platform.MIDDLE: Architecture for Housing the 99%

platform.MIDDLE: Architecture for Housing the 99%

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

Topics: Housing, Planning and Urbanism

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

platform.MIDDLE: Architecture for Housing the 99%” forefronts the challenges being faced by architects, builders, developers and   policy-makers in their efforts to address housing supply gaps, and presents a ‘toolkit’ of design strategies to meet these demands without compromising quality.

In spring 2019, 5468796 hosted a symposium to discuss the housing crisis in North America with perspectives from architects, urbanists, developers and architectural critics. Some of these findings have been presented in 2023 provoking critical reflection that inspired the production of “platform.MIDDLE”, a comprehensive publication of the research based on transcripts of the original symposium spring-boarding to three more volumes of analysis, which cover all aspects and scales of multi-family housing practice & production across the continent. This session will present the ongoing results of project housing research to inspire a culture of knowledge sharing among peers.

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

• Understand the multi-family housing industry in North America and compare it to different countries and cities across the world, contextualizing the housing crisis in relation to initiatives elsewhere and how Canada measures up.
• Demonstrate the full scope of an architectural practice that advocates for social good. 5468796 Architecture believes that an architect’s role today must increasingly intersect with politics, economics, civic governance, social activism, and other forms of cultural and scholarly research, which we’ve defined as our ‘practice ecosystem’.
• Explore design solutions to address the challenges in Canada’s housing supply gap through 546’s built works. The design outcomes implemented by 546 in response to various missing middle housing briefs include the following key themes:
• Identify design strategies to adopt in the production of affordable multi-family housing, considering policy, climate and community while at the same time advocating for design excellence. We believe these strategies in form-making, technical achievement and satisfying the client’s financial targets can also make great spaces for living and bringing people together.

Subject Matter Experts:

Johanna Hurme
BEnvD, MArch; NSAA;OAA;MAA;SAA;AAA;AIBC;FRAIC;LEED AP
Architect, 5468796 Architecture

Johanna Hurme co-founded 5468796 Architecture in 2007 with Sasa Radulovic. The firm has been awarded numerous international recognitions, including "50 Best Architectural Firms in 2020" by Domus Magazine, and was Canada’s official representation at the 2012 Venice Biennale in Architecture.

In addition to practice, Johanna is an activist, advocate and educator, having initiated and co-created a number of design related programs, including the 2013 Professional Prix de Rome prize-winning project Table for 12 + 1200. She is past Chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, currently on the Executive Board of RAIC I Architecture Canada and a member of the Van Alen Institute (NYC). In 2019, she was named Morgenstern Chair with Sasa at the College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology, and most recently, she was invited to Cornell AAP as the Gensler Visiting Critic. Johanna contributed to "Innovative Solutions for Creating Sustainable Cities" (2019), and is co-author of "platform:MIDDLE: Architecture for Housing the 99%” (2023)..

Sasa Radulovic
B.E.D. M.Arch, NSAA, OAA, MAA, SAA, AAA AIBC, FRAIC, LEED AP
Architect, 5468796 Architecture

Sasa Radulovic co-founded 5468796 Architecture in 2007 with   Johanna Hurme. His completed work includes many of the firm’s key multi-family housing projects, such as 90/100 Alexander, Pumphouse and 62M, and adaptable urban infrastructure project Parkade of the Future. 

Sasa is a key contributor to Winnipeg’s design culture and an energetic ambassador for Canadian architecture in the global sphere, engaging the public through built work, advocacy projects, exhibitions, publications and teaching. He is an active board member with the Van Alan Institute (NYC) and the Partners Program at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture, as well as co-creating numerous events aimed at fostering a civic appreciation for design. Sasa has taught at universities across North America, including a recent position as the Morgenstern Chair at the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture along with Johanna, and he is co-author of 546’s upcoming publication "platform.MIDDLE: Architecture for Housing the 99%” (2023).