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A Place to Call Home - An Inclusive Approach to Affordable Housing

This webinar is part of the RAIC 2022 Virtual Conference on Architecture, now available to stream!

Topics:Ìý±«°ù²ú²¹²Ô¾±²õ³¾

Length:Ìý1 hour |ÌýWhat's Included:ÌýVideo, Quiz, andÌýCertificate of CompletionÌý

Housing and how we live is a critical question; cities are under enormous pressure to provide equity, affordability and inclusivity. Learn how affordable, social and supportive housing is responding to social and economic challenges to provide homes for our most vulnerable populations.

Drawing on the design and delivery experience of over 500 homes in nine multi-residential housing projects in the last six years, this study examines how adequate housing contributes to the diversity and resiliency of our communities. Learning objectives include salient points on standards, regulations, construction approaches and success stories for housing for persons with many complex needs. The study discusses issues of inclusion, privacy, economics and managing pre-conceptions, spanning the entire life cycle, from early community engagement strategies through design.

Affordable, social and supportive housing is a specific part of discipline of architecture that engages with social, economic, political, aesthetic and urban issues. Architecture cannot sit back; it must assume an active role in realizing the sociological benefits of providing adequate housing without discrimination. This typological case study highlights innovations, including volumetric modular construction, hybrid wood and concrete construction, and mixed-market housing models that can create vibrant and economically sustainable communities. Through projects like the Londonderry Mixed-Market Housing, the five permanent supportive housing projects constructed as part of the CMHC Rapid Housing Initiative, the net-zero Wellspring Family Resource & Crisis Centre, and the Ti’nu Banff Affordable Housing Project, the study discusses the vital role affordable, social and supportive housing plays in the future of our cities.

Learning Objectives:

By the completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the impact adequate housing, enjoyed without discrimination, has on society through the design of affordable, social and supportive housing.
• Relate housing to issues of equity, affordability and inclusivity.
• Identify Canadian and regional regulations, legislations, standards and vocabulary for affordable, social and supportive housing to achieve inclusive housing design.
• Apply design requirements, standards and construction methodologies including modular construction to affordable, social and supportive housing.

Subject Matter Experts:

Peter Osborne, FRAIC, joined GEC Architecture in 2011 to establish the firm’s Edmonton Studio, taking on the overarching management and strategic direction for the entire practice in 2018. In 2020, Peter was instrumental in opening GEC’s Toronto Studio, working on projects across GEC’s three integrated design studios. Peter received a Master of Architecture degree and Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies from Dalhousie University where he received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal. Peter is a Fellow in the ¾ÅÖÝÖ±²¥, past president of the Alberta Association of Architects and past chair of the Edmonton Design Committee. He is currently on the board of the Edmonton Construction Association, and a Director on the Canadian Architectural Certification Board.

Adrian Benoit
B.E.Des., M.Arch., Architect AAA, LEED® AP
Senior Associate, GEC Architecture

Adrian Benoit joined GEC Architecture in 2011 and is responsible for the management and direction of GEC’s housing portfolio in Western Canada. He has been instrumental in the design and delivery of GEC’s affordable and supportive housing for the last 10 years. Adrian received a Master of Architecture and holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Manitoba, where he received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal. He is the current Vice-Chair of the Edmonton Design Committee, AAA Chair of the Prairie Design Awards and an active member of Edmonton’s design community. Adrian’s primary focus and passion is housing design and development, from social and economic considerations to urban design and sustainability.

Pricing A-La-CarteÌý