The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) will hold its inaugural Indigenous Architecture and Design Symposium on May 27, 2017 in Ottawa in conjunction with the annual Festival of Architecture.
The symposium is a project of RAIC’s newly formed Indigenous Task Force, which was officially launched on June 9, 2016 in Nanaimo, B.C. (Snuneymuxw territory) during the 2016 Festival of Architecture. The new RAIC Indigenous Task Force is comprised largely of Indigenous architects and intern architects.
The task force includes representatives from Sudbury’s McEwen School of Architecture.
Its core purpose is to foster and promote Indigenous design in Canada in rural, Métis and Northern communities, First Nations, and in urban spaces and advocacy with and on behalf of Indigenous communities. Task Force members believe strongly that architecture is a public-spirited profession with an important role in reconciliation — addressing injustices through giving agency back to Indigenous people.
“We need designers and designs that can create long-term relevance, exemplify a respectful cultural and economic and environmental responsibility to sustainable development, and consider the reciprocal wellbeing and quality of life of the people,” said Dr. Patrick Stewart, task force chair.
An estimated 100 delegates will gather at The Wabano Centre, which RAIC considers “a beautiful and culturally appropriate place to undertake this important and groundbreaking symposium.”
The symposium will feature presentations that focus on best practices and processes in Indigenous architecture and design and/or on celebrating Indigenous design, architecture and placemaking.
Organizers are seeking a mix of presentations providing innovative examples in urban spaces, as well as in rural, remote, and northern First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. The RAIC also invites international perspectives on Indigenous architecture, design and placemaking.
