Description

The Tkaronto CIRCLE Lab, located at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), is named for the Mohawk word “Tkaronto” – the original name for Toronto. The Lab brings together University of Toronto students, faculty, staff and community researchers in an active learning space that supports arts and materials-based research, participatory research with youth and communities, visual and audio research, and community gatherings. Extensive consultation with Indigenous staff and students at OISE was conducted to ensure the design met the vision and requirements of the user community.

The Lab is a collection of rooms that provide tools for critical research and collaboration in a meaningful working environment. Each lab space is intentionally designed to serve a particular function, with Indigenous ethics at the forefront of its design. Rooms are connected by a corridor renovated with new slot windows for enhanced natural light, a copper accent wall that marks the entrance to the Lab with a meaningful Indigenous material, and graphic film with the image of sweetgrass, one of the four plants considered sacred to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples along with tobacco, sage and red cedar.

Research activities are supported by rooms including the Archive on Indigenous Research/Resistance (AIR) Space – gathering space for the Department of Social Justice Education; the Intergenerational Knowledge Room – a hub for community based-research; the Meaningful Materials Room – a space for arts-based and youth participatory action research; the Collaborative Audio-Visual Inaanagidoonewigamig (CAVI) – a room dedicated to supporting visual and audio-based Collaborative Indigenous Research, and student workspace.

The AIR Space is central to the CIRCLE Lab as a collaborative meeting hub and gathering space for special events. The AIR Space is equipped with technology for the recording and broadcasting of research activities, and cabinets that house archival materials related to Indigenous research and social movements. The round meeting table at the centre of the AIR Space facilitates talking circles and exemplifies the collaborative spirit of the CIRCLE Lab. The circle design in inlayed in the floor with wood planks aligned to the direction of true north. Natural wood tones, as well as a copper accent wall, which announces the entrance to CIRCLE Lab in in the corridor, were selected by the client as meaningful Indigenous materials.