Project spotlight on the Kenhteke Language and Cultural Centre
A fully electric, low-carbon cultural hub featuring a longhouse-inspired, mass timber design.
Green Building Team on June 30, 2025
- Theme
- Green Building
Location: Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario
Rating system: ZCB-Design v3
Certification level: Certified
Located in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, the Kenhté:ke Language and Cultural Centre supports Onkwehonwe’néha (ways of knowing and being) to continue thriving. The building will serve for Tsi Tyonnhéht Onkwawén:na (TTO) as the community’s day-to-day cultural hub, featuring a Mohawk language school as well as a recreation and gathering space celebrating Mohawk culture. Through its programs, TTO aims to achieve sustainable use of the Mohawk language and re-establishing it as a living language for the generations to come.
As a reflection of many aspects of Mohawk culture, the project prioritized extensive meaningful community input and respect for the natural environment. The longhouse is represented in the east-west corridor of the building, with arched roofs and cedar shakes cladding that offers both shape and texture variation from the rest of the building. The main gathering space is inspired by the texture and layering of traditional Mohawk basket weaving, expressed with a reciprocal frame mass timber structure and interlacing acoustic panels around the upper space.
The building also exemplifies environmental stewardship and is thoughtfully integrated with the surrounding landscape. The design of the Centre reflects a commitment to minimizing both operational and embodied carbon emissions. An early decision to fully electrify the building avoids any on-site direct carbon emissions. The mechanical system will use variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units with heat recovery on the air handling unit to enhance energy efficiency, as well as all interior and exterior lighting using LED luminaires. In addition, the building’s high-performance envelope, combined with the use of wood for framing, siding, and finishes, helps reduce embodied emissions compared to similar building types.
