Deer Clan Longhouse / Brook Mcllroy

Architects

Brook Mcllroy
Location

Milton, Ontario, Canada
Category

Exhibition Center
Lead Architects

Calvin Brook
Architecture Design

Brook McIlroy, Paul Gorrie
Landscape Architecture

Brook McIlroy, Colin Berman, Kamyar Abbasi
Area

225.0 m2
Project Year

2014
Photographs

David Whittaker

Structural

Blackwell
Electrical

McDonnell Engineering
Mechanical

Tou and Associates
Exhibit Designer

Bespoke Cultural Collective
Contractor

Conservation Halton

Text description provided by the architects. The reimagination of a 15th century Longhouse in Crawford Lake was designed and programmed as a collaborative effort between the Indigenous communities in Halton, Conservation Halton, and the Brook McIlroy design team with the assistance of Indigenous facilitator J.P. Gladu. The exterior of the building is faithful to the traditional form and appearance of a 15th century Longhouse, while the interior provides contemporary interpretive learning spaces juxtaposed against a diorama of a traditional Longhouse interior.

Central to the project is a consultation process with Indigenous representatives, Elders, and community stakeholders, informing how architectural and educational programming can reflect the realities of historic and modern Indigenous cultures. This collaborative effort is essential in helping to create meaningful cultural exhibits, multimedia elements, and architectural spaces that act as filters through which the historical recreations can be interpreted.

An adaptable space to accommodate a wide range of programmed and passive functions is crucial to this project. Mobile millwork units act as storage or displays and can be assembled into a boardroom table. These units fit between structural elements along the perimeter when not in use, allowing the area to function as an exhibition space. Suspended frames drop down on wires to display artwork.