20 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
LIVINGMAG.CAFIRST AND FOREMOST
green cAme up with the Answer: build four houses with
18 families in each house – or pod – characterized by their own distinct
art, colour palettes and identities for toddlers to teens, but intercon-
nected by common spaces, and their own kitchens. Oncology and other
diagnoses were in a different house than short-term families. The longest
family residency has been a staggering 497 consecutive days.
Following an 18-month build, the new Ronald McDonald House opened
in 2014. Like stepping onto the pages of a child’s storybook, adults enter
the building through a large door while children have their own pint-
size entrance into the grand living room. “When we asked families what
they’d like in the new building, a little three-year-old girl said ‘a slide,’”
Pass relates.
And sure enough, a canary yellow tube slide snakes its way down from
the second-storey landing right into a living room. A gigantic submarine fish
tank designed and built by Jeff Tom of Something Fishy Aquariums Inc. also
provides a mesmerizing gathering spot for kids and parents alike.
Timber architecture introduced by Green in Douglas fir, and interior“WE’VE TRIED TO THINK OF
EVERYTHING FROM PRIVATE AREAS
FOR THE NOT-SO-GOOD DAYS TO
PUBLIC SPACES WHERE FAMILIES
CAN CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER
AND OTHER FAMILIES.”
— RICHARD PASSTHE 74,000-SQUARE-FOOT BUILDING
DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT MICHAEL
GREEN IS NOW THE FIFTH LARGEST
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE IN
THE WORLDED WHITE