{"id":606240,"date":"2024-01-26T21:06:29","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T18:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/this-cozy-new-dorm-solved-one-b-c-colleges-student-housing-woes\/"},"modified":"2024-01-26T21:06:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T18:06:29","slug":"this-cozy-new-dorm-solved-one-b-c-colleges-student-housing-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-cozy-new-dorm-solved-one-b-c-colleges-student-housing-woes\/","title":{"rendered":"#This cozy new dorm solved one B.C. college’s student-housing woes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nIn remote B.C.,\u00a0Coast Mountain College\u2019s\u00a0nature-inspired dorm isn\u2019t just a place for pre-class power naps. It\u2019s a home away from home.\n<\/div>\n
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TIGHT QUARTERS: The black metal cladding on the dorm\u2019s exterior (above) was shaped to resemble Tsimshian and Chilkat weaving patterns, often found in clothing, blankets and jewellery. (Photography by Brit Kwasney)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Terrace, B.C., is a rugged town\u00a0a 15-hour drive north of Vancouver. It\u2019s the home of Coast Mountain College, which serves students from seven First Nations\u2014Haida, Haisla, Nisga\u2019a, Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en, Gitxsan, Tahltan and Tsimshian. Many travel<\/a> vast distances to earn their diplomas. And until recently, student housing was a major issue in Terrace, where rentals are scarce and students can\u2019t easily commute to class.<\/p>\n

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TURN OF THE WHEEL: The atrium is topped by a pinwheel-shaped cedar roof, inspired by traditional Northwest Coast Indigenous architecture, complete with a three-storey central skylight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In 2019, the college\u2019s First Nations council proposed the creation of a culturally inclusive dorm for its student body, then nearly half Indigenous. Over two years, the college worked with Vancouver\u2019s HCMA Architecture and Design to supplant its \u201970s-era, water-damaged dorms with a new design. By the fall of 2021, Coast Mountain\u2019s students had a new home: Wii Gyemsiga Siwilaawksat, a 230,000-square-foot, $21.6-million, three-storey residence whose name translates to \u201cwhere learners are content and comfortable\u201d in Sm\u2019algyax, a Tsimshian dialect.<\/p>\n

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BIRD\u2019S EYE VIEW: Each of the dorm\u2019s three floors has its own distinct nature theme<\/a>: leaves and water; huckleberries and salmon; and bluebirds and mountains, as seen above in K\u2019\u00fc\u00fcl goot, a first-floor cultural space.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Out went the typical post-secondary aesthetic of stark walls and fluorescent lighting and in came high-efficiency materials like steel-formed metal, able to withstand the harsh northern climate, and warm-toned cedar, a material traditionally used by the Tsimshian people. The building\u2019s \u201ccedar heart,\u201d a mass-timber central atrium, was constructed on-site. To shorten the project\u2019s timeline, the team had 36 prefab modular-housing units built by Modus Structures, a construction firm in Crossfield, Alberta, then shipped 1,400 kilometres via highway to Terrace. Upon arrival, they were stacked three high and affixed to the atrium, branching off to form six wings.<\/p>\n

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Wii Gyemsiga Siwilaawksat has the usual amenities, like shared kitchens and study rooms, plus some innovative extras. A common room is outfitted with an enhanced mechanical ventilation system to accommodate smudging ceremonies. A \u201cmaker space,\u201d designed with input from the college\u2019s own Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, is a studio where students can get creative without annoying their roommates. There are also two computer labs; one will be converted into a dedicated e-sports room this spring.<\/p>\n

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FINE ART: The dorm has more than 70 artworks by Indigenous creators like Nisga\u2019a artist Darryl Moore, who made the house post above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Since its grand opening, the dorm has been at full capacity\u2014and, lately, waitlisted\u2014housing newly independent teens and residential school survivors who\u2019ve enrolled in the college\u2019s continuing education programs. Its two guest suites, built for overnight stays, have also welcomed visiting loved ones\u2014in the rare instance a student gets homesick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n