Individuation: A Heroic Journey through the Canadian Shield

Abstract

The thesis explores how elemental architecture in collaboration with the Shield can manifest a threshold condition in which a modern day hero myth can be enacted in the Canadian wilderness. Through the lens of Joseph Campbell, Tom Thomson and the archetypal structures of the Finns and Algonkians, a design proposal is derived for a Waterway Park in the Algonquin region that expands the mandate of the Ontario Parks System. In the realm of psychology, Carl Gustav Jung defines individuation as a universal quest that encourages facing and overcoming ones internal demons in order to live a more integrated existence. Located in Oxtongue River Ragged Falls Provincial Park, this proposed experimental pilgrimage retreat connects a series of primary and secondary paths to cabins, a sweat lodge and a chapel. This model illustrates a method of inhabiting a protected wilderness site that can be applied to existing and future Parks to inspire a condition of corporeal and spiritual rejuvenation in Ontario’s near North.