SCinIC | Site Visits & Tribe Updates | Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Design Charrette

Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Design Charrette «

February 24, 2012

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has been moving toward a sustainable housing and community model since 2002. They began their culture-based development in Dowagiac, MI, at Edawat with an integrated cluster design. This design encompassed streets, sidewalks, storm water management, landscape elements, and the placement of 34 houses to retain topography and existing vegetation. In 2010, the Pokagon Band built a community center meeting LEED Gold standards. They are continuing the planning at the Edawat site in Dowagiac, as well as, beginning the process of visioning for development at two other sites in Hartford, MI, and South Bend, IN.

The Conservation Design Forum (CDF) invited Sustainable Construction in Indian Country (SCinIC) team members to attend a design charrette held at the Pokagon Band community center on February 11. CDF is the landscape architecture firm focused on sustainable design that developed the masterplan for the Pokagon Band’s first phase of development, Edawat. Community members attended this charrette to discuss their needs and wants for the next phase of development. Ideas for much needed new homes, a community garden, and renewable energy sources for the community were a few of the items mentioned during the charrette.

The SCinIC team plans to provide technical assistance to the Pokagon Band by working closely with CDF to recommend ideas for housing design that will provide the same high level of performance and sustainability that the existing infrastructure currently possesses.