?My inspiration for this project comes from this idea of using the landscape as a relief to the content within the building,? said Alfred Waugh. He is speaking of the newly opened Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre that he designed on the University of British Columbia?s Vancouver campus. The project is personal for him: Waugh is affiliated with the Fond Du Lac (Denesuline) Nation of northern Saskatchewan, and his mother went through residential school. The Centre, which opened in April, is intended to be a space for dialogue, learning and healing? bridging the gap in knowledge about Indigenous people in Canada, and the implications of the residential school system.
Designed by Alfred Waugh, MRAIC, the new Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre is a landmark forum for confronting a harsh legacy. Photo: UBC / Paul Joseph Waugh was challenged to design a building that evokes Indigenous culture while not making specific reference to any one community as the space is meant for all. ?We learned from our consultation with Musqueam Elders that residential schools felt like prisons, with small confining windows,? said Waugh. ?The Elders requested abundant glazing to connect the inside to natural landscape and provide a relief from the emotional content of the digital exhibitory.? The Centre has a space devoted to Elders, a kitchen, boardroom and offices upstairs, and digital exhibition space downstairs.
The building sits below street level, nestled...