Preservation is Remaking Us

The abandoned Rockwood Asylum in Kingston, Ontario is used as a testing ground to explore preservation as a fundamentally progressive act.

The preservation and conversion of the abandoned asylum into a medical care centre demands a critical assessment of the history of medical care in Canada, and a redefinition of our cultural values. Drawing from various approaches to contemporary healthcare the proposal combines medical research, treatment and preventative practices into the existing body of the asylum. The formerly isolated asylum is in effect de-institutionalized and re-made into a complex, public, and diverse city for healthy living.