On May 13, 2026, Parks Canada, the federal agency responsible for protecting and managing Canada's natural and cultural heritage, announced the winning design for a reimagined visitor centre and community space in Banff National Park. The competition was organized in partnership with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) as part of the 200-Block Banff Avenue Redevelopment Project. The proposal by Paul Raff Studio and Kengo Kuma & Associates was selected from a shortlist of five pre-qualified teams that also included EVOQ + Ryder, KPMB Architects, Revery Architecture, and Stantec Architecture. An independent jury assembled by the RAIC selected the design for its approach to landscape, sustainability principles, and its balance between conservation, heritage, Indigenous perspectives, and visitor experience, among other considerations.
Parks Canada secured funding in 2022 to support a long-term vision for the 200-block of Banff Avenue, intended to advance conceptual design work and initiate detailed site studies, as well as engagement with Indigenous communities, stakeholders, and the public. Feedback gathered during this process identified the redevelopment as an opportunity to modernize facilities and public spaces in downtown Banff, a resort town located within Banff National Park. The design competition was first announced by Parks Canada in June 2025, beginning with a pre-qualification phase for design teams. The institution received 44 complete submissions, from which six multidisciplinary teams were selected to advance to the competition stage. The proposals then underwent public consultation and technical review before the jury recommended its selected design to Parks Canada.
According to the jury, the proposal by Paul Raff Studio and Kengo Kuma & Associates provided the strongest framework from which to further develop the project while maintaining the original spirit of the design. The submission was recognized for treating landscape and architecture as integrated elements, acknowledging outdoor public space and connections to nature as central and complementary to the interior program. The jury also highlighted the proposal's balance between conservation, heritage, Indigenous perspectives, and visitor experience, as well as its sustainability strategy and flexibility for future refinement. The selected concept does not represent the project's final design, but rather the foundation upon which subsequent development phases will build.
The future visitor centre is intended to function as a community space in the center of Banff, reflecting values of conservation, stewardship, and inclusivity while prioritizing visitor experience, outdoor space, and sustainability. Banff National Park receives more than four million visitors annually and forms part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site, while also serving as a major destination within western Canada's tourism industry. The next phase of the project will involve negotiations between Parks Canada and the winning design team to refine the proposal and establish a construction contract. Future stages remain dependent on funding, approvals, and further design development, which is currently underway.
Kengo Kuma & Associates was recently announced as the lead architect for a renovation project transforming the 15-acre campus of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art near Philadelphia, in collaboration with landscape architecture firm Field Operations. The project includes the renovation of the historic museum building, a new museum structure designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates, and landscape and conservation interventions by Field Operations. Other recent developments in cultural architecture include progress on the first phase of Casanova + Hernandez's renovation of the National Historical Museum in Tirana, expected to be completed this year; construction progress on The Whale by Dorte Mandrup, located approximately 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle; and Cobe's project to transform a former IKEA warehouse into a new site for the Museum of Furniture Studies in Älmhult.
