KITASOO TOTEM HOUSE TOWNHOUSES (Great Bear)

Klemtu, BC, 1988-90

"To the outside world this is
the GREAT BEAR Rainforest.
To us this is Home"
  ~  Kitasoo / Xai'xais First Nation
                   
Totem House provides affordable housing for a mix of residents that includes elders, small families and singles—in a facility owned and managed by the community. The project is located in Klemtu ("An Entrance/ A Safe Place")—a remote fishing village on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. The area is home to the famous white Kermode (Spirit) Bear. Klemtu is on an island with steeply sloping terrain. It has a limited area of suitable land for new housing development.  

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VINTAGE VIDEO OF OFFICIAL OPENING

The design concept for Totem House is reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest Coast native longhouse vernacular. The building occupies two single family lots rather than the standard five lots had single family homes been constructed. The building was designed to include artwork by local artists. Family clan crests of Klemtu (Blackfish, Eagle, Raven, and Wolf) mark the entries to the units. The totem adorning the front of the building and facing Trout Bay was the first house pole to be raised in the Klemtu community in 110 years.