Cultivating Community in the Exchange: An Interior Adaptive Reuse Project to Revitalize Food Security and Culture

Abstract

This Masters of Interior Design practicum project examines the relationship between adapting existing structures and employing nutritional programs, as a means to design an interior environment that meets some of the cultural and dietary needs of residents in the Exchange District community in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Through a proposal of redesigning the Kay Building in the Exchange District, this project adaptively reuses the site through insertion, installation, and narration to implement community food security objectives based on an analysis of inhabitants, food and health, and sustainability. Informed by these concepts, interventions, and programs involving food and art were explored in an interior context to retain the historical value of the site, alleviate food insecurity in the area, and support the art community. Utilizing interior design, this project employs an interdisciplinary investigation to strategize and integrate elements of revitalization to cultivate historical and cultural integrity and food security in the growing community.