Bay Mills Elder Housing Development

This project consists of eight elder housing units, each of which is a single-family home with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and attached garages. Our design incorporated LEED principles of energy efficiency and sustainability, a core focus of the Bay Mills Indian Community and Bodwé. This project was collaboratively designed across the entire Bodwé Group family: Seven Generations A+E, The Steelhead Engineering Company, WBK Engineering, and Blue Star Integrative Studio.

Instead of the more traditional cul-de-sac layout, this courtyard approach means that for residents, the front of each home looks out not onto car traffic or parking but instead onto a shared green space. Community nodes oriented along an axis stretching from east to west and the common green foster relationships and provide spaces where cultures can be shared and appreciated.This development is designed to intentionally increase density, setting up a pocket neighborhood where elder residents can organically interact with one another for safety, companionship, support, and overall wellbeing.

Our biophilic approach to design incorporated elements of nature throughout the pocket neighborhood. Site orientation takes advantage of prevailing winter winds, cool summer breezes off the waters of Lake Spectacle, and the directions of seasonal solstices.