The Bruce D. Campell Farm & Food Discovery Centre

University of Manitoba’s Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre

The Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre, located at the University of Manitoba’s Glenlea Research Station, is a hands-on interpretive facility exploring how food is made in Canada. Interactive exhibits lead visitors from the farmer’s wheat field all the way to the kitchen table – covering all aspects of farming practices, food production, handling & transportation, retail sales, as well as the University’s ongoing research and information about careers in agriculture. A highlight of these exhibits are the viewing windows directly into the research barn where one can see the stages of development in a typical Manitoba hog barn.

Architecturally, beyond providing a flexible home for the exhibits developed by Origin Studios, the design concept is to create an engaging and meaningful public welcome point for the overall site. Form and materials are carefully arranged to mirror the sense of utility and purpose of built form seen in so many agrarian structures across the prairies. The modern galvanized framing and white corrugated steel siding serve as a backdrop for two references to the past; the wood panels at the main entry are reclaimed fir planks from dismantled grain elevators, and the red signage panel both recalls the quintessential prairie barn and matches the surrounding research buildings on the site.

Number TEN worked closely with the landscape architect, exhibit designer and the University throughout the process to ensure a continuity of the design themes and finishes that the visitor experiences – from the landscape to the building outside and in, through to the details of the exhibits.