A Lakehead University student has been awarded $150,000 for research into better sustainable housing for northern Indigenous communities. THUNDER BAY — Between high material and shipping prices, costs of labour and environmental factors, building homes in remote First Nation communities is more complicated than it sounds.
There are short building seasons and structures made out of timber and wood that risk mould issues, which would then lead to difficulties in getting timely repairs completed, according to Ahmed Elshaer, an associate professor of civil engineering at Lakehead University who was motivated to address the issues through research.
In speaking with multiple First Nations chiefs, Elshaer noted that while building homes in these communities is very difficult, socio-economic concerns are also at play, hearing that First Nation’s residents also lacked a sense of connection and belonging to their homes.
Working under Elshaer’s guidance, Ph.D. candidate Tristen Brown is looking at addressing the shortfall of housing in these communities and the sustainability of the structures when subjected to extreme high winds and cold climates.
Brown was recently awarded federal grants of $150,000 over three years to support the research.
In a recently published article, Brown noted that changes need to be made for new builds.
“Not only do the Canadian building design codes need updating, they aren’t up to par when it comes to the severe weather in the more northerly parts of Canada, which is being worsened by climate change.”
Brown is looking at modular homes, which are more cost-effective and have better sustainability.
“We’re planning on working with two industrial partners who will give us material to test, which will allow them to optimize their designs,” Brown said. “We will also share the research with Northern communities so that they can apply these housing solutions.”
Some of the funding Brown is receiving can be used for him to get a first-hand sense of the conditions in remote communities.
“Now I can actually afford the travels to those communities that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do, and I would have had to maybe do it via Zoom or via cell phone calls.”
The scholarship award is a first for the engineering faculty at Lakehead, and marks only the third time the university has ever received it.
Having grown up in Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, a Treaty 8 community in Alberta, Brown witnessed first-hand the difficulties regarding housing needs in his community.
It was that light bulb moment, and seeing that he could research to help find sustainable solutions for problems that have plagued his family and families like his in addressing First Nations’ housing needs.
source tbnewswatch