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The University of Toronto Scarborough’s , a building that will be dedicated to learning about Indigenous culture and ways of knowing, has received a .

The award is given to architectural projects that bring innovation to the world of design and balance aesthetics with the effectiveness of social spaces.

Indigenous House was designed by Alfred Waugh, principal architect at Formline Architecture and a member of the Fond du Lac Denesuline Nation of Saskatchewan, along with LGA Architecture Partners. Waugh drew inspiration for the design from a traditional winter wigwam and longhouse, and also took into account suggestions of local Indigenous communities, elders and knowledge keepers.

Claire Weisz, a juror for the award, says the committee looked at many projects designed to serve Indigenous people. “Finding an appropriate and functional architectural expression was not always successful,” Weisz said. “In this case, it is: a new form of architecture consciously emerges from the landscape and looks to Indigenous precedents.”