Overview

The new addition to the Carry the Kettle Health Centre draws on traditional forms to create a centralized courtyard, or healing garden. The layout of the new addition captures the spirit of a teepee camp circle, and harmonizes with the existing structures of the Health Centre.

The project involved a holistic building assessment of the existing facility that was used as the basis for developing a clear objective for the project’s design development. This information served as the basis for subsequent design review sessions, which ultimately lead to the existing Health Centre’s addition and renewal design.

The addition utilizes an iconic roof form to harness passive ventilation and daylighting strategies through a series of operable skylights.  Infused with soft light from above, the interior corridors evoke the luminous quality of the interior of a teepee. The skylights are to be tied to the building mechanical system and are to integrate operable mechanisms to allow for passive ventilation during the summer months; a key sustainable strategy for the new addition that minimizes the cooling load and building operational costs over the life of the building.