Finding Balance: Designing for Remote and Rural Communities

Finding Balance: Designing for Remote and Rural Communities

This webinar is part of the RAIC 2024 Conference on Architecture, now available to stream!

Topics: Climate Justice and Resilience, Sustainability, Adaptation and Mitigation

Length: 1 hour | What's Included: Video, Quiz, and Certificate of Completion 

Remote and rural communities face a unique set of considerations when it comes to the design and construction of new buildings and community infrastructure - from the availability of trades and materials, to a lack of infrastructure requiring a high degree of self-sufficiency to autonomy, and increased environmental and climate-change induced risks. To address the unique challenges each community faces, building in remote and rural places requires a collaborative design process to create architecture that is adaptable to changing environments, interacts with the natural surroundings, and maintains a connection to place. This session explores design methodology and process of community engagement, spanning from feasibility through construction, that arrives at a unique design solution for each community while drawing from a shared set of recommendations. Case studies include the Quilchena Community Centre, Texada Island Senior Housing, Sts’ailes Housing Strategy and the MacBeth Hut.

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

• Establish a process of community engagement and collaboration that identifies risks and concerns early into the design process, and continues community involvement through construction.
• Identify site conditions and climate risks, specific to remote and rural projects, that can influence site choice, and site arrangement and building form early into the design process. 
• Develop a toolkit/knowledge base to confidently and with nuance and sensitivity navigate the challenges that each community might face.
• Learn about sustainable, off-grid building systems that are appropriate for rural and remote projects + communities.  

Subject Matter Expert:

Kate Holbrook-Smith
BAS, MArch
Associate, Intern Architect, MGA (Michael Green Architecture)

Kate completed her Bachelor of Architectural Studies and Master of Architecture degrees at the University of Waterloo. Upon defending her master’s thesis in 2017, which focused on the relationship between landscape, craft and architecture, Kate moved to Vancouver to continue her passion for the environment by designing more sustainable and sympathetic buildings.   

Since joining MGA in 2017, Kate has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, including a large Multi-Activity Center in Sweden, a mass-timber office building in Vancouver and an addition to Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon. Recently, Kate helped foster a successful alliance between MGA and Lubor Trubka Associate Architects, leading several indigenous projects including Telmexw Awtexw Healing Centre, Sts’ailes Masterplan, and Quilchena Community Centre.