Water thread

an aboriginal wellness centre in Yellowknife NWT, Canada

Academic - Option Studio | Prof. Mason White

Partner: Kaitlyn Pelletier (M.LA)

Fall 2016

This option studio, led by Mason White, challenged us to design an aboriginal wellness centre in Yellowknife NWT. Working closely with Dené elders such as Francois Paulette, our research about the Dené cultures and traditions, and the lifestyle of Northern Aboriginals, led us to explore the importance of water for this project. Located on the west shore of Kam Lake in Yellowknife, our wellness centre fixed itself to the shore, providing conditions of being on land, on shore, or on water, each with their own traditions in the Dené culture. Rather than approaching ‘healing’ in a clinical approach, as is often the case with contemporary Western medicine, we instead defined healing as a community effort accomplished through maintaining traditional practices such as cooking and making. Our centre has three floating classrooms that can detach from the main building, and be used for land based programs, providing a vehicle for accessing the vast nature of Kam Lake. Finally, a red thread leads visitors to the centre along the granite terrain of the site, and also provides docking areas along Kam Lake.