Stantec

Located in Winnipeg’s burgeoning southwest, Buffalo Crossing sits on the south shore of Muir Lake, the largest of seven lakes formed in reclaimed clay and gravel pits. Serving as the gateway to FortWhyte Alive’s 660-acre naturalized nature campus, the 18,000 sq ft all-mass timberVisitor Centre includes a gift shop, café, lobby, gender-neutral washrooms, prep kitchen, learning, Indigenous, and event spaces.

Buffalo Crossing is a living exhibit of climate resilience, reconciliation, and stewardship, supporting expanded programming and revenue for FortWhyte Alive’s environmental education and outdoor recreation programs. Designed with Winnipeg’s extreme climate in mind [-40°C to+40°C] it achieved the CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Design Standard and is on target for Passive House Certification.

Nestled among aspens and granite gabion walls, the building’s transparent, triangular form improves solar harvesting in winter and passive shading in summer while framing picturesque views of the site. Its design celebrates Indigenous culture through meaningful elements, including a Star Blanket pattern in the indoor ceremony space, a donor wall featuring weathering steel bison, an Indigenous garden, and a sharing circle oriented to the Four Directions. Buffalo Crossing reflects FortWhyte Alive’s commitment to climate action through architecture, fostering deeper connections with nature and inspiring sustainable living for a better future.