Seabird Island School

Patkau Architects, 1988-1991

Agassiz, British Columbia

Manon Chiorri ARCH 303

Marine de Carbonnieres Seabird Island School Study
 Seabird Island is a large island situated approximately 120 km east of Vancou-
ver, on the Fraser River. The landscape of the island consists of an overpowering pan-
orama of the Mountains of the Costal Range and large open fields used for agriculture
by its First Nation community, the Salish or Seabird Island Band.

In 1987 an educational reform brought down the previous system, which

sought to impose a so called “white education” distancing them from their traditions.
Community The Seabird Island School played an important role in that reform as it was the first to
integrate an educational program that would promote and enhance the culture, the
traditions and the way of life of the Salish people of the Pacific Northwest.

Patkau Architects were chosen to design the school with the condition that it
had to be in absolute relationship with the community. Integrating the landscape and
community in the process of creation was key to the success of the school.

Interactions are increased thanks to the organisation of the building and it’s
emplacement in the village common space. The classrooms and the main entrance,
located on the south side of the building, open to a collective porch inviting the public
realm to extend inside the central axis of the school. Directly accessible from this
south side is a common area that serves as the physical core of the school. To the
Google map satellite site view
Interation between the school and the community.
north, the gymnasium or community hall is the final destination of this path thus creat-
ing a sequence of public spaces. Additionally, a second axis spreading across the
central area of the school is created for the elementary and secondary school which
are organized along a series of open library/resource areas. An overlap in the
common and resource areas is specifically created so that they are shared by staff
and students reinforcing the Seabird Island Band philosophy.

The mass of the school is transformed depending on its orientation. To the

north, are large inclined sculptural volumes that, much like the surrounding moun-
tains, divert the winds and protect everything south of the building. The scale of the
school is smaller to the south where it opens under ample eaves; large struts, trellises
and beams detail this side of the building suggesting the richness of the community.

The structure uses a heavy post and beam technique that is a traditional prac-
tice of the Natives of the Pacific Northwest. Since the Band members were not experi-
enced in large-scale construction methods, a detailed framing model was created to
supplement conventional construction documents. The traditional cladding material of
the region, cedar shingles, are used to cover the walls and the roof. Upon orientation
and exposure the shingles will shade naturally from a soft silver-grey to a deep
red-brown. Under the eaves to the south and east are walls clad in translucent white
stained plywood panels increasing luminosity and contrasting the rugged-grey,
protective exterior shell. This overall design reflects a will to reconnect with the land,
the origins, and the community though the buildings architectonics. Seabird Island
Site Plan 1:2500 School reaffirms and re-establishes this link between the land and its people. Form Diagram

Manon Chiorri ARCH 303

Marine de Carbonnieres Seabird Island School Study
Community Space / Gymnasium

Classrooms and working spaces

Plan 1:400

Manon Chiorri ARCH 303

Marine de Carbonnieres Seabird Island School Study
 Detail of the open secondary structure

Cedar shingle of the roof

Detail of the primary structure

Detail of the fish rack like structure

Isometric View of the primary structure

Manon Chiorri ARCH 303

Marine de Carbonnieres Seabird Island School Study
 Isometric View of the primary structure 1:200

Cedar wood shingle

3/4 inch Rigid Fiberglass Drainage Board Round timber column with
2 inch Rigid Insulation steel anchor plate & bolts
6mil Polyethylene Vapour Retarder
7inch Cavity Insulation
Gypsum Board

Steel wire cribbing

Rebar grid

Rigid Insulation
Vapor Barrier

Reinforced concrete grade beam and pile

Wall Section Detail Wood Post Foundation

Manon Chiorri ARCH 303

Marine de Carbonnieres Seabird Island School Study