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Design is research, research is ceremony, design is ceremony. The team uses the Indigenous Placekeeping Framework (IPKF), our process that ensures projects are: citizen-led, process-based, place-based and have reciprocal value for the community.

Many documents have been written about indigenous people, but they have not been by or for indigenous people. Therefore, Tawaw is cautious about where we retrieve our information from. Our rule is to trust (in this order): the nation’s website, museum and university research (both may be outdated, but at least it’s peer reviewed/fact checked), and government websites (with caution). Most important, we always track the location of where we retrieve information from. We require the creation of reference links revealing all sources obtained, whether they be images, quotes, or content of any kind.

ᑭᐦᒋᐦᑲᐊᐧᐣ [ kihcihkawan ]
It is of values

DYNAMIC COLLABORATION

\community connectors grounded in ethical relationality and reciprocity

AUTHENTIC

\ designers fueled by lived experience offering a contemporary take on tradition

PLACEKEEPING

\ creativity reimages new futures that preserve, connect and inform

FUTURITY

\ creatively reimagining a better tomorrow for future generations

Indigenous futurity and architecture: Rewriting the urban narrative.

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Indigenous futurity and architecture: Rewriting the urban narrative.

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ᑭᐦᒋᐦᑲᐊᐧᐣ [ kihcihkawan ]
It is of values

DYNAMIC COLLABORATION

\community connectors grounded in ethical relationality and reciprocity

AUTHENTIC

\ designers fueled by lived experience offering a contemporary take on tradition

PLACEKEEPING

\ creativity reimages new futures that preserve, connect and inform

FUTURITY

\ creatively reimagining a better tomorrow for future generations
Western University | Wampum Learning Lodge London, Ontario, Canada | Education
Awards

Honorary Fellow


The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada is proud to announce that Wanda Dalla Costa, a prominent Indigenous voice and practitioner in North American architecture, has been awarded honorary fellowship for 2022. Wanda Dalla Costa is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and was the first First Nation woman to become an architect in Canada. Her firm, Tawaw Architecture Collective, is based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the director and founder of Arizona State University’s Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community-driven design and construction program that brings together tribal community members, industry and multidisciplinary teams of university students and faculty to co-design and co-develop solutions for tribal communities. Dalla Costa is a prominent Indigenous female voice within the architectural profession–specifically within the academic sphere in North America.
Awards

YBCA's 100 Honorees: Wanda Dalla Costa


Indigenous Design Collaborative's founder and design director Wanda Dalla Costa was recognized as YBCA 100 list of change makers and cultural activists working at the intersection of art, social change and civic life.
Awards

Trailblazer Award: Wanda Dalla Costa


Presented this year as part of NZ20, the world's largest net zero conference and expo, the Trailblazer Awards celebrate leaders who are building a net zero future through their work in the carbon, energy, water, waste, transit and/or policy sectors.
Awards

St. Lawrence Center Competition Award 2023

Awards

Jeff Harnar Award
Unbuilt Architecture 2021

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