“Conceptualizing the Technical: Dene Nahjo Cultural and Social Innovation Centre” Studio led by James Huemoeller

This spring, James Huemoeller will be teaching a graduate comprehensive studio at UBC SALA titled “Conceptualizing the Technical: Dene Nahjo Cultural and Social Innovation Centre” with Joanne Gates and Chris Macdonald.

This studio will focus on conceptualizing technical material in the design process. In this current project, that program describes a new building for the Dene Nahjo Cultural and Social Innovation Centre, in Yellowknife. The building is made up of a range of programmatic elements intended to foster community and occurs within an historical context of the National project for Truth and Reconciliation.

The vision for the Dene Cultural and Social Innovation Centre is to be a place for and by Dene people that reflects the culture, language and traditions of the Dene people. The Centre will be a place for Indigenous communities to focus on cultural preservation, revitalization and connection to the land. It will be a be a welcoming spiritual gathering space, with children cherished at the center. Honouring Dene culture and Dene ways of life are the guiding principles for all aspects of the project. The building will be designed to reflect Dene Culture with innovative interpretations of how culture can be expressed from site planning and selection, spatial organization, to a sense of materiality and sense of place.

“As a land-based people, Dene have always relied on hunting, trapping, and fishing to survive. But these activities are more than a utilitarian practice of survival, they are integral parts of our culture. Dene do not just take. We have a reciprocal relationship with the land and we must give back to it. Respecting and protecting the land, the water, the animals, and the plants is part of the Dene way of life.” – Dene Nahjo

With this in mind the Dene Cultural and Social Innovation Centre will have a seamless relationship to the land. It will be designed targeting the highest levels of sustainability in the building industry, responding to, respecting, nurturing and regenerating the natural environment. The gathering spaces will have a direction connection to the outdoors; always grounding the build-ing in Denedeh. The building will be designed to have a small operational footprint, both environmentally, but also in term of operating costs. The building program is intended to be self-sustaining, generating the revenue required to keeps parts of the building alive.