The Affordability Cooperative: An Affordable Housing Plan in Ottawa

The thesis will revolve around the need for affordable housing and densification in the downtown Ottawa area. In June, 2020, the city of Ottawa announced that they will be committing 15 million dollars towards these efforts. One of the sites in which they will be using for this affordable housing proposal will be Gladstone village as well as 1010 Somerset, which is now a large plot of green space with a low-rise, vacant government building and is adjacent to small, detached and semi detached homes. This thesis takes the project proposal by local Ottawa firm Hobin Architects, which proposes a 50% affordable housing allotment, as a design catalyst and point of departure. It proposes a counter plan, using a different set of housing models to de-centers profit and emphasize social interaction and connectivity for a broader, and more inclusive Ottawa community demographic.