Astum Api Niikinaahk (Come and sit at our home)
Completed: 2022
Size: 7,255 sqft / 674 sqm
Cibinel Architecture’s participation in this project began with the development of a design vision for an Indigenous-led housing project for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. A vision that explored best practice in unsheltered villages, traditional beliefs and values, and in the organization of supportive communities. Lived experience was required to find a unique End Homelessness Winnipeg and community-led solution. Engagement sessions were held with Elders and unsheltered individuals living in encampments which resulted in a visioning document outlining the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental requirements of Astum Api Niikinaahk. The visioning document was the link and guide to the next phase, the design of Astum Api Niikinaahk.
Astum Api Niikinaahk, set back on the site of the landmark Circle of Life Thunderbird House, provides tiny homes for 22 individuals. Eighteen of the units are bachelor size and four units are accessible. Design innovations include wood framed modular construction for the living units.
The housing units are anchored by a communal lodge which is a public space for service delivery to the residents and the broader community. It is also a gathering place for the homeless community, with appealing design features such as curves and natural lighting. The unique design of the lodge presents views of a healing landscape, connecting the lodge to the village that is Astum Api Niikinaahk.
Tower Engineering was engaged to provide structural, mechanical, and electrical consulting engineering services and worked closely with Cibinel Architecture throughout the project. The project is expected to exceed the National Energy Code for Buildings by 20% and meet the Manitoba Building Code for accessibility standards.
NEWS
Tiny Home Village Creates Space for Healing, CMHC Video
Tiny Home Village Creates Space for Healing, CMHC Article
Astum Api Niikinaahk to be a healing home, Toronto Star
No Place to Live, The Walrus Magazine
This project was undertaken by Cibinel Architecture Ltd.