Urban Indigenous: Indigenous Hub, Toronto, Ontario

PROJECT Indigenous Hub, Toronto, Ontario

ARCHITECTS BDP Quadrangle, Stantec Architecture, Two Row Architect, ERA Architects

TEXT Elsa Lam

PHOTOS James Brittain unless otherwise noted

The Indigenous Hub is Toronto’s best-sounding block. As you approach from the south, a fringe made of tens of thousands of metal beads, hung from the eaves of the Indigenous Community Health Centre, rustles in the wind, making a sound uncannily like a babbling brook.

It’s one of many details designed to make this complex of community, commercial, and residential buildings an oasis in the city. It was crucial to create a safe, welcoming place of healing for the clientele of the Indigenous Health Centre and for Miziwe Biik, the Indigenous Employment and Training Centre that adjoins it. That spirit also extends to the rest of the block—including a rental apartment building to the south, a condominium building to the north, and a restored industrial heritage building.

The project was the dream of Anishnawbe Health Toronto’s long-time executive director Joe Hester, who died on January 1, 2025, at the age of 77. A decade ago, when the Canary District as a whole was opened up for development thanks to the construction of a flood-protecting landform in Corktown Common park, the 2.4-acre property was transferred to the Indigenous community—which Hester viewed as a “return.” Hester led a search for a team that could realize the vision of creating a health facility purpose-built for the Indigenous community.

“We wanted to bring an architecture to the Toronto landscape that represents us culturally, which then, of course, our community would see as something they could be proud of. The interior spaces had to be able to facilitate our cultural approaches to health and healing because our ceremonies are very important to the healing process,” said Hester.

The initial master plan for the 440,000-square-foot development was developed by Stantec Architecture with Two Row Architect. The master plan was subsequently further developed with the added collaboration of BDP Quadrangle and contributions from Urban Strategies. Stantec Architecture and Two Row designed the Indigenous Health Centre, while BDP Quadrangle and Two Row designed Miziwe Biik and the residential components, and ERA Architects led the restoration of the industrial heritage Canary Building.

“It is an honour to contribute to a new and much-needed layer of Indigenous culture and presence within the urban fabric of the city,” says Michael Moxam, project design principal and design culture practice leader for Stantec.

“Our goal was to create a community of inclusiveness,” says BDP Quadrangle co-founder Les Klein. “Inclusion was a core principle guiding everything—from material choices to public space access. This project is not just symbolic, it is structural; not a gesture, but a grounded return. It is a space of healing, a platform for community-led growth, and a new urban typology born of Indigenous values.”

At the heart of the project, the Indigenous Health Centre is a curved volume whose façade refers to the fancy shawl and jingle dresses worn by Anishnawbe dancers for healing ceremonies. The aluminum façade is perforated to create large-scale patterns drawn from those textiles, explains Moxam; the silvery finish itself was adapted from car manufacturing to produce a glimmering, changeable appearance in different weather conditions.

In an earlier version of the design, the shawl’s fringe was proposed to have been made of stainless steel mesh. Hester dismissed that proposal: “that’s not a fringe; it’s not going to blow in the wind,” he told the architects. Two Row Architect partner Matthew Hickey developed the detail that was eventually used, which involves 12,000 strings of metal beads—oversized versions of the drain chains used for sink stoppers. A single worker installed the chains one by one over the course of several months.

“The shawl, also used traditionally for carrying medicine, wraps around the body, but it opens at the heart,” says Two Row Architect principal Brian Porter. Similarly, the building’s four-storey atrium opens to a central courtyard to the east, aligning with the sunrise—a direction of beginnings, renewal and spiritual grounding in Indigenous cosmologies. The multi-layered courtyard includes a waterfall fountain, screened sweat lodge court, bioswales, and medicinal plantings. These outdoor spaces facilitate Indigenous ceremony and teachings, and create connections between ground, sky, and nature.

Creating openness and transparency was crucial to providing a safe, comfortable environment for a client group that has historically faced stigma—and even harm—from healthcare providers. Surrounding the atrium, rounded pavilions housing traditional and western services allude to stones in a river—a nod to the site’s location on the historic Don River delta. A red staircase, the side of which is a stunning steel-cut mural by Anishnawbe artist Christi Belcourt, refers to an Indigenous teaching about “walking the red path”—meaning cultivating healing by living a good, clean, healthy life.

Stacked above the entry, a series of traditional healers’ rooms was designed and built by artist and carpenter John Bird to recall healing lodges from different Indigenous traditions. The ventilation systems in these rooms allows for smudging, dimmable lights offer a gentler environment, and there is ample room for healers to meet with families and individuals alike.

The integration of traditional and western medicine is part of the Indigenous Health Centre’s model of providing wrap-around care. Services range from primary health care and a dental clinic, to palliative care, to a mental health program, to assistance for people searching for housing. A child and youth program includes a range of services, from support for expecting and new mothers, to an Outward Bound program for teenagers, to youth outreach workers who can accompany someone to court or help with a college application.

“Joe [Hester]’s philosophy was to have a one-stop shop—we call it our circle of care,” explains Anishnawbe Health Toronto’s executive office manager, Christopher Doucett. “So when people come in, if you’re having mental health issues and your [physical] health is not being addressed, you can’t really fix the mental health. Or if your health is in bad shape, and you have no housing—when you’re living on the streets, it’s hard to take care of that. So we’re trying our best to do everything under one roof, to completely care for someone.”

Complementing this work, the adjoining Miziwe Biik offers Indigenous training and education, focused on the construction trades. The five-storey facility includes daylight-filled double-height carpentry shops, metal and wood-frame electrical mock-up structures, and classroom spaces. “The idea was to produce a state-of-the-art facility that would not only provide hands-on training, but also the classroom and health and safety training—all of the things that are required to create a well-trained tradesperson,” says BDP Quadrangle’s Les Klein.

The building also includes an EarlyON drop-in centre for families, and a daycare that will prioritize Indigenous families, while not being exclusively Indigenous. Both of these spaces are equipped with outdoor playspaces, large stroller parking areas, and open kitchens—in the EarlyON centre, the kitchen is intended to host training for caregivers, while their kids are cared for within view. Where possible, the building is designed with natural wood finishes and curves rather than right angles, making the spaces feel comfortable and home-like, rather than institutional.

Double-storey glazing in the workshops allows for generous daylight and views for trainees—and encourages passersby to peek in. “It’s really great because we have people coming by our front desk asking, ‘what is it that you do here?’,” says Johnny Gionette, training and apprenticeship coordinator at Miziwe Biik. “That really ties into the larger message of the Indigenous Hub, which is that it should actually inspire the customer,” adds Les Klein. “Why is this building different from other buildings? It’s intended to engender conversation about reconciliation—all those elements that we need to talk about, but that rarely have physical form.”

Outside, Miziwe Biik’s textured precast façade, says Two Row’s Matthew Hickey, was designed to reference birch bark; the same precast appears as an accent in other parts of the block. “I’m excited for when it gets a little dirty to really see [the textural effect],” says Hickey.

Other precast concrete façades on the block are sandblasted with Indigenous petroglyphs, while a large-scale weathering steel screen covering ventilation shafts is designed with graphics by Indigenous artist Patrick Hunter. Brick—considered a colonial material reminiscent of residential schools—is avoided in the two Indigenous facilities. Where brick appears as cladding on the podium levels of the condo and rental buildings, it was reimagined to create a traditional basketweave pattern that makes reference to Indigenous craft.

The lobby of the condo building was conceived by Elastic Architects as a sequence of smaller, more private spaces, rather than a single large open room. “People live differently now—they might work from home, they might want to work from the lobby, or just hang out,” says Elastic Architects studio director Laura Abanil, who describes the space as a collective ‘living room’. “We wanted it to be a very tranquil space—I hope everyone feels peaceful as soon as they walk in here from the hustle and bustle of the city.”

The entire block—and especially the Indigenous Health Centre and Miziwe Biik at its heart—is infused with a sense of community and care. “I feel like this was very much built from the ground up, through collaboration with our healers and community,” says Anishnawbe Health Toronto’s Christopher Doucett. “Joe [Hester] always told me that everything here was always through community feedback, and everything we do is for community. He would reference [the Indigenous Health Centre] as our house—as the community’s house. He wanted it to be inviting to the neighbourhood.”

Hickey says that “removing the ego from the architecture” was key to centering community in the design. “The architect is servicing the community that they’re working for—so who are the architects to say what’s right? When the community says it’s right, then—there you go. Which means you’ve got to be small sometimes.”

Ultimately, this is a place that offers lessons—and healing—that extends beyond Toronto’s Indigenous community to the city at large. “There are so many beautiful metaphors in this building,” says Klein. One of his favourites is the large rocks that came from across Canada, and serve as seating in the public plaza. “It expresses not only the way rocks were pushed by the glaciers, but also how Indigenous people were pushed across the landscape against their will, and sometimes where they landed was where they lived.”

“Everyone who walks past here, if they’ve never seen the building, they just stare at everything,” says Anishnawbe Health Toronto’s Christopher Doucett. “Especially the fringe. If it’s a really windy day, you can hear it. You can almost see it dancing in the wind.”

Condominium and Rental Buildings, Miziwe Biik, Canary Restaurant Restoration

ARCHITEECTS (Residential and Miziwe Biik)  BDP Quadrangle, Two Row Architect | ARCHITECT (Canary Restaurant)  ERA Architects | CLIENT (Residential and Canary Restaurant) DREAM Unlimited, The Kilmer Group, Tricon Residential | CLIENT (Miziwe Biik) Anishnawbe Health Toronto | ARCHITECT TEAM BDP Quadrangle—Les Klein (FRAIC), Ken Brooks, Amir Tabatabaei; Two Row Architect—Matthew Hickey; ERA Architects—Jordan Molnar | STRUCTURAL Jablonsky, Ast & Partners | MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL M.V. Shore Associates Ltd. | LANDSCAPE Stantec Consulting Ltd. |INTERIORS BDP Quadrangle, Elastic Architects | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Ellis Don | AREA 40,877 m2 (RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS); 2,530 m2 (MIZIWE BIIK); 2,230 m2 (CANARY RESTAURANT) | BUDGET $104.5 M | COMPLETION April 2025

ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 200 kWh/m2/year | WATER USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 1.44 m3/m2/year

 

Anishnawbe Health Toronto Indigenous Community Health Centre

ARCHITECTS Stantec Architecture with Two Row Architect | CLIENT Anishnawbe Health Toronto | ARCHITECT TEAM Stantec Architecture—Michael Moxam (FRAIC), Suzanne Crysdale (MRAIC), Khaled Abdelaziz, Norma Angel (MRAIC), Tino Augurusa, Dora Batista, Vlad Bortnowski, Greg Bouris, Deanna Brown (FRAIC), Melissa Cao, Eda Demirel, Solmaz Eshraghi, Valya Fox, Tania Genovese, Rich Hlava, Nissan Ikhlassi, Ronaldo Jaring, Andrea Johnson, Tammie Lee, Lydia Lovette-Dietrich, Dean Macapagal, Mahshid Matin, Steve Moore, Sarah O’Connor-Hassan, Mat Perich, Iva Radikova, Anita Shrestha, Marsha Spencer, John Steven (FRAIC), Daniel Thomas, Peter Valente, Dathe Wong (MRAIC). Two Row Architect—Matthew Hickey (FRAIC), Brian Porter (FRAIC), Erik Skouris | LANDSCAPE, MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, STRUCTURAL, CIVIL, SUSTAINABILITY Stantec Consulting Ltd. | INTERIORS Stantec Architecture Ltd. | PLANNING Urban Strategies | CONTRACTOR Harrbridge and Cross | AREA 4,180 m2 | BUDGET $34 M | COMPLETION April 2025

ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 177.7 ekWh/m2/year 

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