the circle in indigenous culture. The First Nations of the Great Plains built using lightweight material components as efficiently as possible. The arbour uses local timber and a system of cables that works like the stored energy of a drawn bow-string and the tensioning elements of drum heads. The lightweight system of spanning components avoids bending moments, and allows for onsite assembly by the local community.
Location: Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation, SK
Status: In Progress
Type: Cultural Venue
Area: 1,590 m2 (17,115 ft2)
Collaborators: Richard Kroeker, Jon Reid (Wolfrom Engineering Ltd.)
Renderings: Mirage Studios
Awards:
2023 Holcim Awards - Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
2022 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence
2022 World Architecture Festival Winner: Future Project: Culture Category
2022 World Architecture Festival Winner: WAFX Award - WAF Special Prize
Publications:
