Architect Wanda Dalla Costa (she/her) is an advocate for Indigenous peoples. She is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Northern Alberta Canada. Her role at Tawaw is to oversee Indigenous methodologies and architectural spatial innovation. Her belief in the power of architecture to contribute to the well-being and belonging of user groups, inspires her to ‘productively disrupt’ all prototypes for cultural inclusion. Her aim is to embed lifeways, worldviews and identity into every project. With a passion for design and a keen interest in the potential of Indigenous knowledge to contribute to global transformation, she works at all scales, from custom interior elements to Indigenous landscapes.

Before forming Tawaw Architecture Collective in 2010 she worked in Calgary for over a decade building high rise residential, commercial projects, and designing culturally-driven buildings for nations across Alberta and British Columbia.

Wanda is a graduate of University of Calgary (Masters of Architecture), Southern Institute of Technology (Master of Design Research in City Planning and Policy) and University of Alberta (Bachelor of Arts). She also received an Honorary Doctorate in 2023 (Athabasca University). In 2022, she was recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, in 2019, she was recognized as a YBCA 100 recipient by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a list which celebrates people, organizations, and movements shifting culture through ideas, their art, and their activism. Wanda enjoys spending time with her family, traveling the world and competitive billiards.