B.C. Indigenous architects say building design can support reconciliation and wellbeing

The Story

Alfred Waugh, an Indigenous architect based in West Vancouver, says Indigenous participation in architecture can bring “a lot more investment of soul and spirit” into a building than working with a non-Indigenous group.

Waugh, who was born and raised in Yellowknife and later studied architecture after education in Alberta, said his approach to design focuses on how buildings connect people with nature and create welcoming spaces. “With an Indigenous group, they're more concerned about: How does this building interconnect us with nature? What's the dialogue? Is it going to make people feel welcoming and inclusive?” he said.

Waugh said his path into architecture was shaped by encouragement from his mother, who came from the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation in northern Saskatchewan, and that when he began the work in the 1990s, it was not common for an Indigenous person to pursue architecture. He said people were often advised to become a lawyer to help fight for First Nations’ rights or a doctor to improve health outcomes.

Waugh also connected architecture to wellbeing, saying people can respond to a building in ways they do not always notice. “By improving your built environment or even your outdoor landscape spaces between buildings, you're enhancing someone's well-being,” he said. “And that's part of healing not only for us, but it's also part of bringing all of us together.”

One project in progress highlighted by Waugh is the new home for the Vancouver Art Gallery, which is in the design phase, with Formline Architecture + Urbanism among the architectural firms selected for the work.

Ouri Scott, the principal of Vancouver-based Urban Arts Architecture Inc., said she is the first registered Indigenous female architect in B.C. and described architecture as “also a huge chance for reconciliation.” She added it also creates economic opportunities within Indigenous communities.

Scott said her firm focuses much of its work on building with wood, which she said supports Indigenous people going through trade programs and enables First Nations to participate in the procurement process. She said her firm sets sustainability targets while also honouring ancestors and stewardship. “Maybe it's protecting a sensitive habitat on site or reducing energy use or making sure that it has a really high-performing building envelope, so that it uses less energy,” she said.

Waugh described how he incorporates Indigenous ways of knowing into Western architectural methods, including sustainability and building comfort technologies. For example, he said the First Peoples House at the University of Victoria used “displacement ventilation,” bringing cool air in at the bottom while heat rises, which he linked to concepts he said Coast Salish people used in longhouse design.

Waugh also discussed a Saskatoon Central Library project he designed, describing it as one of the largest mass-timber libraries in Canada and noting that 40 per cent of the site is landscaped. He said the building’s curved, elongated form and exterior walls angled at about 10 degrees draw on teepee structures used by Indigenous peoples of the Prairies and on later use of canvas by settlers.

Scott said one project she is particularly proud of is the Housing and Healing Centre for the Aboriginal Land Trust in Vancouver, which she described as being designed like a longhouse wrapped in a blanket to honour warmth extended to guests.

Waugh and Scott both said Indigenous architectural values can resonate beyond Indigenous communities, with Scott saying, “A lot of the values that Indigenous people hold are universal values,” adding that work done “for us” is also for “everybody.”