Contested Site / Sacred Site

The project focused on a program and design proposal on the site containing the remnants of an early 1500’s Aboriginal earthworks village. Through studies, issues of identity loss were brought to light, because of the marginalization of Aboriginal people and a loss of their culture in Canada. The earthworks site mirrors this result, as its current state is an amalgamation of cultural and physical manifestations that unromantically border each other and fragment the organic nature of the site. The proposal seeks to mediate the tension between the three landscapes on the site by positioning itself interstitially. The intention, then, is that these landscapes would have an inherent effect on the regenerative mental health process. 

The proposal activates a currently non-hierarchical site by spatially framing the separate qualities of landscape. This frame invites interpretation, as a means to allow the patients and artists to achieve a higher sense of consciousness and self. Interpretation would be externalized through the act of sharing, engaging, and making. The physical quality of each space and its respective program would respond to the nature of what is being viewed; horizon of farm, height of forest, focus of earthwork. Each space is denoted with a light aperture, which engages different qualities of natural light to facilitate activities throughout the day.