The Anax̱ Yaa Andagan Yé Daakahídi Learning Center is a 4,000 sf wood framed two-story structure situated on a north-east facing hillside at the boundary between a residential neighborhood and the ruins of the historic Treadwell mine district, which is now a beloved community park. The building is comprised or to parallel gables, reminiscent of Tlingit coastal clan houses, bridged by a heavy timber supported “courtyard” with both indoor and protected outdoor space for learning.  

Materials are selected to endure the severe winds of the area, and feature elements such as cedar and copper accents that reflect tradition. Supporting systems include in-floor heat coupled with a high energy efficiency heat pump, heat recovery ventilation, LED lighting, a recirculating commercial range hood in the teaching kitchen (for further energy conservation), and high thermal efficiency glazing and envelope assemblies.

Views from the primary teaching spaces overlook the wooded parkland, the  ancestral T’aaku Kwáan – Sayéik village and harbor sites that predated the Douglas and Treadwell communities, Gastineau Channel and the mountains beyond.

The Cultural Learning Center supports preschool through adult programming, with a primary focus on Tlingit language learning, oral history and music conservation and food preservation as a part of the tribal organization’s food sovereignty and food source stability program.  The learning spaces afford a comfortable setting with great daylighting and views.  Exterior spaces support program delivery and include a protected craft courtyard, an entrance plaza for small gatherings, balconies overlooking the park and a “wet” side yard for preparing fish and game before bringing it into the teaching kitchen.  

The setting reinforces T’aaku Kwáan territorial presence and evokes both the endurance of all Aan Yátx’u Sáani – Noble People of the Earth, and of course the powerful nature of the place we live.