Location
Rapid City, South Dakota
Year
2022
Sizes
Total
66 AC
Community Development:
10 AC
K-12 School:
45 AC
Mixed-Use Development:
11 AC
Client
NDN Collective
Project Team
Joshua Hemberger
Tim Hickman
Leah Rudolphi
Rapid City, SD-based NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization on a far-reaching journey to create equitable opportunities for Indigenous people in the Rapid City area and across the globe through programs, grant-making, lending, thought leadership, policy influence, and direct action.
The Oceti Sakowin Community Development Vision Plan aims to create a hub for the Indigenous community in and around Rapid City focused on racial justice, wellness, and education through the lens of cultural identity which creates equitable opportunities for Indigenous people.
Developed by a multi-disciplinary planning and design team co-led by Substance Architecture, this community-driven vision plan will guide the future growth and development of a 66-acre site in Rapid City. The plan envisions a K-12 school, affordable housing, community-serving commercial development, and a community gathering facility.
At the heart of the community is the Oceti Sakowin Community Academy (OSCA), Rapid City’s first Indigenous-led, community-based school fundamentally anchored in the culture and values of the Oceti Sakowin community through a land-based learning approach. The OSCA campus requires approximately 40 acres of contiguous land for its buildings and programs.
Site plan
Biomimetric analogs
Many amenities of the campus will also be available for community use, including the Powwow grounds, gymnasiums, indoor gathering spaces, cross-country track, walking trails, and night sky observation space. The buildings will be designed to utilize solar power, earth tubes, and geothermal heat pumps for their energy systems. Rainwater will be captured and reused on-site. Through sensitive site design and construction techniques, the beauty and function of the existing wetland systems and rolling prairie landscape will be preserved and enhanced. By creating a healthy ecosystem, including soil biodiversity and native plants, students will have the opportunity to observe the beauty and lessons of natural systems.
Chokan (community space)
Nick Tilsen, Director and CEO of NDN Collective
System diagram - site amenities
System diagram - energy
System diagram - water
Sunny Red Bear, Director of Racial Equity for NDN Collective
Project goals
Typical classroom
Project Planner
Hoxie Collective
Civil Engineer
KLJ Engineering
Landscape Architect
SWT Design
K-12 Programming Expert
Dake Wells Architecture
Energy Systems Planning
Archineers Consulting
Water and Ecological Systems Planning
BioHabitats
Regenerative Systems Planning
McLennan Design
Substance Architecture
Joshua Hemberger, Tim Hickman, Leah Rudolphi, Harison Pitchford, Atalie Ruhnke
2024 Merit Award - Planning & Analysis - SWT Design, Hoxie Collective, and Substance Architecture
ASLA - Central States Region
2024 Honor Award - Urban Design & Planning
Central States Excellence in Design Awards
ISU Student Innovation Center and Oceti Sakowin Development win AIA Central States Design Awards
