©Spectacle

A new museum for Indigenous art will combine mass timber construction, flexible gallery space, and environmental systems designed to reduce emissions. The concept for the Museum of Aboriginal Peoples’ Art and Artifacts on the Portage College campus in Lac La Biche, Alta., was recently unveiled. The museum will house the world’s largest collection of works by the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., a First Nations artists’ collective formed in Winnipeg in 1973. Designed by SPECTACLE Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism Inc., the building will use a superstructure made predominantly from locally and sustainably sourced mass timber. A signature exterior feature is the kinetic wood screen with vertical slats that hinge at the top. The slats will move with the wind, providing shade and creating a sheltered route for visitors. …A wooden deck will provide gathering space for up to 60 people.