misiwe-kisik | One Sky

A new three-storey inner-city school in Saskatoon unites three historically separated neighborhoods. Serving Pre-K to Grade 8 students, the facility was given the Cree name misiwe-kisik (One Sky).

The building demonstrates regional material reuse and modern timber engineering. It incorporates approximately 315,000 board feet of nail-laminated timber (NLT) salvaged from century-old grain elevators. This reclaimed wood serves in secondary structural applications across floors, roofs, and walls, while glulam form the primary load-bearing structure.

Built at only a 2% premium compared to conventional steel and concrete schools, the project pairs its hybrid mass timber frame with precast concrete envelope panels. Scheduled to open in 2027, the school transforms Saskatchewan’s agricultural heritage into a modern learning environment while demonstrating the financial viability of public-sector timber construction.