Modular Housing in Ignace and Kenora: An Affordable Housing Option Allowing Seniors to ‘Age in Place’

In 2022, Architecture Counsel had the opportunity to explore modular construction (i.e. built in a factory setting then transported to its intended site) as a viable means for providing new affordable housing in two remote communities in northern Ontario: Ignace and Kenora. Working with Nomodic, a construction management firm dedicated exclusively to modular construction, our team believed that modular construction was an optimal, cost-effective solution to meet their housing needs. Typical of small communities, both Ignace and Kenora were impacted by limited resources and a lack of easy access to labour and materials. The modular construction approach provided a turn-key solution for these 20-unit seniors residences with minimal disruption to the small communities.

Both buildings supported the concept of “Aging in Place”. With their small populations and remote locations, both communities were unable to meet the needs of their seniors with many having to re-locate to larger cities when no longer able to remain in their homes. These new seniors’ complexes enabled them to grow older with dignity and remain close to family, friends, and supports. 

Our design concepts considered a range of options to meet the client’s objective of achieving significant reductions in operating costs, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.