Log Cabin on LacLu – Ontario

“One of my positive lived experiences of experiencing quality in the built environment would have to be my parents’ log cabin on LacLu. I feel incredibly privileged saying that my quality experience is a summer home. I am incredibly privileged to be able to say that and have it be true. The quality for me comes from the connection to the land. The cabin is situated on an island. You can always see or hear the water. Growing up we had a wood stove and no electricity. Now we have a composting toilet and an electric stove but the place is simple. It has a few additions and a screened in veranda. Everything is imperfect and cobbled together but that makes it homey. The log core is over a century old and it’s an insurance nightmare but its priceless.

I don’t spend much time there now. I don’t have the time or money to get out to the cabin as much as I would like. In fact, getting out of the city is a challenge in and of itself without a car on my budget. I rent the main floor and basement in a house in West Broadway in Winnipeg with a roomate. I think I have quality where I live now because there are no bed bugs,or cockroaches, I have ensuite access to a washer and dryer and a big soaking tub. When I open the window in the summer, I can hear the community. Especially the skateboarders in the park out back or the kids at the splash pad or on the swings. These sounds are what bring quality to my life here. Also, I am allowed to have a dog whom I love.

The house needs work nothing about it is perfect. There’s not enough sunlight. The basement leaks. Mice come in in the spring, ants get in in the summer. Once we had a squirrel visit. But again, its homey and I like my roommate. To me connection is quality and I am glad I can experience that in starkly different places. But when the seagulls came back in the spring and the sun was shining as I sit out back, and I close my eyes I am transported momentarily to the cabin. Its that powerful of a place for me.

If I were to design a quality building, I would want to be able to hear the wind, see the rain, and feel the sun. I would want refuge from these elements but I would want connection to them as well. That is what I have at the cabin. That is what I feel like I have with my community here in West Broadway. It’s not as picturesque in the city it’s a different kind of connection but it remains a strong one for me.

I see the privilege of my youth as I struggle to keep one roof over my head never mind take over or care for a summer home. One good enough home is enough for me. What makes a place good enough for you? What makes it better? What makes it luxury? If connection to the wind, the rain, the sun, and the community feel like luxury how can we bring these simple pleasures to everyone?” (Booklet Positive Lived Experiences of Quality in the Built Environment 2023, p.8)