(UN)COMMON RELATIONALITIES: Between Architecture and Indigenous Engagement Research Practices

This interview with architect Wanda Dalla Costa, a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, a scholar, architect, and founder of Tawaw Architecture Collective (https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://www.TawArc.com">www.TawArc.com) with offices in Phoenix, United States and Calgary, Canada, positions Indigenous thought in contemporary architecture, underscoring the criticality of uncommon precedents. As the first First Nations woman to become an architect in Canada, Dalla Costa foregrounds Indigenous knowledge to break from Western canonized thinking about place in architecture. Dalla Costa answers questions about intangible, abstract, and cultural ideas in Indigenous ways of thinking about design that are critical to architecture and transcend visual analysis. She elaborates on Indigenous epistemologies that can potentially inform one’s frame of reference. Dalla Costa discusses her architectural projects with Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada, her design frameworks, and a series of online workshops for architects addressing Indigenous Placekeeping components in which she explores the application of engagement research methods. She discusses a participatory process, the Indigenous Placekeeping Framework™, which she uses to guide architectural design innovation. The framework includes culturally specific engagement tools that ensure an equitable design process and culturally responsive outcomes.