An Architectural Toolkit for Complex Sites: Exploring Co-Creation with Community Stakeholders

The architectural profession is at a pivotal point in redefining its relationship with the public. This thesis seeks to develop a ‘toolkit’ of alternative tools and techniques intended for the use of architects to engage community stakeholders in co-creation. Relying on contribution from participants, the toolkit acts as a vessel for envisioning the future of a contested site in Ottawa, the Chaudière Islands. The widely divergent visions this site has inspired – from that of the private developer, Windmill, to that of the late Algonquin Elder, William Commanda – make clear the need for new tools for the architect. While applied here to a particular case study and Indigenous working group, the thesis aims to provide a model of public engagement for other projects of complexity in the future.