The McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University is one of 13 educational institutes across Canada participating in a nationwide design initiative to improve housing.
End Housing Alienation Now! is a cross-Canada architecture superstudio, running from September to May, to simultaneously teach design studios — courses that integrate hands-on experiences — around the shared goal of ending housing alienation, which touches on issues like affordability and homelessness.
The goal is to share knowledge and come up with new design ideas to apply to the Canadian housing industry.
“At the heart of the Superstudio format is the belief that there is a profound strength in numbers and that all big challenges require collaboration,” reads a synopsis on the project website.
“It's incredibly exciting that [13] higher learning institutions are participating in this Superstudio to share knowledge, inspiration, and foster solidarity.
“Through the studio we will be simultaneously educating ourselves in a vast array of knowledge and technique, inventing new design methods and solutions, and building a movement for change.”
McEwen's contribution is a session called Storied Lands, taught by assistant professor Amina Lalor, which will focus on “understanding the deep context of the lands we occupy and our responsibility as caretakers of our physical environment in N'Swakamok (currently known as Sudbury, Ont.).”
The superstudio initiative is being led by Architects Against Housing Alienation, a collective of Canadian architects looking to make changes to the country's housing industry.