Status | Research + Competition

Location | Squamish, BC

Brief | Landscape is timeless and essential. Why is it then, that in most building projects it is the last to be designed and the first to be cut? We want to shift this typical building design paradigm. Our proposal grows from the land as a shaping factor to what gets built in this environment, in this case, it is the estuary located south of our site in Squamish, British Columbia.

The site is at a nexus of industry and nature - where salt water meets fresh water. With the estuary south of our site, our focus is to first sculpt the land to be conducive to it flowing into our site and to then allow for the natural protection and growth of the ecosystem through our build – combining structurally sound modules to both withstand generational environmental changes and further develop the area.

Through the increase in population and draw to the unique town of Squamish, this environment will grow in an organic manner, balancing both the natural ecosystem and residents over 5, 10 and 20 year markers.