Anduhyaun Indigenous Women’s Shelter

An unusual design inspired by nature helps to guide and comfort Indigenous and non-indigenous women and their children fleeing violence on their healing and wellness journey.

Anduhyaun is a new-build, three-storey, 22-room emergency shelter serving Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and their children fleeing violence. To design a culturally sensitive and inclusive environment, we developed a curvilinear concept – both in plan and in detail that aligns with indigenous traditions. From the exterior canopy, and through the entrance, the ground floor plan flows in waves like water. This unusual architecture is intended to guide and comfort users through the space, conveying the beginning of their healing and wellness journey.

Evolution is central to healing and to the Indigenous World View, so we wanted the building to feel alive and in transformation with a flowing plan. Instead of rooms with doors facing the corridors, the pathways give way to niches that are entry vestibules so that the interior has a more natural, geographical feeling. Light sweeps through the space, ignites the materials, and you can feel a sense of continuity and change. Colours are rich and evocative. The ground floor glossy and mottled blue ceramic tile sparkles in the sunlight.

The corridor streams and swells around common spaces including an intake space, an Elders room, counselling rooms, staff offices, a circular traditional room, and an open concept kitchen and dining area that opens to a sheltered garden. Programs encircle the traditional room at the heart of the space, whose exterior walls are clad with “wave course” cedar shingles that imbue their biophilic qualities including the smell of the natural material. Deep red like sumac, this room feels surprising, strong, feminine, and embracing. Its circular skylight casts a natural beam that sweeps the wood floor.

Upstairs, the bedrooms, which can be combined to accommodate families, have curvilinear walls to create a soft and organic feeling and to create a more inviting and welcoming atmosphere. Even though the initial plan was for shared bathrooms, we knew based on our previous experience designing shelters how critical it is for vulnerable users to have their own space, so we were able to design suites that give each suite a private bathroom. In these areas we also took inspiration from water and sunset to develop uplifting accent colours.

A variety of spaces from private to communal rooms let residents find their comfortable place. The garden is deeply private and is designed for a future ceremonial pit and sweat lodge.