Anishnawbe Health Centre is the heart of Toronto’s Indigenous Hub
January 30, 2026
Fast Company highlights unique design including stainless-steel chain fringe, traditional dress-inspired façade, and earth-connected healing spaces
The metallic fringe hanging down from the edge of the Anishnawbe Health Centre near downtown Toronto is the biggest indication that something different is happening here.
Created to provide centralized health care and traditional healing to the 90,000-strong Indigenous population of Toronto, the clinic is the centerpiece of the Indigenous Hub, a unique city block of development that consolidates and improves services to Toronto's Indigenous population. It includes the health clinic, a job training center, two residential towers, and public and private plazas.
The wraparound fringe of more than 12,000 strands of stainless-steel chain—the kind of aesthetic flourish easily targeted for elimination by the value engineers of a typical development—is just one of many elements of the project that put its Indigenous roots on full display on this block.
From services and building forms to the orientation of landscaping, the development embodies Indigenous traditions, practices, and principles in a way that’s wholly uncommon in most urban environments.
Michael Moxam shares a look at this iconic project with Fast Company.
