Members of the UCAMA Board and the Ukrainian Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta and the Museum of the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League of Canada (UCWLC), Edmonton Eparchy were invited to two workshops with the architects to discuss the aspirations and requirements for the new facility. Participants were invited to explain the value of their collections and describe how they believed their collection should be displayed, archived, stored, restored and repaired and how the public were expected to interface with these functions. More importantly, participants were invited to explain the role their organisation plays in the identification and development of Ukrainian culture and the service they provided (and wished to provide) to the community. It was apparent that the participants had a strong desire to develop a ‘model for small museum design in Canada’ and how inadequate their existing facilities were in providing the desired level of service to the public. The building should have a regional, national and international reputation and strive to provide a facility that celebrates the urban contribution of Ukrainians in a new land. Throughout the workshops a number of consistent themes and requirements emerged that are both emotive and figurative and begin to describe the design brief and the identity for the new building. While it was accepted that the building would contain the principal functions of the ethnographic display, the library and the archive, what became apparent from the discussions was the requirement to develop a building that could accommodate a variety of functions and provide synergy to the activities within. The key design directors and characteristics were identified as follows, ‘...we want Edmonton’s Ukrainians to have a great facility’, appreciate and welcome community outreach programs, provide a strong educational component, impart our knowledge to a new generation, complement other Ukrainian cultural and historical facilities, celebrate the uniqueness of the collection, ‘a living breathing facility’ , hold international exhibitions, provide onsite parking, be flexible and responsive to change, multi-functional, growth potential, provide identity, engage with visitors, have a street presence, generate revenue, dynamic, welcoming to all ethnic groups, non institutional design, focus on the value of the collection, be innovative, provide cohesion to the components, integrity and honesty, to be elegant, to be accessible, inviting, memorable, the interaction of public and private areas.....