Confluence was developed during a comprehensive architecture studio that asked students to design and detail an Indigenous cultural centre located on the historic Fort Calgary site at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers. Our team consistently met with Indigenous leaders from all around Alberta throughout the project term to gather information on what was most important to their Indigenous communities. Confluence was inspired by the aspect of Storytelling present in Indigenous culture, as well as the nature of the Bow and Elbow rivers merging at the Fort Calgary site. Thus, the project aimed to tell the story of separate entities or individuals coming together to create a stronger whole, or strengthened community. The building’s form was influenced by analyzing the flows of the Bow and Elbow rivers to speculate on how they might carve away at volumetric space. As well, a series of models were fabricated out of wooden materials throughout the semester to help explain the building’s spatial relationships and construction. Each model brought a different level of information to describe the project, with the final model showcasing the most detail.  

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