Parking Lot Design

BC Housing & Tsain-Ko: “Our House of Clans”

Gwaii provided civil and environmental engineering services for this BC Housing project. The “Our House of Clans” project is a six-story residential/commercial building atop a concrete parade. The finished building will provide 34 dwelling units for Nation members as well as a community kitchen and ground floor commercial space.

Indigenous capacity-building efforts included engaging Indigenous subcontractors, employing a field technician selected from the community to work with both the civil engineer and the civil contractor, and providing training and job shadowing to interested community members.

Gwaii’s scope included:

  • Prepare Onsite Roadworks and Parking Plans: plan, profile and cross section of access road, tie into existing roadway.
  • Prepare Offsite Works Plan.
  • Prepare Onsite Site Servicing Plans including fire hydrants and water meters as required – tie into existing SCRD services, coordinate underground electrical, cable & phone servicing with electrical engineer.
  • Prepare Subgrade and Final Grading Plans: coordinate with geotechnical engineer as required.
  • Prepare Stormwater Management Plan: coordinate with mechanical engineer.
  • Prepare Sediment & Erosion Control Plan.

BC Housing & Tsain-Ko: “Our House of Clans” Read More »

TSAWOUT LONGHOUSE

After the Tsawout Nation lost their Longhouse in a devastating fire in 2009, rebuilding of their cultural home is underway. The new Big House will be a cultural gathering place, a home for the revitalization of cultural practices, a place for traditional teaching and learning, and a place for the revitalization of traditional social structures. This beautiful multi-purpose building is over 14,000 square feet and soars at a height of nearly 45 ft with its built-in smoke vent roofing. It is constructed of mass timber posts and trusses, which were partially assembled using traditional methods and sourced locally, adding to its sustainability.

The Longhouse is equipped with its own kitchen and includes a generously sized dining area, further upholding the Nation’s spirit of hosting meaningful gatherings. The building lot itself is perched 325 ft above sea level, offering spectacular views of the Cordova Channel and mountain ranges beyond. Furthermore, it uses a modern engineered design for stormwater management, via rain gardens and rock pits which minimize the impact of water runoff on the surrounding environment.

Gwaii’s scope of work: GWAII worked with the Nation to pull teams together and assisted with the funding applications to make the project more viable. GWAII is now overseeing the project management on their new ceremonial longhouse which is slated for completion later this year. Over the last 1.5 years, Gwaii has been on-site overseeing the site servicing and drainage works. Recently, Gwaii was asked to design a parking lot, access road, and rain garden to accompany the site.

TSAWOUT LONGHOUSE Read More »

Scroll to Top

subscribe to our quarterly newsletter

For upcoming grants & funding opportunities for First Nations communities in BC, useful resources, company updates and more.