Learning Environments

Enchokay Birchstick School

Penn-Co Construction (Design-Builder)

Rooted Resilience: Honoring Pikangikum’s Cultural Heritage

Situated in the remote northwestern Ontario community of Pikangikum First Nation, Enchokay Birchstick School welcomes over 900 students each day with a state-of-the-art northern school design that reflects and celebrates Pikangikum’s rich traditions and unique cultural identity.

Following a design-build methodology with Penn-Co Construction and a multidisciplinary team of consultants and skilled trades professionals, the project team worked hard to develop a design and construction plan that focused on creating optimal value for the community.

The school was designed with an emphasis on sightlines that allow staff to easily monitor students and visitors throughout the interior and exterior of the building. A closed-circuit camera system serves as a deterrent to vandalism and assists with identifying unsafe activity.

The design theme for Enchokay Birchstick School emphasizes Pikangikum’s connection to land and nature, using the symbol of a healthy, growing forest. Zones are differentiated through façade treatments, incorporating forest-themed design elements reflective of the stage of the students’ lives as they progress on their journey of learning from childhood into adulthood.

The building’s exterior is clad in a variety of durable materials, with colours and textures that break-up its massing into well-defined learning zones. The design also minimizes the building’s presence on the site, blending it into the surrounding forest landscape. The school’s interior zones are distinguished through colour, patterning and unique wall murals painted by local artists that represent various stages of growth.

The design also minimizes the building’s presence on the site, blending it into the surrounding forest landscape.