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year

2021

client

Swan River First Nation

location

Swan River First Nation, Alberta, Canada

TAWAW role

Architectural Design

architect of record

Tawaw Architecture Collective Inc.

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1

Background

Cultural Exchange

 

The Swan River First Nation Cultural Center will be located in the Woodland Cree Community in Northern Alberta. The center offers a gathering space for community and a place for visitors to connect with the culture (arts, language, lifeways, and history) of the Woodland Cree peoples.

2

Approach

Symbolism

 

The building was co-designed with community, and references the circle, turtle, medicine wheel, and a series of astronomy-related teachings including the 13 moons.

 

3

number of community engagements
3

Impact

Interactive Program

The program, outlined below, includes a variety of activities that are designed to support local lifeways while offering visitors a chance to learn about this Northern Alberta community.

Program:

  • Gift Shop
  • Restaurant
  • Dance and Singing Rooms
  • Activity Rooms
  • Healing and Language Rooms
  • Elders Tea Room
  • Workshop
  • Interior Courtyard
  • Outdoor Gathering and Activity Area
Awards

Honorary Fellow


The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada is proud to announce that Wanda Dalla Costa, a prominent Indigenous voice and practitioner in North American architecture, has been awarded honorary fellowship for 2022. Wanda Dalla Costa is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and was the first First Nation woman to become an architect in Canada. Her firm, Tawaw Architecture Collective, is based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the director and founder of Arizona State University’s Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community-driven design and construction program that brings together tribal community members, industry and multidisciplinary teams of university students and faculty to co-design and co-develop solutions for tribal communities. Dalla Costa is a prominent Indigenous female voice within the architectural profession–specifically within the academic sphere in North America.
Awards

YBCA's 100 Honorees: Wanda Dalla Costa


Indigenous Design Collaborative's founder and design director Wanda Dalla Costa was recognized as YBCA 100 list of change makers and cultural activists working at the intersection of art, social change and civic life.
Awards

Trailblazer Award: Wanda Dalla Costa


Presented this year as part of NZ20, the world's largest net zero conference and expo, the Trailblazer Awards celebrate leaders who are building a net zero future through their work in the carbon, energy, water, waste, transit and/or policy sectors.
Awards

St. Lawrence Center Competition Award 2023

Awards

Jeff Harnar Award
Unbuilt Architecture 2021

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