King Thunderbird Center

PROJECT

-

Boyle Street Community Services has supported people experiencing homelessness and poverty since 1971. It’s an organization with a strong track record of breaking the cycles of poverty, but the building it has been operates out of, in downtown Edmonton, is crumbling. King Thunderbird Center - okimaw peyesew kamik, 

Boyle Street’s new building will offer more space, several outdoor patios used for programming and greater Indigenous cultural content and support. It is set on a large site in the McCauley neighbourhood. 

Designing the site, it was of particular value to create a park like setting, offering plenty of space and shade for people accessing Boyle Street’s services to gather, mingle and spend time in a dignified way. We created various seating opportunities, a gathering area, as well as more private spaces (such as picnic tables or seating islands) and providing drinking water and a mystifying station in the park. We added a basketball half court, designated an area for a sweat lodge and there are provisions for a future public washroom.