UdeM Architecture Studio 2025: Designing a Refuge for Innu Youth

For the seventh consecutive year, Éric Moutquin and Alain Fournier of EVOQ led a design studio at the Université de Montréal’s School of Architecture, dedicated to the development of projects in collaboration with Indigenous communities in Quebec. This year, the students were invited to work with the Innu Nation of Uashat Mak Mani-utenam, located on the Côte-Nord.

At the heart of the studio: the design of a multi-unit housing project to support a “post-majority” program for young people in the community aged 18 to 26. Many of these youth transition from child and family services at age 17 and need a safe, supportive, and culturally grounded place during their journey toward adulthood.

The students engaged with the community, listened to personal stories, and took part in a collective reflection process with members of the Nation and the Uauitshitun social services. This respectful dialogue informed the development of an architectural proposal rooted in Innu cultural, social, and identity realities.

Beyond design, the studio is part of a broader effort to foster cultural affirmation and decolonize architectural language. Through its process of innuization (nitinniunan), the Innu Nation seeks to ensure that its built environment reflects its culture, history, and aspirations.

This co-creation process, grounded in reciprocity, has led to thoughtful, functional, and forward-looking proposals to support the future of Innu youth.