The Cowichan Tribes have over 600 members waiting for on reserve housing. This study seeks to address this critical need by community engagement workshops and thoughtful considerations for the following concerns:

Flexibility – Provide a variety of unit types from bachelor units to units for large families

Culture – How can cultural influence be integrated into the design of the building so the character of the building is uniquely belongs to the tribe?

Sustainability – There is a strong interest to reduce the amount of energy used by First Nations as we are the Custodians of the natural environment

Communal Spaces – make a multi-unit building feel less like an apartment building and more like a community. Requests included playgrounds, community meeting rooms, study rooms, daycare, and community gardens.

Formline Architecture produced the preliminary cost analysis. The innovative solution is a gallery loaded or single loaded building. Units on the upper floors have an outside entrance with their own porch and outdoor storage enclosure with potential to have windows on both sides of each unit maximizing cross ventilation and natural light. This option seeks to find a solution somewhere in between the typical apartment block and the single family dwelling. The lower two levels are dedicated to 3 – 5 bedroom townhouses with the upper two floors occupied by bachelor, 1 and 2 bedroom units.