The Nk'Mip Desert & Heritage Centre celebrates thousands of years of Okanogan First Nations habitation on desert lands. The Nk'Mip Desert lands are one of Canada's three most endangered ecosystems and are home to many endangered plant and animal species. The Centre provides on-site cultural tours, programs and interactive displays reflecting the unique and contemporary experience of a desert centre based on the rich heritage of the Okanogan people.
Development on the 200-acre site set on the eastern shore of Lake Osoyoos includes North America’s First Aboriginal Winery with vineyards, an 18-hole golf course with club house, a full service spa, tourist accommodation and a Desert Interpretive and Heritage Centre with an AV and performance theater, an expansive retail area, and an art gallery with innovative indoor and outdoor exhibits and displays.
Set against the semi-desertic hillside on the edge of town, this graceful one-storey structure blends beautifully into its surroundings, particularly due to it’s distinctive curved rammed earth façade wall. The rammed earth wall is load-bearing, and consists of a 600mm thick, reinforced, insulated rammed earth wall. The building is set back into the slope, and features a green roof which seamlessly meets with the slope behind the building.
Client - Nk’Mip Indian Band
Architect - Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden
Budget - $2.2 Million
Completed - June 2006
Awards - 2007 Aboriginal Tourism Association Award in the Inspirational Leadership category
2007 British Columbia Wood Council Wood Works Award in the Green Building category
2007 BC Ready - Mix Concrete Association Connie Award in the Decorative Concrete category
2007 Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Medal of Excellence in Architecture
2007 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Award of Excellence in the Innovation category
2008 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Governor General’s Medal in Architecture
2008 World Architectural Festival Barcelona Award in Holiday category