S7istken Services Centre (Earth Lodge / Pithouse)
Lillooet, British Columbia (1993-2000)
The S7istken Community Services Centre is a self build administration building which used local community talent in the construction process. The project name, "S7istken" (eesh-kin) is a reference to the great earth lodges (pithouses) of the past.The facility provides accommodation for a mix of community services including: health & welfare, land management, housing, fishery management, and general administrative services. It is the first community project in Western Canada using locally harvested "beetle damaged" wood. All logs were harvested from the community's own woodlot.
The design recalls elements of traditional First Nation vernacular. S7istkens are acknowledged as one of the oldest means of shelter in the western hemisphere and one of North America’s first environmental based structures. References to S7istken technologies incorporated in the overall design, structure and detailing include:
- Traditional roof form and structure in the Council Hall
- Indigenous materials including local logs, shale, cedar
Selection of colour palette from local environment
- Roof structure relates to traditional cosmologies - main log rafters correspond to the four cardinal directions
- Energy efficient design
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