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PROJECT #: |
95-026 |
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PROJECT NAME: |
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre |
| LOCATION: | Fort Macleod, Alberta, CANADA |
| COMPLETION DATE: | 1987 |
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ARCHITECT: |
Robert LeBlond, M.R.A.I.C. |
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NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION: The building complex is located on WORLD HERITAGE SITE as declared by U.N.E.S.C.O. It is designed within the confines of the existing contours of the land, contains seven different underground levels of exhibition galleries, links the lower public entrance to the upper access to the kill site and represents a level difference of 28 metres. The exhibition galleries, which cascade beneath the surface of the site, are all open one to another under one sweeping roof. The building location and its approach provide visitors with a progressive, unfolding appreciation for the area’s significant message. Visitors approach the main entrance doors at the bottom of the cliff via a pedestrian plaza flanked on both sides by retaining walls simulating bedrock scars depicting an archaeological dig. The door location and design provides visitors with a feeling of stepping into an important cultural and spiritual world. Upon entering the Centre, visitors are overwhelmed by the drama and the spirit of the jump unfolding in front of them. The interior is designed to bring visitors to the top of the cliff, allowing them the opportunity to orient themselves and to contemplate the buffalo driving lanes leading to the kill site. The skylights over the ecology and buffalo jump exhibits, and the location of the various stairs joining all levels and exhibition galleries, demonstrate the interdependency between the exhibit designs and the structure. The building is hand and glove with the site, similar to the native way of life and their environment: The large 3-storey volume of the archaeology gallery at the main
level is surrounded on the second level by the cafeteria, the End of
Way of Life Gallery, the audiovisual theatre, and the Buffalo Jump
Gallery on the third level. This provides a dramatic, feverish
character to the jump operation, the height of the fall, and the
celebrative spirit of the post-jump festivities. | |
| USER ASSESSOR: |
Alberta Historic
Sites Service |
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USER'S ASSESSMENT: The Architect faced a challenging building programme as the Historic Sites Service required a building that would have minimal impact on this U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site yet still have the ability to convey the spiritual story of the Native people who used the jump. In addition, the building’s remote location had to provide high levels of visitor service and accessibility. He responded to the challenge and produced a superb structure. The Architect’s close collaboration with the design/display team resulted in the close fit of the story line of the display and the structure. The Centre has been in operation for 7 years, and we have found that the building has served our purposes very efficiently. There have been no major changes to the building, nor do we envision any in the near future. The design met our needs with imagination and ingenuity. I have no hesitation in recommending this project for an award. | |
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1995
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