UBC – Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre

2022 Governor General Medal In Architecture Winner

UBC - Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre

Recipient of the 2022 Governor General’s Medal in Architecture as awarded by the Royal Architect Institute of Canada (RAIC) and Canada Council for Arts (CCA).

We were honoured to be included in this design by Formline Architecture, the first Indigenous-owned architectural firm ever to be awarded the Governor General’s Medal for Architecture.

The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC) is a transformative project that addresses the colonial legacy of residential schools and other policies imposed by the Canadian government on Indigenous Peoples, and ensures that this history is acknowledged, examined and understood within the University of British Columbia community.

The Centre houses three unique sets of Stella’s VUE Sliding Doors.
The first is a large two-panel door in an OX configuration. The other two sets are side by side on the lower floor; together they open up the entire end wall of this quiet area of reflection with an OXX and XXO configuration (each oversized frame is large at 5.9m [almost 20′] wide by 2.4m [8′] high).

The impact of this huge opening on the gallery space was highlighted in Canadian Architect’s October 2018 cover story on the Centre:

“At the bottom of the stairs…mark the entrance to the Vault of Memories.
This space is large, open and unadorned,
with continuous glass doors providing visual connection and physical access to the paved portion of the courtyard.”

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