CANADIAN ARCHITECT 08/21
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dk Architecture DAVE KITAZAKI, JAMES DAVIES NORTH VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
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A member of Xaxli’p First Nation in the British Columbia interior, Dave Kitazaki is committed to using his profession to help Indigenous people across B.C. take back and celebrate their cultures—all while adding structures to house needed services and enhance economic development. “It’s about people seeing themselves and being proud of who they are,” says the North Vancouver-based principal of dk Architecture, founded in 2014. The new administration and health office for Yaqan Nukiy in Creston, B.C., is shaped like a sturgeon-nosed canoe (also known as a Kootenai Canoe), and, at the request of the chief, includes a central meeting room that resembles a sweat lodge. The resemblance is in basic form only— rather than a dark, smoky space, the room soars upwards to a spectacular oculus. When it opened this summer, the Lower Kootenay Band got more than an administrative building—they’re being welcomed into a living space that reflects and elevates the community’s traditions. In most places, a health and social services complex would be considered a standard building, but in a First Nations context, it may double as an in-
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formal community centre. “A medical building isn’t just a doctor’s office,” says Kitazaki. “It can also be the main hub, a gathering place—so it carries much more meaning.” To illustrate, he points to the Skeetchestn Health Centre, outside Kamloops, B.C. Located at the core of Skeetchestn First Nation’s new business development area, it’s a health facility first and foremost. But after medical staff have left for the day, the building’s central room becomes a community meeting space where people can hang out, adding an indoor equivalent to its large sheltered outdoor area. Inside, the wooden ceiling plane is lifted on clerestory glazing, creating a single continuous plane with the wooden canopy outside, to striking effect. To achieve results that enhance collective well-being, Kitazaki underscores the importance of understanding that First Nations are not monolithic. “All First Nations are unique, and each has its own culture, ceremonies and history,” he says. What’s more, the process—from feasibility study to design and construction—is different from working with non-Indigenous clients. With First Nations, the client is a larger
2021-07-21 12:32 PM
