Currently, most (but not all) homes and other buildings in Canada’s Taiga Shield are built using designs and materials only suitable for southern Canada.
House; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2016
This was not always the case.
There is a long tradition in Canada’s Taiga Shield of what architectural academics call “vernacular architecture“, which can be summarized as design and construction:
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- done without professional architectural guidance
- built by local craftspeople—often by the people subsequently using and owning the buildings
- utilizing local materials
- embodying local cultural priorities and practices
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This tradition survives in photographs, and in smaller buildings and structures built by local people alongside the homes they currently live in.
This project begins with these precedents, and charts a possible way forward for new homes and buildings.
Tents — Sayisi Dene
Sayisi Dene family, Caribou Post, MB, 1935
Image source: Archives of Manitoba
John & Mary Ann Thorassie and family in Nejanilini (Duck) Lake, 1947.
Photo: Richard Harrington
Image source: Archives of Manitoba, HBCA 1987/363-I-76/5
Nejanilini (Duck) Lake, Manitoba, 1947
Photo: Richard Harrington
Image source: Archives of Manitoba, HBCA 1987/363-I-76/1
Tents, Gazebos & Tarp Shacks — Northlands Dënesųłiné
Model of traditional tent; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2017
Tarp Shack at Sheth Chok harvest site; built: 2019; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2019
Tarp Shack at Sheth Chok harvest site, interior; built: 2019; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2019
Gazebo; design/build: Simon Samuel; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2016
Gazebo, interior joinery; design/build: Simon Samuel; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2016
Summer Church, under construction; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2017
Summer Church, interior; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2018
Summer Church; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2018
Cabins & Outbuildings — Sayisi Dene
Annie Clipping in Nejanilini (Duck) Lake, 1947
Photo: Richard Harrington
Image source: Archives of Manitoba, HBCA 1987/363-I-76/7
Walter Duck at abandoned cabin, built ca. 1974; Tadoule Lake, MB
Photo: 2017
Walter Duck in abandoned cabin by Tadoule Lake, built ca. 1974
Photo: 2017
Ernie Bussidor’s Cabin; Tadoule Lake, MB
Photo: 2018
Ernie Bussidor’s Workshop; Tadoule Lake, MB
Photo: 2018
Cabin under construction, 2020; design: Ernie Bussidor; Tadoule Lake, MB
Ernie Bussidor in cabin under construction, 2020; Tadoule Lake, MB
Cabins & Outbuildings —Northlands Dënesųłiné
Cabins, built ca. 1973, still in non-residential use in 2015; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2015
Tiny Home; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2018
Tiny Home & Workshop, under construction, 2017; Lac Brochet, MB
Workshop & Storage Shed; design:build: Clifford Tssessaze; 2019
Storage shed; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2019
Workshop; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2018
Dog House; Lac Brochet, MB
Photo: 2018
There are many more precedents that could be included. This is only a sample, from a small section of Canada’s Taiga Shield Ecozone.
Of course, is will not be sufficient simply to copy these design precedents and claim they can serve as modern homes. Significant adaptation of and development from these precedents will be required. But they can be a place to start.
