Rapid Housing

It’s exciting to see a building rise up from the ground and tenants move in, but a successful project begins with good planning in the pre-development stage. At this stage, project teams are securing land and funding, and developing preliminary design concepts. A high level of pre-development helps keep costs stable and allows the project to progress at top speed once it gets going.

Architect David Fortin says translating Indigenous thinking and knowledge into contemporary architectural form is still a relatively new conversation, so when designing for an Indigenous client, he and his team greatly emphasize engagement. David worked on the Silver Sage Housing Corporation’s Horse Dance Lodge / misatimosimôwin mîhkowâp building in North Regina — a transitional place for people in need of immediate housing — and says community engagement was key to the success of the project.

Canada is facing a housing crisis and one of the ways the Government of Canada is tackling the problem is through the CMHC Rapid Housing Initiative. In November 2022, the third round of funding was released and the government is looking for new applications to build new housing and/or purchase existing buildings that will be rehabilitated or converted into permanent affordable housing.