Award

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 | 87 NorthWest Community Lodge 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 ; SA S K ATC H E WA N H E A LT H AU T H O R I T Y NORTHWEST COMMUNITY LODGE by ROBIN BRUNET T he grand opening in August of the NorthWest Community Lodge in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, was a long time coming and highly celebrated in the com- munity. Government funding for the 72-bed home was first announced in 2009, and the expertise of aodbt architecture + interior design and Binder Construction brought the proj- ect to fruition. Chris Thiele, director of continu- ing care NW, Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), says, "Great care was taken in NorthWest Community Lodge's development considering such long-term care homes typically stay in service for 50 to 60 years. In fact, the Northlands Pioneer Lodge that preceded this building had been oper- ational since 1955." The lodge was designed first and foremost to impart a home-like feel, with individual rooms for residents and relaxing common spaces filled with plenty of natural light. The layout of the facility consists of houses with 12 rooms in each house, plus a living room and dining space. Each room also contains a private bathroom com- plete with a shower. Jason Hurd, Leif Friggstad, and Nicole Tiessen, principals at aodbt architecture, all mention that the ini- tial design of 2009 was put on hold at the tender-ready drawings stage. In mid-2019 the SHA approved the project to be designed and tender ready by the end of the year. Along with the SHA, aodbt tweaked the design again, look- ing for opportunities to integrate more recent changes in ways the SHA is pro- viding long-term care in the province. Desirable living conditions in the lodge and efficiency of services depended very much on the lay- out, which Friggstad describes as "a pairing of three main spokes each consisting of three groups of 24 beds, arranged as 12 rooms adjacent to another group of 12 – this means 12 residents would live together and be self-contained. We designed one spoke to have shared services: laundry, spa, and logistical support; and a cen- tral hub contained a recreation room, hair salon, administrative, shipping/ receiving, and mechanical, along with an adult daycare program." In their tweaking of the design, the architects benefitted from tour- ing its design 'twin,' the Lloydminster Continuing Care Home. "Based on what we reviewed there in collaboration with the SHA, we revamped the kitchen, dining, and living spaces to improve clear sightlines and to make the kitchen the social hub," Friggstad says. Thiele adds, "The idea was to encourage residents to gather, smell the food, and watch the staff prepare meals or interact with them, or move to the sitting room to relax by the fire- place and watch T V. It's a very simple but effective idea that draws people out of their rooms." Friggstad continues, "We also used lots of wood motifs and glulam beams on the inside and wood-looking materi- als for the exterior, but not heavy timber as that had been used for the exterior of the Lloydminster facility and was expe- riencing maintenance challenges." Focusing the design on natural ele- ments wherever possible in the home (represented by different local ani- mals, plants, and trees)– serves as an aid for wayfinding to the residents. A point of pride for the operators of NorthWest Community Lodge is a family/ceremonial room for visi- tors that takes the form of a circular space. "We used stone tiles and wood finishes and it's one of the first things you see when you enter the building," Friggstad says. "It's very warm and inviting as we were looking to ensure the space was inclusive for all resi- dents and their visiting families." Thiele notes that, "We wanted to uphold our commitment to truth and reconciliation by including a fam- ily space that can also be used for Ceremony as the venting in the room was designed to allow for smudging or pipe ceremonies to take place. This ensures our residents have the ability to connect with their culture through Ceremony right in their own home." Binder Construction broke ground on site and quickly dealt with geotech- nical and other building issues, and even though the design and construc- tion schedule following the 2019 start was hurried, all parties are impressed by the outcome, especially SHA. Thiele concludes, "As soon as the residents moved into the facility we saw a difference in them, thanks to the natural light spilling through the lodge, home-like atmosphere, and the sense of openness. We continue to get rave reviews from residents and staff alike, so while the road to getting this project off the ground was long and in- depth, it was well worth it." A LOCATION Highway 14, Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan OWNER /DEVELOPER Saskatchewan Health Authority ARCHITECT aodbt architecture + interior design GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Binder Construction STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Prakash Consulting Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Arrow Engineering Inc. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT PWA Engineering TOTAL SIZE 6,737 square metres (total gross floor area) TOTAL COST $38 million

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