Photograph courtesy of Pin/Taylor Architects
The Blackstone Park Visitor Centre is located at the confluence of the Blackstone and Laird Rivers in Nahanni, NWT.
The centre provides information and relief to travelers descending the Nahanni and Laird Rivers, and to tourists using the Laird Highway.
Photograph courtesy of Pin/Taylor Architects
Facilities included in the centre: bath house, cooking house and other shelters.
The shelter uses local building materials consistent with the history’s vernacular: logs, boards, and corrugated galvanized metal.
Photograph courtesy of Pin/Taylor Architects
The natural setting and structure honours the rusticity of place, which is part of the integral design philosophy of Pin Taylor Architects.
I love seeing how the simple gable – a classic vernacular – is the basis of this shelter.
Image courtesy of Pin/Taylor Architects
The structures are designed to completely close against the weather and vandalism during off-seasons while opening to allow natural light and air flow when in use.
This shelter is one example of how thoughtful Pin Taylor Architects “achieves an elegant and appropriate built response to the programmatic and contextual conditions within which each project is placed”.
Want to lean more about this Yelloknife firm? Go to Pin/Taylor Architects
Researched and Written by Silvialy Tjhin, Master of Architecture Candidate at University of Toronto