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Mizhakiiwetung Memorial School

Located north of Kenora, the 4 515 m² Mizhakiiwetung Memorial School is designed to be in three parts to represent the three Ojibway communities making up Wabaseemong Independent Nations - White Dog, One Man Lake and Swan Lake. The design also clearly distinguishes grades K-8, 9-12 and shared community use functions. The three parts face onto three uniquely designed outdoor courtyards which integrate the building with its site and within the community.

A circular outdoor entrance courtyard creates a focus for the building from both inside and out. Separate entrances for grades K-8 and 9-12 provide a sense of identity and graduation for student groups with different ages and levels of maturity.

Heating and cooling are provided by a hybrid geothermal and high-efficiency electrical boiler system, which takes advantage of closed loop geothermal opportunities from nearby decommissioned sewage lagoons. Classroom corridors and clerestory lighting passively collect solar heat and act as a return air plenum to an air-to-air heat exchanger at the mechanical room. Overhangs limit extra solar heat gain in summer.

Local colours of the medicine wheel; red, white, yellow and black, are incorporated into the design to reinforce pride in local values and culture.