We engage time and tradition to preserve the cultural richness of the communities we work with, while using technology to honor the complexities of our interconnected world.
place-based research
We conduct historical research prior to entering community in order to become familiar with local histories, lifeways, and place attachments.
Natural Language Processing methods
TAC +
engagement
Through dialogue, our approach invites all voices— fostering diverse and unexpected ideas that ignite inspiration and broaden innovation.
The land is a very important referent in the Native American mind. Events, patterns, cycles, and happenings are readily observed on and from the land. Animal migrations, cycles of plant life, seasons and cosmic movements are detected from particular spatial locations; hence, medicine wheels and other sacred observatory sites.
Gregory Cajete, Native Science
16
number of states / provinces we worked in
design den
TAW
meets monthly to
explore Indigenous
ideologies.
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.
