This new public building for the Tl’azt’en First Nation will be located in their remote community of Tachie, in north-central British Columbia. The intent is to provide an important gathering place and shared public amenities as a focal point for the community, imbued with Tl’azt’en culture and language, and proudly supporting their empowerment and their identity as a people.

The project is one of two new buildings resulting from extensive engagement with the community. Guided by a master plan, prepared by MMA in collaboration with the Tl’azt’en, the building will form the first phase of a cluster of interrelated public service buildings, which can be constructed incrementally as funding is secured.

The public service buildings are arranged to form three sides of an outdoor gathering space. The interplay of forms suggests a grouping of shelters, huddled with their backs to the forest and wind, and facing a protected communal space at the centre that opens to the lake and southern sun. “Tl’azt’en” means “people by the edge of the water” in the Dakelh language, hence the relationship with the lake is fundamental. The Community Centre occupies the west half of the site (with the future administration and public works building to the east) and will house an event hall, commercial kitchen, fitness studio, child-minding space, and an adult education centre complete with a suite of classrooms and meeting spaces. A linear welcome hall will link the programs together and provide an important space for socializing and cultural displays.

Designed as simple extrusions of a gabled shelter, the wings of the building reach out to gather the community to its lee. The north wing, oriented perpendicular to the lake, houses the adult education program and frames the rear of the site. The west wing projects towards the lake with the community event hall at its southern terminus, having prime views of the village and lake.

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