Scaling High-Performance
Housing Production for the Boreal Climate
SHED is excited to announce that our proposal for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Housing Supply Challenge, Round 4 - Building for the Future, has been selected for Stage 2 development.
At present, there is a gap between sustainability and affordability in housing development. Namely, the former can be time-consuming to design and expensive to build, while overall quality may be compromised to achieve designated cost targets. Our proposed project aims to streamline the processes of specifying, fabricating, delivering, and installing housing units within northern Ontario. This three-part solution will include (a) tailoring existing, prefabricated housing systems to boreal regions, inclusive of their climate conditions; (b) establishing, and scaling out, local manufacturing facilities, while offering training and support for their operation; and, (c) creating an online platform through which individuals, developers, and governments can navigate the range of sustainable housing typologies, materials, and assemblies available for production through these facilities.
In this project, SHED (Strategic, Healthy, Ecological Design) Ltd. is partnering with Simple Life Homes to adapt, upgrade, replicate, and scale its prefabricated housing system, which represents the best in high-performance construction. We are also working with the BMI Group, a real estate development company committed to building better communities. Together, the team would review the housing needs for the BMI Group’s upcoming redevelopment of the former Red Rock Mills lands, which could serve as a prospective pilot site for this CMHC-funded initiative. These lands comprise a 360-acre brownfield, situated on the north shore of Lake Superior. Finally, we are collaborating with Shared Value Solutions (SVS), an environmental and community development consulting firm, which works alongside Indigenous Nations across Canada, providing guidance in relation to major resource development projects. As part of this incubator process, we would connect with Indigenous communities within the area to discuss their housing priorities.
In summary, our proposed project aims to simplify design and construction processes; achieve economies of scale in the production of high-performance homes; and, build capacity within northern and Indigenous economies to scale out local, regenerative housing development.