Where July August 2017 WhereDigitalJulAug17 | Page 8

MEET
THE
MARKET
With stunning design and a revamped food
hall concept, Winnipeg’s most historic meeting
place has become its freshest attraction.
WHERE editors have named The Forks Market
Winnipeg’s Best Improved Attraction for 2017.
By Joelle Kidd
The place where the Red and Assiniboine
Rivers converge has been a gathering place for
6,000 years, as a a sacred site, a bustling trade
centre, and a hub for transportation.
What better place to meet a friend for a
locally brewed beer?
In the past year, The Forks—the city’s
renowned tourist attraction—underwent an
impressive renovation project. What resulted
is more than a little facelift on Winnipeg’s
favourite food court. The Forks Market is
emblematic of Winnipeg and a point of local
pride; a place where Winnipeggers bring their
guests to say, this is my city.
DRAMATIC DESIGN
The Forks site and its signature ‘Forks
Market’ opened in 1989 as a tourist
destination, combining fresh market
sensibilities with vendors selling handicrafts
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and imported wares. Its creation was
a massive undertaking, transforming a
disused rail yard in the centre of the city
into one of its top attractions.
In 2014, as The Forks celebrated its
25th anniversary, it became clear it was
time to refresh the look. Brainstorming
meetings led to an idea that would keep
true to The Market’s spirit while giving it a
mod makeover.
“Winnipeggers have a sense of
ownership for this space,” says Chelsea
Thomson, director of communications for
The Forks. In order to preserve the aspects
beloved by locals, they recruited designers
at Winnipeg-based Number TEN
Architecture Group, who began to think
of the space as the city’s living room.
“The central atrium [...] has a very high
ceiling with a glass roof,” says architect