s.no has been working in collaboration with Kasian Architecture to design the territory’s first purpose-built convention centre. The Yukon Gathering Place (YGP) welcomes the community back to the river. This project meets Whitehorse’s growing demand for a modern, versatile event space that remains deeply connected to the site’s heritage and culture, while fostering local economic growth. The state-of-the-art gathering   facility draws inspiration from a place of movement, meeting, and gathering – past and present.

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This project has significant meaning to the Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) who are the caretakers of the original Yukon gathering place , Miles Canyon, as it will be constructed on land from which they were displaced. This new Yukon Gathering Place is a continuation of KDFN and other Nations’ history and celebrates the multiculturalism of the Yukon, working toward the advancement of reconciliation in the North. 

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The Gathering Place’s riverside site along Chu Níikwän (Yukon River) has always been a significant place to gather. Through the many years of displacement, the Kwanlin Dün First Nation people, and other Nations, were removed from the land and river they so carefully cared for. With the creation of the YGP, the community is finally welcomed back to the river, reclaiming this significant site and sharing it with the thousands of visitors that will be hosted annually.

Stretching from east to west, the site faces clay cliffs, boreal forest, Grey Mountain, and the meandering Yukon River, offering an extraordinary experience that is unique to the Yukon and unparalleled for a convention centre anywhere else in Canada.

The Yukon Gathering Place will consist of exhibition and meeting space, banquet facilities and a hotel.  The full-service space will accommodate up to 1000 guests and support a variety of uses including cultural events, conferences, performances, and festivals. A direct link between the Yukon Gathering Place and the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre (KDCC) establishes a cultural precinct within the downtown core.

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The design draws its meandering form from the land and river. The winding river’s course – oxbows and meanders – compose a narrative of fluid landscapes and movement, creating in-between spaces that lend themselves to the informal areas (lobby, pre-function, breakout and gallery) of the Yukon Gathering Place.

The building is wrapped in vertical battens which echo dappled light between slender tree trunks and sparse branches of the pine and spruce forest surrounding Whitehorse, filtering views entering the YGP. Designed for a subarctic climate with long winters and short summers, placement of public and breakout spaces leverage exposure to limited daylight hours in the winter and maximize sunlight for passive solar heating. The building’s design reflects a deep respect for the land by minimizing its environmental impact and preserving the natural balance of the site.