M.Arch Design Studio 2
January 2024
with Francesca Mercurio

As design students presenting an architecture studio project centered on Indigenous peoples, we recognize we are in a process of learning on land that has long been home to many Indigenous folks, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, Huron-Wendat, and the Seneca. We approach this exercise through material explorations and relational research, viewing our process as ritual. A prevalent ritual became our mold-making removal; we found immense joy in unpacking foam and tape parcels, excited to see how our casting trials ended up and gesturing wildly when the desired effects were achieved.

When designing a space for Rebecca Belmore’s Tower, tarpaulin, it was essential that the environment treats the artwork’s subject—the Vancouver housing crisis—with the sensitivity it deserves. We envisioned a commanding space, void of unnecessary architectural elements, to amplify the art's message. The journey through this site is processional, guiding visitors through an emotive experience of discomfort and ease. Rejecting the terms "museum" or "gallery," we offer a space for knowledge-sharing and community. Visitors must first confront the "decay" of the crisis underscored by the art, housed in deteriorating concrete rooms that reference a settler city built on concrete condos and extortionate rent. These individual, insular experiences are guided by narrow passageways that force viewers to confront the sculptures one by one, intensified by decaying apertures that filter light into the space.

To balance this challenging experience, the procession concludes in a garden designed for contemplation and exhaling. The open courtyard features a circular plan, referencing medicine wheels and connecting the visitor back to the land. Materially, it takes the form of a structure in its unfinished state, not necessarily offering a final solution but suggesting a feeling of hope and a framework to move forward from.