Ontario Construction News staff writer
Smoke Architecture and Moriyama & Teshima Architects have been chosen to design Mukqua Waakaa’igan – Algoma University’s new Indigenous centre of cultural excellence.
The $18-million project will be built in Sault Ste. Marie, where the university’s east wing and Doc Brown Lounge currently stands. Construction is expected to start in late spring 2022.
The name Mukqua Waakaa’igan was given to the project through ceremony in recognition of its deep significance. In Anishinaabemowin, Mukqua, the bear, is a carrier of medicine, and as such a healer; Waakaa’igan refers to its lodge or den. Algoma University has pledged to ensure that the significance of this name is reflected throughout the project’s functional design.
“We’re really excited to be able to work closely with the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association, Indigenous and community partners and Algoma University to help bring their vision for Mukqua Waakaa’igan to life,” said Eladia Smoke, Principal Architect at Smoke Architecture.
Consultations on the building design are expected to occur throughout December, while work to search the former residential school site continues.
The new facility will serve as a centre of cultural excellence for the country – a place where people of all cultures will be welcomed from around the world to share and learn from and with each other as part of the University’s commitment to creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive place for cross-cultural understanding, teaching, learning and research.
“Mukqua Waakaa’igan will showcase the decades of ‘truth telling’ work led by the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre,” said Algoma University President and Vice-Chancellor Asima Vezina.
“As part of our commitments to the Calls to Action, Mukqua Waakaa’igan will provide a safe and culturally appropriate space to house and care for the archives from the residential schools history, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation Collection and other important historical documents.”
The university has said the site search is a priority, and construction will not start until the site search work in the project zoned area is completed and approval from the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and its Advisory Committee is given.
Smoke Architecture is a full-service Indigenous-owned architecture firm focused on First Nations and Indigenous projects. Moriyama & Teshima Architects is an award-winning architecture and planning firm specializing in inclusive and intercultural approaches that transform communities and reinforce civic identity.
Mukqua Waakaa’igan was conceptualized to serve as a centre of cultural excellence for the country – a place where people of all cultures will be welcomed from around the world to share and learn from and with each other as part of the University’s commitment to creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive place for cross-cultural understanding, teaching, learning and research.