Thetford Mines Community Center

Thetford Mines, Québec, is a city forged by the discovery of asbestos in the late 19th century. For decades, the city prospered from the value of this mineral after opening multiple mines, but this economic boom came at the cost of human rights and environmental safety. In the mid 20th century, 5 000 asbestos miners began a strike over poor wages and working conditions, an event which eventually became known as one of the most violent and historically significant labour conflicts in Canada. This struggle to fight for workers' rights helped shape what Québec is today.

The last of the Thetford mines closed in 2012, leaving behind massive mountains of mine waste called “tailings” that still tower over the town. These hills of tailings contain residual asbestos fibers that are a respiratory hazard, while flooded open-pit mines act as physically deep barriers that divide the community.

The path to recovery has already started with industry leaders like Deep Sky, who have already started removing the environmental hazards. Once the hazardous tailings have been permanently stabilized and the landscape is safe for public re-entry, the project can begin.

This project consists of a small community center aiming to honor the history of Thetford Mines and to encourage community healing after decades of fighting. This pavilion holds two main stories, with the ground floor hosting a common area for the community to work together on projects, tell stories, etc., with a panoramic view of the open pit mine lake. The second story is a lookout point with a small lounge area. This community center will be placed in the stabilized mine landscape of the King Beaver Mine Lake, using geothermal energy for sustainable heating.

Sources:

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thetford-mines

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/24/news/thetford-asbestos-mine-reclamation

Tinkercad was used for the modelling of the community center.

The location is in the city of Thetford Mines, floating on the King Beaver Mine Lake, at the point closer to the city.

The cavity of the open pit mine was simulated with the cavity of a mountain shape, and a blue translucent block in the middle to illustrate the water.

The structure of the community center was made with a combination of half circles, circles, and rectangular blocks.

The interior is filled with tables, chairs, couches, storage for supplies. This is to cultivate the idea of community and togetherness, to work on projects together, to tell stories, to reflect, etc. all with the historical mine site in front.

The landscape has a bit of green on the side with some trees.

The pavilion’s structure rises on support columns made of high-strength reinforced concrete upcycled from local mine tailings, permanently trapping residual asbestos fibers in a solid cement matrix. Heavy-duty timber beams support the oak flooring loads. The stairs are made of grooved local granite. The exterior consists of steel panels with thick, insulated glass curtain walls to keep the heat in and cold out.

The pavilion uses a geothermal loop as its main energy source, drawing natural thermal energy from the depths of the flooded open-pit mine. This clean energy loop pipes heat directly into the floor heaters and ventilation, to keep the inside warm and glass frost-free.

Source for the diagram:

https://fity.club/lists/g/geothermal-heating-depth/

The upcycled mine tailings use the waste left behind at the King Beaver Mine site as a structural aggregate substitute for traditional sand and gravel in the concrete mixture. This reduces the cost for new raw material and transportation, and is safe because the residual asbestos fibers are trapped in the cement matrix.

The community center has an open layout, minimizing the internal walls and allowing for a faster build. With this, construction can use simple casting methods or modular framing, simplifying the assembly process.

The geothermal loop is a clean, efficient heating method that eliminates the dependence on fossil fuels or solar panels that might not be reliable in cold climates.

Here is the final version! The complete file is too large to be displayed here, but the open mine pit model can be shown.

Thank you for reading!