sandspit school & community centre

The existing facility serving School District 50 Haida Gwaii and the surrounding community needed to be replaced, but the budget to build a new community school and health clinic was extremely limited. Through an extensive study, SOA and SD 50 made the financial case for a new modular building, one which would pay for itself in a short period of time using offset maintenance and operation savings from the previous one. Budgetary issues led to SOA developing a creative solution that followed modular construction constraints, but still allowed for an elegant design response fitting both the local terrain and Aboriginal culture. The result was a mix of modular construction and site-built exterior elements, including cedar cladding and heavy timber. This new school includes a community library, a health clinic for Northern Health, a community cooking kitchen and community gardens.