Formline Architecture
Occupancy: July 1, 2017
Construction Budget: $2.7 million
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC) is a transformative project that addresses the colonial legacy of residential schools and other policies imposed by the Canadian government on Indigenous Peoples, and ensures that this history is acknowledged, examined and understood within the UBC community. The physical displacement of architectonic volumes becomes an analogue to the reconciliation process itself, which is first obliged to mark ruptures, and then seeks to heal them. The dialogue of the building and the reconfigured landscape bowl reinvigorate this part of the campus, creating a place for students to pause and reflect.
Project Credits:
Client - University of British Columbia Properties Trust
Development Manager / Owner Representative - David Poettcker
Structural Engineer - Bush Bohlman & Partners, Mike Mariotto
Mechanical - Smith + Andersen, Graeme Terris
Electrical - Applied Engineering Solutions, Paul Luhman
Landscape Architect - PFS Studio, Chris Philips
Envelope Consultant - JRS Engineering, Leigh Rollins
Code Consultant - LMDG, Tim Clarke
Mass Timber Specialist - Structurlam Products LP, Colin Chornohus
Wood Specialist - Nicola Logworks, John Boys
Construction Manager - BIRD Construction, Steve Grafstorm
Photography - Andrew Latreille
PHOTO - Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.
PHOTO - Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.
PHOTO - Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.
PHOTO - Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.
PHOTO - Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.
PHOTO - Andrew Latreille Photography Ltd.
This project deals with the difficult topic of reconciliation and trauma and addresses it in an architecture that challenges the common aesthetic perception. The community-driven process brings symbolism and generates dialogue through its overall assembly of elements. The jury felt the project delicately balanced this complexity.
2022 Jury