Towards an Integrated Infrastructure: Using Architecture to Celebrate a Canadian National Park Town

Abstract

This thesis proposes an architecturally integrated stormwater system and research facility in the town of Wasagaming, Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP), Manitoba. The design proposal provides four-season, interior and exterior space for the integration of resource management operations and park visitor experiences. Visible integration of infrastructure, building and landscape cultivate destination-based travel to RMNP while reducing human impacts on the ecosystem. Aging infrastructure and diminishing federal funding make responsible ecological and cultural management of parks increasingly difficult. Integration of research and tourism as a component of visitor experience at parks is one way of addressing cost-effective co-location of programme, ensuring future funding can be generated for resource management.