Werklund Centre Transformation

The Werklund Centre Transformation (formerly the Arts Commons Transformation) is a major expansion of Calgary’s premier performing arts campus, located in the city’s downtown cultural district. Led by KPMB Architects, with Tawaw Architecture Collective and Hindle Architects as core members of the design team, the project introduces a new 1,000-seat theatre, a flexible studio theatre, and a series of public gathering spaces designed to support over 400,000 annual visitors.

Tawaw Architecture Collective led the project’s cultural and experiential visioning through a co-design process grounded in ongoing dialogue with Treaty 7 Nations and Métis partners. This work positioned culture not as an overlay, but as a driver of architectural decision-making—shaping how the building welcomes, gathers, and connects people.

Through this process, the concept of the lodge emerged as a guiding framework for both form and experience. Influencing the building’s massing, material expression, and interior atmosphere, the lodge concept informs a series of curved, wood-lined spaces designed to feel as open and inclusive as a public landscape. The building’s transparent ground plane and strong connection to the public realm extend this sense of welcome into the city.

Key spaces—including the Gathering Circle, a southeast-facing public space at grade—were directly informed by engagement with community partners, supporting assembly, visibility, and shared experience. Cultural elements such as the quill wall within the 1,000-seat theatre further embed Indigenous knowledge and artistic expression into the architectural fabric of the project.

Tawaw’s role extended across multiple layers of the design, contributing to public realm strategy, accessibility and inclusion, wayfinding, and material storytelling. Universal design principles—including barrier-free access, flexible seating, and gender-inclusive washrooms—were integrated throughout to ensure the building supports a wide range of users and experiences.

Currently under construction and targeting LEED Gold certification, the project represents a significant investment in Calgary’s cultural infrastructure. More than an expansion of performance venues, the Werklund Centre Transformation repositions Arts Commons as an open, inclusive civic space—one that reflects the diversity of the city and creates room for culture, gathering, and shared experience to thrive.