
Gila River Indian Community members see traditional house designs come to life
What transforms houses into family homes, and homes into communities? Key factors are domiciles and residential developments designed with climate and cultural traditions in mind. The ideas of “culturally relevant” housing and “design sovereignty” are guiding efforts by Wanda Dalla Costa and her students to help members of Arizona’s Native American Indian communities ensure their new housing projects will reflect those concepts and the traditional values of indigenous people. Dalla Costa is an Institute Professor of architecture in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment in the Fulton Schools and ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.