Award of Merit in the Civic Achievements in Urban Design & Architecture 

We won an Award of Merit in the Civic Achievements category presented to the Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing for our Nih Dawin’Naa Affordable Apartments project at the 2025 Hamilton Urban Design and Architecture Awards. A total of 37 submissions were received. Of those, only 11 projects received awards.

This award recognizes the initiatives we have taken regarding attention to social and cultural needs, sustainable design, and community engagement in addressing housing issues for Indigenous community members.

“A high-quality urban environment contributes to economic and social benefits, improves the image of the City, and creates a sense of pride. A well-designed city is integral to developing a vibrant and sustainable community with a high quality of life. Sustainable urban design and architecture aim to minimize the negative impact of human activities on the environment while also improving the quality of life for the people who live and work in these spaces. This involves incorporating principles such as energy efficiency, waste reduction, using renewable resources, and preserving green spaces into the design process.

Owners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, planners, contractors, engineers, consultants and students are invited and encouraged to submit projects such as: buildings, additions, alterations, restorations, adaptive reuse, brownfield redevelopment, streetscapes, parks, open spaces, landscapes, ecological restoration and design projects, public art installations, planning studies, and/or student work.”

About our space: Nih’ Dawin’Naa

Nih-Dawin’Naa means where we live in Nishnaabemwin (Ojibwe).

A layered transformation of a former industrial building aims to provide high-quality homes for Hamilton’s Urban Indigenous community in partnership with Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing.

Originally constructed in 1911 and seeing multiple owners over the years, including recently housing a performing arts company, the renovation was designed in partnership between Smoke Architecture and Invizij Architects.

Our Nih Dawin’Naa project transformed a former cotton factory into 15 apartments and added two units in an adjacent duplex, in partnership with Invizij Architects and Smoke Architecture Inc.

Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing’s mission has always been to provide affordable housing in Hamilton for Indigenous Peoples and families. Our organization has several projects underway, including new Indigenous-focused supportive housing and a learners housing project to continue to support our community.

We want to say thank you to everyone on our Project team for making this happen, most especially our Partners:

• Invizij Architects Inc.
• Smoke Architecture Inc.
• Naomi Smith
• Landwise
• Tim Welch Consulting Inc.
• CK Engineering Inc.
• Kalos Engineering Inc.
• MTE Consultants

Also a special thank you to The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton for the kind comments on our new space. Read their impressions of our building tour on their website by clicking this link.