This purpose-built supportive housing building in Nanaimo was designed with 33 homes for individuals and couples who were homeless or at risk of homelessness, due to mental health or addiction issues. The building has a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments, along with administrative staff facilities, and common kitchen, dining room, multi-purpose rooms, laundry, fitness room, and secure bicycle storage. Each unit contains a large glazed bay window, a basic kitchen, bathroom, and personal storage.

The building is a four-storey wood-frame structure with a second-floor rooftop food-garden terrace and a ground floor south facing plaza with bocci court, landscape gardens and covered seating area. The building’s design is intended to strike a balance of form, character, and materiality that fits with its neighbours in the heavily-wooded context. The building was designed to stringent energy-efficiency standards and received CaGBC LEED Gold certification.

Awards
2015 VIREB Commercial Building Award of Excellence – Community Institutional category