By Laurel Wilson Growing up in the rural logging communities of Central Almaguin taught me a lot about being resourceful. Using every bit of what you have is a learned habit that is deeply ingrained in the culture of rural communities. As a by-product of this “reuse culture,” the built environment of Almaguin is nearly … Continue reading The Original Schoolhouses and the “Reuse Culture” of the North
The Race to Save Heritage Buildings
Regardless of such preventative measures which might buy a building more time and perhaps change the future of a structure, the demolition of a heritage building will always be a race against time.
Hidden Canada: The Gathering Circle and Indigenous Place-Making in Ontario
The Gathering Circle is an important place of assembly for the city’s residents and provides an inclusive space to celebrate, reflect, and protest. It also sets a precedent of Indigenous place-making that is long overdue.
The Cookstown Collaboration: A Heritage Consultant Opportunity at a Glance
The April edition of the ACO NextGen newsletter brought with it genial wishes for a happy spring and an unexpected prospect: An emerging heritage consultant opportunity. It was a request for applicants on behalf of a concerned community group – the Cookstown Community Development Team (CCDT).
Hidden Canada: Indigenous Design and Sustainability in the First Peoples House
The First Peoples House frames Indigenous culture, spirituality and environmental consciousness within the modernist sphere of materiality, form, and contemporary engineering technologies.
Hidden Canada: Building on Tradition with the Anishinaabek Discovery Centre
The Anishinaabek Discovery Centre displays a modern take on traditional Indigenous design, reflecting the importance of culture-based learning that extends well beyond the conventional academic settings.
Hidden Canada: The Yin-Yang Spirit of Markham’s Hovering Temple
Wong Dai Sin Temple, an asymmetrical concrete building with an elevated main body, is an unusual presence in the community of Markham and serves as a spiritual space for The Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism.
Hidden Canada: The Perseverance of The Mysterious St. Thomas Church
The St. Thomas Parish Hall is deeply important to the community of Moose Factory. The back of the church holds a graveyard full of generations of Omushkego peoples. That alone, validates the need to restore the church. The church also represents the complex history of the arrival of Christian missionaries on Indigenous land.
Hidden Canada: How Douglas Cardinal Brought Indigenous Perspectives into St. Mary’s Catholic Church
The monumental design of St. Mary’s Church can be attributed to Cardinal’s application of Indigenous architectural traditions to breathe life back into the buildings with which we react.
Hidden Canada: The Possibility of Garden City Design in Canadian Suburbs
As we reckon with the pandemic and an ongoing climate crisis, we are repeatedly faced with questions on how and where we can live sustainably. Do garden suburbs present a solution?
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