The first home designed to meet the specific needs of a West Coast Vancouver Island First Nations community is complete. The 1,600-square-foot house is located on Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation territory near Tofino, B.C., on Vancouver Island.

The Real Estate Foundation of B.C. awarded Ecotrust Canada $95,000 in grants to work with First Nations on a model house design, through Ecotrust’s Green and Culturally Appropriate Building Design Project. Its goal is to create sustainable communities by planning and constructing houses and other buildings using local materials, labour and methods that respect the area’s environment and First Nations values.

More than 300 homes will have to be built over the next 15 years in the region – both on and off reserve – to meet residents’ housing requirements. The hope is that the building and design standards of this home, plus lessons learned during construction, will be used to make each future house even better than the prototype.

The home was designed by Vancouver-born architect David Wong to withstand the wet, windy climate of the region and accommodate growing, multi-generational families that are part of First Nations culture.