“Growing numbers of people today do not feel at home in their housing. Overcrowding, displacement, dispossession, homelessness, harassment, disrepair, and other ordeals are increasingly common. Adequate, stable, affordable dwelling space is becoming ever more scarce. As a result, many people experience their housing as just another precarious place in an insecure world. There is a term for not feeling at home that has a long history in social science and critical theory: alienation.” Marcuse, Peter, and David Madden. In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis. Verso Books, 2016.

It is evident that we are facing a housing crisis in Canada. Housing costs have escalated, disproportionately affecting the youngest and poorest Canadians. Housing is scarce and expensive as renters face high prices and housing insecurity. Most municipalities in southern Ontario are realizing the extent of this housing affordability crisis. According to a 2021 report by the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, the Waterloo Region suffers more deeply that other cities. The report shows that the region has the fastest growth rate of any of the 290 metropolitan areas across North America, while the price of homes has increased 282% from January 2005 to July 2021. Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights identifies the right to adequate housing as a fundamental and inalienable human right. Canada’s housing crisis is a human rights crisis. Our current way of living is unsustainable and must be addressed as a social justice issue. The Post Co-House is a mass-timber social housing project addressing housing alienation in Cambridge, Ontario. Located downtown Galt, the Post challenges social stigmas and revolutionizes the idea of social living. The deeply affordable, locally managed housing project carefully relates to its adjacent properties and creates a gathering space for the broader community. The project primarily houses seniors and families and subsequently features a daycare and co-working space. The concept of the Post is sharing resources and services while maintaining a sense of autonomy in a social living environment. The social spaces and shared programs initiate informal encounters and spontaneous conversations to battle loneliness. See the full project description linked below.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:d2bce553-7d57-362c-b3fe-e0e7f11e17c9

Poster

Details

Team members : Avery Thorne

Supervisor : Professor / Associate Director, Research. Adrian Blackwell

Institution : University of Waterloo School of Architecture

Descriptions

Technical Concept : Please see the link below for Project Description.

Visual Concept : Please see the link below for Project Description.

Credits

Avery Thorne

Avery Thorne

Avery Thorne

Avery Thorne

Avery Thorne

Avery Thorne

Avery Thorne