Nestled on the corner of a mature, tree-lined neighbourhood—and a ten-minute walk from the City of Winnipeg’s main pediatric health facility—sits the new Ronald McDonald House Manitoba.

A two-storey high play structure greets families upon arrival, anchoring the building to the site and providing a comforting sight to children requiring hospital care. Once inside, the lobby welcomes families into the house, sharing glimpses of the kitchen and play areas. It also provides access to the Magic Room, which sits behind a nondescript door.

While play and imagination elevate the home, the concept of a home away from home and the holistic health and well-being of the guest families, staff, and volunteers guided the form and function of the design. We were conscious of using materials that would not affect the children’s health or recovery from medical treatments and surgery.

Spaces throughout the home encourage movement, gathering, and healing, allowing for moments of community and wellness. Guest families can relax in a living room warmed by a fireplace or prepare meals in the bright and spacious communal kitchen, where light pours through the floor-to-ceiling windows and brings sights of the courtyard’s healing garden and play area inside. Other gathering spaces inside the house allow for practicing yoga, watching movies, playing games, and making crafts, and a meditation room with an exhaust system for Indigenous families who want to smudge.

The second, third, and fourth floors feature 40 individual bedrooms with private washrooms, including critical environment suites on the second floor. These critical environment suites possess enhanced safety and infection controls serving kidney or bone marrow transplant patients and their families (for post-transplant isolation), including separate elevators, entry points, and dedicated Energy Recovery Ventilators.

The new home offers an environment built on the intrinsic power of community, allowing families to stay together, and empowering them to stand strong in the face of uncertainty.

For more about how the Ronald McDonald House organization is such an important support to families, please visit https://www.rmhcmanitoba.org/.