Community Garden Yards

Location: Water Street South and Ainslie Street South, Cambridge, ON, CA.

The City of Cambridge has been lacking affordable housing for immigrants and refugees, students, and low-income families. The population of Cam-bridge has drastically increased to 129,920 as reported in 2016 compared to 120,371 in 2011. This showcases that the population has grown at a rapid rate recently, with newcomers constituting half of the increased population which suggests a need for supportive housing. Additionally, students at the Waterloo School of Architecture have been facing challenges in finding affordable housing at a proximate location from the School of Architecture. The site is located on Water Street South and Ainslie Street South. This project consists of an apartment building for intergenerational townhouses offered as supportive housing for newcomers, and a co-op student residence building. Additionally, the buildings are surrounded by four courtyards and pathways which make the site a highly social neighborhood with multiple community facilities: a restaurant, a language training center, a community garden, playgrounds, and barbecue areas. The Community Garden Yards project proposes the idea of offering agency-based affordable housing while connecting multiple types of users facing housing instability.

In collaboration with Mattan Jin