Award

78 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 Red Crow Community College R EN D ER I N GS CO U RT E S Y R ED C ROW CO M M U N I T Y CO L L EG E RED CROW COMMUNITY COLLEGE by ROBIN BRUNET A strong sense of community, congregation, and above all a fierce commitment to education: these are some of the elements that define the Kainai First Nation, and they also helped inspire the design of the new Red Crow Community College (RCCC) in Stand Off, Alberta. As the first tribal college in Canada (established in 1986), RCCC is an accredited steward of The Kainai and preserver of the Blackfoot cul- ture. It was originally located inside the former St. Mary's Residential School, but a fire destroyed the building in 2015. Red Crow relo- cated to an old elementary school in Stand Off, and a plan supported by the community and grounded in labour market and economic research was developed to re-estab- lish facilities and programming. Funding for a new 9,888-square- metre, two-storey college that could ultimately accommodate up to 900 students (as well as serve as a commu- nity hub for Blackfoot culture) proved to be both challenging and rewarding, according to Lori Van Rooijen, project director, Larkspur Consulting Inc. She says: "The College received an $8-million insurance settlement for St. Mary's, and that was enough to retain Kasian Architecture and kick off the design process in January of 2019. Then a deal was worked out whereby the federal and provin- cial governments agreed to match the $20 million offered by the Chief and Council, and the monies were received just in time: the project was tendered in July and ground broke in September of 2020." The challenge for a design team led by Kasian associate Meghan Larway was to amalgamate Kasian's exten- sive experience in post-secondary buildings with its passion for creating mixed-use facilities, while forming a genuine understanding of traditional knowledge and Blackfoot culture. Judith MacDougall, principal at Kasian, says extensive roundtable engagement with the community, RCCC staff, and Elders was under- taken, and six design drivers were created: Blackfoot identity; Kinship; Inclusivity; Inspiration; Innovation; and Resiliency. "For example, we learned that everything has a spirit for the Blackfoot, so we took this into account when we sourced materials," MacDougall says. Inclusivity took the form of learning spaces accessible to one another, and also to the outdoors. The large, east-facing entrance was designed "to be very welcoming," MacDougall says. "We created a simple glass structure 35-feet high with wood columns and a honeycomb ceiling, with the gym, kitchens, library, and other components arranged off that." Many spaces were designed for mul- tiple purposes: the gym can also be used for dance celebrations, funerals, weddings, and other events. The design of a round room (a functional spiritual centre for Elders) was subtly based on a cere- monial Straight-up headdress. "This translated into tall, vertical shapes and a wood lattice for patterning," MacDougall says. Capping all of this was a low, sloped roof that forms a protective cover for outdoor activities. Samantha Fox, VP at RCCC, cred- its Kasian for paying close attention to orientation. "The atrium entrance faces east and the rising sun, which is of vital importance to Blood Tribe," she says. "Also, Chief Mountain can be seen from every western window; and space to the northeast was allotted for views of the Circle Camp." Clark Builders constructed RCCC on shallow foundations as a structural steel and laminated timber building. Branden Chudleigh, senior project manager at Clark Builders, says, "The soils are a highly plastic clay with minimal top soil. We stripped the site and had to build up the pad, as there is significant slope on the one end of the site, and then we proceeded to install belled cast-in-place piles to support the structure." Chudleigh adds, "The weather in this area was a challenge, especially with the winds, which slowed down progress throughout the project. We even had one wind well over 100km/ hr that caused major damages to the installed roofing, exterior walls, and materials stored outside." Van Rooijen says, "Clark should be commended for sourcing Indigenous workers from aboriginal-owned St. Mary's Construction. Between Clark and the subtrades, the work- force for the project was 55 percent Indigenous on average." Clark was equally skilled in surmount- ing supply issues that arose as a result of the COVID lockdowns. The new RCCC building is intended to be part of a larger cam- pus of learning. "The plan is for the old elementary school – which was assessed by Kasian – to be reno- vated and the potential for another new facility to be constructed on site," Van Rooijen explains. Earlier this year, when media reported that RCCC would open for students in the fall, the school's pres- ident Roy Weasel Fat said: "Kasian has been instrumental in creating a new space that works for our whole community and aligns with our val- ues. Our campus is infused with, and firmly rooted in, Blackfoot culture." A LOCATION Blood 148, Stand Off, Alberta OWNER Red Crow Community College DEVELOPER Larkspur Consulting Inc. ARCHITECT Kasian Architecture GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Clark Builders STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT RJC Engineers MECHANICAL /ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Williams Engineering L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Scatliff + Miller + Murray TOTAL SIZE 9,888 square metres TOTAL COST $48 million

• Cover