Klemtu Ferry Terminal
September 2011
New Ferry Terminal Opens
The new Klemtu ferry terminal officially opened with a powerful ceremony hosted by the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nations peoples that reside in the remote village of Klemtu on Swindle Island. The project includes a new waiting building, berth, ramp, vehicle compound and road improvements to the site.
Many nations travelled to Klemtu to celebrate the opening with Kitasoo/Xai’Xais who hosted a fabulous feast for the hundreds of guests and visitors.
Acton Ostry Architects collaborated with BC Ferries and the Kitasoo/Xai’xais to integrate and express the unique culture of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nations people throughout the project. Iconographical elements of the project include: a gateway canoe that tells the legend of the creation of Klemtu; a waiting building evocative of a traditional longhouse; a welcome pole by famed master carver Tom Hunt; a salmon wind vane; a tourism sign for Spirit Bear Lodge; and, concrete lock-block walls embedded with relief sculptures of salmon and herring.
