Grand River Employment and Training Center – Ohsweken, ON

The GREAT (Grand River Employment and Training) Opportunity Centre is an immense mixed-use facility offering over 40 000 square feet of job counselling, apprenticeship training, internships and employment opportunity. Located on Six Nations reserve land in the village of Ohsweken, self-sufficiency is the driving force behind the facility their mission and services. This paper will outline and assess the architect’s ideas surrounding sustainability, community involvement and considerations around traditional ideas like the seven generations principle. It will show how traditional forms, ideas and symbolism can hold immeasurable value and can be merged with contemporary technology to develop an effective space that embodies a community’s pride and a thriving architectural tradition.