1983 – Interpretive Centre, Fort Whyte Alive, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The earlier building on the Fort Whyte Alive site responded to the windswept prairie landscape with the simple gesture of an enormous sloping cedar roof facing north, with glazing to the south. The cedar had weathered, much to the building’s benefit, and the building showed its roots in the many old windswept and abandoned barns in the prairies. It was reclad with metal shingles in 2021 and energy retrofitted by Monteyne Architecture. Fossil fuel-free geothermal systems that run under the forest use the land to heat and cool the building, while an Energy Recovery Ventilator pulls heat from recycled air to reduce energy consumption. The new cladding and introduction of some colour reacts well with the bold geometric forms of the original building, and contrasts with the surrounding nature.