Make Attawapiskat Home

Hey! My name is Christine Wei, and I’m a high school graduate from the City of Markham, Ontario, Canada. I will be studying general engineering in university next year and wanted to take this opportunity to use my skills and explore solutions for my chosen community.

Growing up in southern Ontario, I remained largely unaware of the struggles faced by communities in the northern parts of the province. In school, we learned about Indigenous history, but I assumed those issues were part of the past. That changed in Grade 9 geography, where I had the opportunity to explore the ongoing challenges Indigenous communities face today. I was shocked to learn that many still live under boil water advisories, with inadequate access to education, healthcare, and safe housing.

One community that stood out to me was Attawapiskat, which has been in the news for its housing crisis, multiple floods, and the lasting impacts of intergenerational trauma. Homes are overcrowded, often unsafe, and filled with mold that causes respiratory issues.

For this competition, I want to design a solution that directly addresses the housing crisis in Attawapiskat. I believe that by improving the quality and safety of housing, we can reduce the stress placed on families and make space for healing, education, and a better future.

Ultimately, EVERYONE deserves a house they can rely on, and feel safe and healthy in.

I used pen and paper, as well as Procreate for the planning and sketches.

I then modelled my design in Fusion 360.

Some of the key issues that prevent Attawapiskat from achieving improved housing include:

1. Geographic Isolation
2. Only two ways to get here: icy road in the winter + year round air travel
3. Expensive to fly on-site labour and materials
4. Very low population density
5. Government neglect + Under funding
6. Indigenous reserves receive federal funding (not provincial) which are often delayed
7. Housing standards are made to fit the climate of southern Ontario
8. Backlog of housing needed
9. Floods
10. Seasonal floods from the Attawapiskat river has caused damage to infrastructure
11. River level rise of 1-2 meters
12. Overcrowding & Poor Construction
13. Shelter multiple generations
14. Poor insulation leads to high heat costs and moisture degradation

While I can’t do much about the geographic isolation and the underfunding, I will take into consideration pricing and transportation.

Other considerations and key elements to include:

Price

1. Would like to keep the cost as low as possible
2. Not just building costs, but living costs (heating, electricity, utilities, etc.)

Durability

1. Should not require any major repairs

Geography

1. Attawapiskat is situated on wetlands (Hudson Bay Lowland)
2. Often protected (as they should be)
3. Easily damaged
4. Have a lot of mosquitos
5. Can cause mold in homes
6. There is permafrost.
7. I honestly am not very clear what this is, but I do know its always frozen and should always remain frozen throughout the year
8. Another goal: preserve wildlife and understand the geography of the region to improve construction methodologies and other choices

Modularity

1. Allows for off-site labour to be used, which is cheaper and easier to find
2. Interlocking modules allow for buildings to grow and expand to fit multigenerational homes, which are very common in Attawapiskat
3. Allow for a variety of housing needs, whether it be for 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. number of people
4. While the core can be pricier and require more specialized labour, I hope to make the modules as easy to install as possible with more limited labour

Culture

1. Residents of Attawapiskate are called swampy Cree (also called Mushkekowuk and other names)
2. Entryways facing east towards sunrise
3. Entryways should be prioritized and separated
4. Natural elements, such as wood, are to be used
5. I also included a star, a common geometric pattern to represent the sun at the door
6. Swampy Cree people often lived in Tipis, which are conical tents. A hearth was at the center.
7. The core and module system I made is emulates this, where the core is a space for cooking, gathering, and overall a common area
8. This core is also taller to further emphasize this relationship
9. The clerestory window helps to further emphasize the center of the house

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

1. Common in more grey and gloomy areas such as Attawapiskat

Other lifestyle possibilities

1. Snowmobiles are the primary form of transportation
2. Hunting is common
3. Outdoor storage sheds for firewood (the main source of heat currently)

I took inspiration from the town of Lunenburg and the Cree community of Wemindji for the colourful cladding.

Additionally, I researched other Cree architecture and looked at modular floorplans. The two I have linked below were the ones that stood out to me the most.

https://debatesindigenas.org/en/2025/05/01/minawachihiwewi-ne-wikiwan-healing-our-home-buildings-of-the-land/?

https://bisonmodular.ca/community--buildings/womens-shelters/

Here are some floor plans and designs I tried out.

The first one I made was circular and made to emulate a tipi, but I couldn’t find a way to make it easy to transport, modular, or efficient. While it made sense to have a hearth in the middle of a tipi, a standard kitchen did not fit so well in the middle of a circular building. I think this idea has more potential in a larger, museum space with less budget constraints.

I tried an arc-style floor plan as well, and then finally settled on a more rectangular approach.

The facade I designed stuck pretty well and I did not draw another during this step.

After designing a few floor plans, this was the one I went with.

(I turned the floor plan upside down by accident, realized it made more sense that way, and thought it would be interesting to show here. It made my 3D modelling much easier)

I have also attached other pictures of my design process. I want to emphasize that even after I had modeled quite a bit of the house, I made more sketches to revise my ideas, help make better design choices, and just to simply visualize my design and make it easier to model.

Note: I did regret a lot of the CAD I did at the beginning because it became VERY difficult to alter. I learned to model more parametrically in Fusion after this.

I started with a floor plan, the gravel, then the piles. The subfloor was then modelled with plywood layers, primary and secondary beams and joists, and a finished floor. Insulation was not modelled as it is redundant.

Here is an explanation of some of my choices:

Stilts/Piles

1. Allow the homes to better withstand floods of the Attawapiskat river (common)
2. Reduced mold damage
3. Minimize disturbance to wetlands and prevent frost-heave (when the frozen soil expands due to higher temperature + melting of permafrost)

Gravel pads + space frame

1. Also helps to preserve permafrost
2. Does not require excavation and does not disturb local ecosystem
3. Supports the stilts
4. Allows water drainage

Insulation

1. The floor is heavily insulated to accommodate the northern climate.
2. After research, I SIP insulation since many arctic homes use this

I did each wall individually. I included the lumber frame separately.

Here is an explanation of some of my choices:

Insulation:

1. 2x6 creates a large cavity for insulation
2. Offers lots of support
3. Is standard
4. By only using one size of lumber beam, it is less complicated to fabricate

Insulation:

1. Wood frames in the floor and wall insulated with R-40 or higher insulation
2. In addition, have rigid insulation outside of the frame
3. SIP insulation just like the floor

Colourful outer cladding:

1. Outer cladding will be engineered wood painted colourfully and brightly
2. Engineered wood is light and easy to build with as well
3. Common in more grey and gloomy areas such
4. Inspired by Lunenburg, Canada and Wemindji, Canada
5. Colour helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder

Entryway:

1. Star window pane: The star is a common motif in Cree blankets
2. Here, it represents the sunrise.
3. Eastern facing entryways are a connect to Cree culture as they indicate greeting the sun as it rises by making entryways face east
4. To emphasize the importance of entryways, I separated it with a pony wall and shelf.

This was by far the easiest to CAD. This required a projection of the existing cavity, an inset, and 2 extrudes for each window. (One for the frame and one for the pane.)

Here is an explanation of some of my choices:

Clerestory windows

1. Clerestory windows to let light in from high above
2. Reduce the need to turn lights on during the day
3. Natural light helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder

Same height windows:

1. The top of the windows are aligned with the height of the doors.
2. Can be converted into connection with modules.
3. This can be seen in the two photos above.
4. Makes it easier to build since some cripples will be the same height.

While modelling this, I drew out many roof designs to help visualize the model and make it easier for me to model.

I would not recommend modelling tiles individually and instead create the profile of tiles and extrude it. Further detail can be added but this method sufficed for me and did not cause my computer issues the same way individual tiles did.

Here is an explanation of some of my choices:

Exposed wooden beams:

1. incorporates natural elements and promotes a good connection with Cree culture
2. Would force me to put insulation on top and add more rafts, creating more weight. However, it is totally worth it.

A porch and any sort of outdoor seating could be nice for community engagement and social sustainability.

Here is an explanation of some of my choices:

Ramp

1. Added for accessibility, and since there are many elderly residents
2. Preferably, should be longer

Use of wood:

1. Makes use of natural elements, connecting to Cree culture

While working with a smaller space, I managed to fit a kitchen area, dining area, and living area. The bathroom is a bit large but is also shared by the whole household.

Here I made use of a few per-existing models from GrabCAD and modeled a few of my own.

GrabCAD models used:

https://grabcad.com/library/farm-table-1

https://grabcad.com/library/couch-52-1

https://grabcad.com/library/beautiful-lamp-shade-1

https://grabcad.com/library/bunk-bed-model-with-drawing-in-pdf-1

Here is an explanation of some of my choices:

Wood:

1. Match the interior to the exterior
2. Connect with Cree culture and nature

Cree art!

1. Connection to culture

The module modelling used all the same steps above.

One key difference is that I modelled panels individually that were reused. This reflects my goal of modular panels in real life. Additionally, the indoor panels are made asymmetric which allows for improved customizability as users can flip the doors.

The panels included are:

1. Short windowless
2. Short with window
3. Interior windowless (with door)
4. Interior window (with door) → I did not model this one
5. Long windowless → I did not model this one
6. Long with window
7. Tunnel wall

Using any number of short panels, the space can be expanded for larger rooms, smaller rooms, etc. These modules are made for bedroom spaces, and thus do not require plumbing.

However, I did decide that they should have separate heating, since smaller spaces are easier to heat. At night, the temperature of the core can be lowered while modules are kept warm. This conserves energy.

Some other considerations for heating:

1. HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator)
2. Moisture builds up in Northern homes since buildings tend to be airtight to keep the heat in
3. This system allows for airflow/ventilation while keeping the temperature of the house warm
4. Electric hydronic floor heating (or supplement with baseboards + HRV)