ADAPTIVE REUSE FOR HEALING AND BELONGING

Harvey House transforms First Light’s long-standing headquarters in downtown St. John’s into a transitional housing facility for women and 2SLGBTQIA+ relatives with lived experience of violence. 

First Light is an Indigenous-led, non-profit organization that has supported urban Indigenous people in St. John’s since the late 1970s. Building upon this history, the project adapts its existing home, a late-1800s heritage structure with a 2002 rear addition, to address a critical need for safe, supportive, and culturally grounded housing.

Working within the constraints of an aging building shaped by multiple generations of construction, the project retains much of the existing structure while introducing ten independent dwelling units, accessible circulation, communal spaces, and outdoor gathering areas. Trauma-informed design principles and Indigenous worldviews informed the planning, materiality, and circulation, balancing residents’ needs for privacy, autonomy, and security with opportunities for community and connection.

Harvey House demonstrates how thoughtful adaptive reuse can respond to a complex social need while preserving and transforming an important community building. Through careful planning, material warmth, improved accessibility, and a strong social mandate, the project gives new purpose to the existing structure while creating a place for safety, healing, belonging, and cultural connection.

PLANNING AND FUNCTION

The basement was lowered by 600 mm to create a new accessible resident’s lobby at street level.  Additions were constructed to provide new living spaces, decks, washrooms and vertical circulation.

The renovated facility now includes:

· Ten single-bedroom apartments with exterior spaces.

· Communal gathering spaces and kitchen with flexible rooms for workshops and cultural programming.

· Community deck.

· Administration offices for support staff.

· A new accessible resident’s lobby at street level.

· Elevator and stair tower connecting the new lobby to all three floors.

BUILT FORM AND INNOVATION

The design reused most of the original structure, greatly reducing the need for new materials and unnecessary site disturbance.  Existing foundations, structural wood framing, roof trusses are all incorporated into the new design.  

Energy modelling played a crucial role in the earliest phases of the design.  The project achieved a 25% reduction in both energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions outlined in the requirements of the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) and the National Building Code of Canada (NBC).

Key upgrades include:

· Greatly increasing the overall amount of insulation, both in the exterior walls and roof cavity.

· Triple-glazed aluminum windows

· Energy-efficient air-to-air heat pumps in each apartment which can be controlled individually by residents.

· New heat pumps for common spaces as well.

MATERIALS

Exterior cladding is exclusively wood with contrasting areas of dark grey and bright yellow.  Natural birch millwork was provided in each dwelling and common space with maple hardwood flooring and ceiling accents in local pine.  Custom, round wood lighting features were also designed and constructed for the Community  Spaces providing warmth and comfort while making a connection to indigenous traditions.