The Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) territory spans the northern part of Ontario, a vast geographic area that is home to 49 First Nations communities. Known as the Community Led Designs for Specialized Housing in the North (CLDSHN) housing project, the objective is to respond to the 2014 Chiefs-in-Assembly declaration of a NAN-wide Housing State of Emergency by creating prototype designs for the populations in greatest need. It has assembled NAN housing representatives, architects, community participants, community housing managers, technical advisors, and suppliers adopting a collaborative/ co-creation approach to develop appropriate housing designs.
L’OEUF was tasked with creating construction documents for a prototype comprising transitional housing (‘Living’) units with a communal/support facility (‘Gathering’) center and for a second prototype for a (1 Bedroom) home adapted for independent living, the emphasis lies in designing spaces that are flexible and adaptable, catering to various uses.
Amongst other design issues, as a result of the remote location of their sites and the difficulty in accessing building materials/suppliers, the teams must address the issues of procurement and delivery to enable communities to easily source appropriate building materials, accessible/available through their suppliers.. While some communities have all-season roads, many communities have limited access, relying on fly-in to small airstrips, with road access only on the fragile/weather dependent annual winter roads.