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84 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 Sakāskohc High School P H OTO G R A P H Y BY K I N G ROS E V I SUA L S/CO U RT E S Y AO D B T A RC H I T EC T U R E + I N T ER I O R D E S I G N SAKĀSKOHC HIGH SCHOOL by ROBIN BRUNET LOCATION Seekaskootch l.r. 119, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan OWNER /DEVELOPER Onion Lake Cree Nation ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGN aodbt architecture + interior design GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Quorex Construction Services Ltd. STRUCTUR AL /MECHANICAL /ELECTRICAL / CIVIL CONSULTANT Associated Engineering TOTAL SIZE 65,000 square feet TOTAL COST Undisclosed L ike so many communi- ties involved in the energy industry, the 6,500 member Onion Lake Cree Nation (OLCN) of Saskatchewan is expected to grow in coming years – which is why it was necessary for the new Sakāskohc High School to be developed. Based on the OLCN's firm belief that students must prepare to partici- pate and appreciate First Nations as well as non-First Nations worlds, the Sakāskohc High School is a state-of- the-art facility with substantial space dedicated to practical and applied arts, a lecture theatre, and full dou- ble-court gymnasium with elevated running track. The school is anchored by a large student commons and caf- eteria (which can double as a study space), while the site has been mas- ter-planned to connect a future community aquatics facility meant to enhance recreational opportunities. Students, teachers, administrators, the education director, and Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief and coun- cil members were engaged to identify the vision of the new school; archi- tects Dallas Huard and Leif Friggstad, principals at aodbt architecture + inte- rior design, often find this portion of a project especially energizing as it reveals the goals, dreams, and ideas of the communities' members, while also establishing early "ownership" of the building even before the first sketch has been drawn. Aodbt's initial task, after success- fully procuring the project in 2016, was to assist the owners in navigat- ing Indigenous Services Canada's (ISC) School Space Accommodation Standards, for right-sizing of the potential new facility. OLCN already had three schools completed with ISC, so it was tasked to justify this new facility on the grounds of community growth as well as how the grade splits would be redistributed throughout the remaining existing facilities. While the aesthetic of some First Nations learning facilities is tradi- tionally colourful, the OLCN wanted something less overt and more time- less, "and this translated into many interesting solutions, including exten- sive use of stone and a lot of beige," Friggstad says. One of the most elegant solu- tions, however, was the extensive use of circular forms, the circle being of key spiritual importance to many First Nations. "We designed the interior walking areas to have lots of changing radius curves and semi-circles cutting into each other, and even the central stairway is a curved shape," Friggstad says. The circular structures are most apparent near the double-height entry (which on the exterior is highlighted by a floating cross laminated timber canopy) and are augmented by a spec- tacular ceiling arc of CLT as well as floor-to-ceiling glazing at the far end. According to Friggstad, "The graceful interplay of circular forms was the result of many design iterations, and they also supported our focus on function because the circular stairs and curved walkways lead to other parts of the school." In a similar vein, the cultural room for Elders is a tapering ellipse whose structure is highlighted by a series of timber columns that reach a clere- story lantern high above. "This was an inverted take of the traditional teepee vernacular," Friggstad explains. Quorex Construction Services Ltd. broke ground on the site in July of 2019. "Typically, with First Nations projects we hire both skilled and unskilled local labour, but for this project we were fortunate in that Onion Lake has a lot of skilled mem - bers, so instead of providing 16,000 hours of work as we originally thought we wound up providing over 30,000 hours," says Quorex president and CEO Cory Richter. "The OLCN even has a large earthworks company that did the earthworks plus sewer and water for this project." While soil conditions on the greenfield site were generally good, Richter notes that the school had to be built into a hillside, "So we built retaining walls on either end of the school. This was after we cleared trees, drained some sloughs, and moved thousands of yards of earth to prepare for the construc- tion of the building, which was steel frame and load bearing masonry walls on a concrete foundation." Quorex also worked closely with OLCN to ensure the safety of Cree members as well as its own crew when the pandemic broke out. As a result, there were no work delays, and the new school was substantially com- pleted by the spring of 2021. "Close collaboration with OLCN was key to this project's success," Richter says. Friggstad adds that in retro- spect, the process that required the most patience "was the sequence of approvals that had to be under- taken to get the school to the tender stage. Otherwise, Sak āskohc High School was a fulfilling experience, in no small way due to the enthusi- asm and creative input provided by Onion Lake stakeholders and res- idents. It's a fortuitous outcome when what the architects envision dovetails with what the end users and the community want." A

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