TIME: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Description
This session uses the Governor General’s Medal-winning Muscowpetung Powwow Arbour as its anchor case study, exploring how a community-embedded design process shaped a building for the Saulteaux Nation.
Presenters Brad Pickard (Oxbow Architecture) and Dalhousie University Professor Emeritus Richard Kroeker are joined by Jeff Cappo, Muscowpetung Knowledge-Keeper and Educator.
Together they will discuss:
- How engagement with membership grounded the design in identity and “calling people home”
- How the circle’s dynamic structural logic, evoking a drum’s tensioned skin and arrows poised in a drawn bow, resolves the large-span structural requirements of the project
- How the circle’s dynamic structural logic, evoking a drum’s tensioned skin and arrows poised in a drawn bow, resolves the large-span structural requirements of the project.
Illustrated with sketches, structural studies, and construction photography, the session closes with a discussion of what hands-on, community-embedded practice teaches the profession.
Learning Objectives
- Describe how engagement with Indigenous knowledge-keepers and sustained community-based design practice build on community wisdom, discernment and trust, and ground a project in community identity.
- Articulate strategies for translating traditional material knowledge into structural and spatial design.
- Evaluate material trade-offs (e.g., steel vs. engineered timber vs. structural round timber) using embodied carbon, sourcing, local economic benefit and cost as design criteria.
- Distinguish surface-level symbolism from deeper cultural responsiveness, in which design expresses the dynamics and natural forces of a place and its people.
Presenters:
Jeff Cappo, Muscowpetung Knowledge-Keeper and Educator
Jeff Cappo is an Indigenous Education Coordinator and a dedicated leader in both education and the wider community. Originally from Muscowpetung First Nation, Jeff is a residential school survivor who attended Gordon’s Indian Residential School for five years. He holds a Master of Indigenous Education and completed the Indian Teacher Education program at the University of Saskatchewan.
Jeff has been instrumental in advancing Indigenous education through initiatives such as Cree Pedagogy: Dance Your Style, a curriculum exploring the intrinsic value of First Nations perspectives. He also played a key role in building the Youth+Us partnership with K+S and Thomson Community School’s mamawi kakaskihtânânaw (Together We Can) land-based learning program, providing students with hands-on, culturally rich outdoor education experiences.
A mentor to students and educators alike, Jeff continues to share his knowledge, guiding the next generation of land-based educators and inspiring both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. His leadership, mentorship, and dedication to culturally grounded education make him an invaluable contributor to Regina Public Schools and the broader community in Saskatchewan.
Richard Kroeker, Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie University
Richard Kroeker, C.M., is Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University, where he has taught and served as Director at the School of Architecture. Richard is a graduate of the Architectural Association in the UK, registered and practicing as an architect in London. Deeply influenced by the Mi’kmaq concept of Two-Eyed Seeing, he has widely encouraged the practice of ethical building in the field, which prioritizes cultural values, sustainable materials and the involvement of local communities.
Brad Pickard, Architect, Oxbow Architecture
Brad Pickard is an architect and educator dedicated to advancing meaningful collaborative design processes that bridge disciplines and build community. His experience working in the global south and commitment to design education throughout Canada, UK, EU, and Africa has shaped a perspective that guides impactful, award-winning projects in underserved communities throughout his home province of Saskatchewan.
Pricing:
Licensed OAA Members: $42.50 + HST
OAA Interns and Students: $32.50 + HST
Non-Members: $63.00 + HST
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