Innovating Housing Solutions: A Fort St. James Startup Tackles Remote Housing Shortages

In an era where housing shortages plague numerous communities across Canada, a groundbreaking initiative from a Fort St. James-based startup, the Nak’azdli Development Corp. (NDC), is set to redefine how we approach housing in remote areas. By partnering with researchers and Indigenous businesses, they are pioneering a first-of-its-kind housing system that promises sustainable, cost-effective solutions for these often-overlooked regions.

A Vision Realized: The Launch of Timber House

Later this month, Nak’azdli Development Corp. will unveil its first Timber House, showcasing a prefab home built from local stud lumber using an innovative panel construction system developed by Deadwood Innovations. This project symbolizes a powerful collaboration between academia and industry, focusing on practical solutions to pressing community issues.

The Timber House aims to resolve critical housing shortages in remote communities, addressing both urgent needs and the sustainable utilization of local resources. With this innovative housing solution, communities stand to benefit greatly—not just in terms of shelter, but also through economic stimulation in the forestry sector.

Bridging an Industry Gap

Owen Miller, co-founder and CEO of Deadwood Innovations, highlighted an essential gap in the housing market, particularly in regional and rural areas. "While there’s been significant focus on large-scale mass timber construction in urban centers, little attention is given to bespoke housing solutions that meet the unique needs of remote communities," he said.

By leveraging low-cost local timber and resources, the NDC’s approach aligns housing solutions with community values and customs. This model is not only sustainable but also delivers durable and affordable homes tailored to specific cultural needs.

Crafting a Sustainable Future

The Timber House initiative evolved from a previous partnership between NDC and Deadwood Solutions, which pioneered a thermochemical process that upgrades low-quality timber into high-grade products. This innovative approach set the stage for collaboration with the University of Northern British Columbia’s Wood Innovation Research Lab, supported through a Mitacs program.

NDC’s CEO, JP Wenger, remarks, "Housing demand across Canada is pervasive, and this research allows us to check all the boxes for providing affordable, sustainable housing." The project not only serves to fill immediate housing needs but also to foster a sustainable environment for local sawmills that face risks of closure.

A Rapid and Efficient Construction Model

The Timber House relies on a sophisticated yet straightforward design model. Nail-laminated panels crafted from local stud lumber will be prefabricated in Deadwood Innovations’ pilot plant, allowing for accelerated construction timelines. Once assembled, housing kits can be transported to remote sites where crews can erect homes in just a matter of days.

"This method enables us to speed up construction timelines while improving quality," Wenger elaborated. By pre-building panels in a controlled environment and assembling them during favorable weather months, the project dramatically increases efficiency. Traditional construction methods often limit companies like Nak’azdli Construction to a few annual builds; this system could allow for double or triple that output.

Closing the Skills Gap

In addition to providing homes, this project addresses the critical skills gap in rural communities. Yuming Bai, a Mitacs-supported researcher pursuing a Master of Applied Science at UNBC, is working on developing advanced computational tools to optimize the prefabrication design process. “My work focuses on streamlining the engineering design phase, which will ultimately reduce overall construction times,” Bai noted.

Conclusion: A Model for the Future

As the Timber House project approaches its completion date, it stands as a promising example of how innovative solutions can simultaneously address housing shortages and support economic resilience in remote communities. Collaborating with local resources and expertise, NDC and its partners hope to establish a regional production cluster in one of Canada’s most significant forestry corridors.

If successful, the Timber House could serve as a springboard for a wider deployment of sustainable, regionally produced housing solutions across Canada’s North. The initiative encapsulates a holistic approach to tackle housing challenges, prioritize community needs, and invigorate local economies, potentially paving the way for transformations in how we construct homes for the future.