Originally announced by the CMHC – Ottawa, Ontario, September 20, 2018

Lina el-Setouhy (BCD ’18), Chloe Espiard (BCD ’18), Mitch Gold (BCD ’18) and Juniper Littlefield (BCD ’18) are one of three teams to be awarded the competition’s top prize of $10,000. The group submitted their final studio project, “The Jetty: An Affordable Housing Cooperative”. The competition was launched in 2017 with the new National Housing Strategy and is part of CMHC’s Innovation Fund, both of which have jump-started the implementation of rental and other types of housing in Canadian cities after many years of inconsistent funding.

The project submission included site/landscape plans, floor plans, a demographic analysis to justify their approach, a sustainability lens (funding for energy-efficient products, sustainable landscape or building materials), and a financial model (pro forma and 10-year affordability) for their projects. This helped ensure that their projects were as viable as possible–CMHC was especially interested in innovative sustainability or financial approaches to rental housing. The winning group proposed a student cooperative that would incorporate refurbished shipping containers in a low-rise housing development. The project was supervised by Dr. Ren Thomas.

“The Innovation Fund Student Challenge has inspired students to not only think of new ways to address affordable housing, but to perhaps consider a career in housing as well. The proposals we’ve received are creative and offer solutions ranging from innovative building techniques to new financing models. I would like to congratulate all the winners and everyone who participated in this challenge.” — The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation