Protecting and preserving Canada’s natural and cultural heritage

Riding Mountain National Park Visitor Centre Renewal

The Riding Mountain National Park Visitor Centre in Wasagaming, Manitoba is classified by the Federal Heritage Building Review Office due to the significance of its design and setting. This picturesque building features rustic log and stone construction aesthetics, but due to its age it needed renewal.

Parks Canada engaged Stantec to assist in renovations and improvements including landscape, a new verandah and trellis, walkways, steps, furniture, and an interpretative node. Notably, exterior renovations included a new cedar shingle roof assembly to improve the building envelope, a new main entrance doorway, and exterior painting. Interior renovations included new finishes for event and theatre spaces, a design for a new kitchen servery, office, reception entry area, and accessible washrooms. For improved energy efficiency, we introduced upgrades to the plumbing hot water heating systems, new HVAC systems, and a new ground source heat pump system. Our electrical scope included new exterior lighting, interior lighting improvements, and upgrades to the fire alarm, security, and audio-visual systems.

Surrounded by the original, formal English garden, the centre is designed to serve as a visual focus for Wasagaming. Its renewal continues to fulfill a central role in the life of the park through its siting, scale, and function.