Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Center

Our Architecture encompasses and reflects all of the dynamics, personalities and energies of everyone involved in the project's evolution and realization. Head-Smashed-In provides for that spirit of place and the activities that take place within it. It gives human attributes to the built environment.

Mind: (spirit of the client) - The architects goal was to satisfy the public thirst for authenticity and truth about survival and evolution. People have shown time and again their fascination and love for historical knowledge. A native's pride in their own heritage and the respect for their home land is one such fascination that turned into a living exhibition.

Breath: (initial concept) - The LeBlond Partnership strengthened the ideas that already existed in many peoples hearts. With a strong, passive, respectful and harmonious relationship with the landscape; the building emerged out of the earth with the natives akinness with the land and the enviornment

Body: (building perception and components) - Access to the building needed to be especially sensitive. The pedestrian element was manipulated into a systematic pattern of discovery and adventure. The doorway became the entrance into the wombs of archeological findings that including artifacts such as buffalo bones. Upon entry, the drama of the kill operation unfolds with the guests being surrogated to the Buffalo and its spirit.

Heart: (space) - The Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is totally submerged into the womb of the site, and in order to provide a clear understanding of where one is, the design brings the visitors to the top of the cliff, out of the ground and at the same time provides a feeling for the scale and character of the site. By dramatizing the kill operation which is the main theme of the building, it evolved into a theatrical atmosphere affecting the minds of visitors for years to come.

Soul: (LeBlond's philosophy) - The Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump surrounds a buffalo that has been placed on a pedestal under a skylight. The effect was to elevate it above the mass and give it a surreal and identified feeling as a dialog develops between visitors. Once inside, each visitor is hammered with elements of surprise, drama and tragedy. They are forced to realize the resourcefulness and the eventual disappearance of the buffalo with the advent of the horse and rifle.