2021 – Forest Pavilion, Crescent Drive Park, Winnipeg

Replacing a basic picnic shelter, Public City Architecture were commissioned by the city of Winnipeg to provide a design for a new facility. Their design is intended to address all four seasons – it contains washrooms, a warming room, a shaded area, and an enclosed fireplace patio.

Close to the red River, the structure is placed at the highest point of the park and designed for occasional water level rises. “The Pavilion is the first civic structure of its kind to apply FEMA flood-protection design standards,” said Public City Architecture. “All materials below the flood line can be completely submerged without decay”.

The exterior envelope which also encloses the fireplace patio is made from slats of Douglas Fir slat siding, a wood which is relatively rot resistant. As it weathers, the building fades into the background of the trees surrounding it – the buildings presence being announced by the flashes of colour from the internal walls.

Received a 2022 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture.