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 Candian Human Rights Museum ( w / EHDD Architecture )

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world". Anne Frank

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights promises to make Winnipeg an international destination for the exchange of ideas. Our design creates both an iconic addition to the city's skyline and a powerful public gathering space. Visible throughout the area, the building will serve as a vital reminder of the importance of the human rights movement and become emblematic of Canada's commitment to human rights. With a dramatic public space at its heart, the design highlights the value of open dialogue, and the opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding from these interactions. The museum's site design considers such factors as circulation patterns, native plant species, sunlight, wind and sustainable materials. A tall-grass prairie unique to the Winnipeg area is planted along the Provencher Bridge, shaping a sculpture park adjacent to the museum. Multiple routes traversing the site lead to the museum; banks of trees and a human rights plaza form the approach to a circular forum - an outdoor room interwoven into the public realm that serves as the museum entrance.

The building is organized around a central gathering space that affords the passer-by a glimpse of the museum, and reinforces the institution's ideas of openness and inclusion. At times the forum is empty, framing the great expanse of sky; at other times it is bustling with museum and other citywide events. As communicated through its active surfaces, the interior of the forum provides a place for various types of electronic information display. Designed to be programmed by the museum's curators, material might include current events, historical timelines or real-time images of human rights activities around the world. Through the facade, the museum is an index of the ongoing human rights movement and its state of flux - of occurrences both monumental and everyday. Additionally, the reactions, opinions and dedications made by museum visitors as they depart would be broadcast briefly on the rotunda walls - a temporary "message board" of ideas and dialogue.

With commanding views of the convergence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, the museum's top floor houses the Great Hall and the library. Visitors can explore individual permanent exhibitions or take the elevator to the top, where the exhibit path begins and winds down the curving, universally accessible ramps. The wide ramps provide a continuous display space for introductions, outlines and timelines. The museum incorporates 1,400 square meters of rooftop landscaping, creating opportunities for contemplative gardens while also contributing to the building's energy efficiency.

Globally networked to other institutions with similar missions, this museum will become central to the human rights movement. With an emphasis on education and participation, the museum will engage and enlighten future generations. In this dynamic space, the interaction between people and the sharing of personal wisdom is equally as important as absorbing the information from the exhibition walls.