As part of Autodesk’s annual Design & Make It Real program, the Make It Home affordable housing challenge invited students to reimagine how design and construction can strengthen communities through innovative, affordable housing solutions. The challenge is one of several initiatives within the program that encourage young people to apply design thinking to real-world problems in the built environment—while gaining early exposure to the tools and mindsets shaping today’s architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
This year, we’re sharing these stories during Construction Inclusion Week and Careers in Construction Month, a time to celebrate the diverse voices, perspectives, and pathways shaping the future of building. Each feature in this series pairs a student designer with an industry mentor whose insights illuminate how Design and Make skills and professional practice come together to drive meaningful change.
Today’s story brings together Michael Hidalgo, a fourth-year civil engineering student at Duke University, Autodesk Design & Make Ambassador, and former Grand Prize winner of Autodesk’s Make It Modular challenge, and Christine Wei, a recent graduate of Milliken Mills High School in Ontario, Canada.
Her project, Make Attawapiskat Home, centers the experiences of the Attawapiskat First Nation, designing culturally grounded, climate-resilient housing that restores dignity, safety, and community well-being.
About the design
Make Attawapiskat Home responds to the severe housing crisis in the Attawapiskat First Nation of Northern Ontario, where families face chronic overcrowding, government underfunding, seasonal flooding, and homes that are unsafe and culturally disconnected. Christine sought to design housing that not only meets physical needs, but also supports cultural identity, mental health, and long-term resilience.
Her solution uses a core-plus-module system inspired by Cree traditions:
- A central gathering core with a warm hearth, kitchen, and shared family space
- Interlocking bedroom modules added or removed for multigenerational living
- Homes elevated on piles and gravel pads to protect permafrost and resist flooding
- Heavy insulation and energy-efficient materials to reduce heating burden
- Bright exterior colors and sunlight-filled interiors to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder
- East-facing doors, star motifs, and exposed wood to honor Cree symbolism and culture
Christine modeled her design in Autodesk Fusion, learning parametric design to support adaptability. She prioritized local materials, modular construction, accessibility features, and long-term maintenance—all while centering social sustainability and Indigenous sovereignty.
Mentor Spotlight: Michael Hidalgo on sustainability, purpose, and designing with heart
As a civil engineering student at Duke University, Autodesk Design & Make Ambassador, and former Grand Prize winner of Autodesk’s Make It Modular challenge, Michael Hidalgo brings a rare perspective to the judging table—he understands both the process and the pressure of being a student innovator.
Through the Autodesk Design & Make Ambassador Program—a student leadership community that connects college designers and engineers with industry professionals—Michael mentors peers, hosts workshops, creates tutorials, and showcases real-world projects using Autodesk software. Ambassadors like Michael develop leadership skills, gain exclusive access to industry leaders, and inspire future innovators.
Michael is passionate about sustainable infrastructure, resilient design, and using engineering as a tool for equity. He knows firsthand how Autodesk programs can launch careers—because they helped launch his own. Now, as both a mentor and a judge, he’s paying it forward.
Favorite Project
Make Attawapiskat Home
Student Designer: Christine Wei
Project Site: Attawapiskat First Nation, Northern Ontario, Canada
What stood out to you about Christine’s project?
This year, all the entries in the Make it Home student design challenge were phenomenal, but one that particularly stood out was Christine Wei’s “Make Attawapiskat Home.” Christine truly took to heart the purpose of engineering — to solve problems and enact positive change. Instead of focusing on her own community or one close to home, she chose to center her design on the Attawapiskat Indigenous community. Her selfless decision to design a solution for an often-forgotten community that has been battered by severe climate events pushed her to challenge her CAD skills and develop a home optimized for Attawapiskat.
Her entry is one of self-discovery and learning. From the beginning, she notes she wasn’t very familiar with Attawapiskat, but once it came onto her radar in high school and through the news, she felt compelled to help. Geography would be a major challenge in this design — rural, extremely cold, and with limited resources — but she employed a design-thinking mindset to tackle these problems. Christine analyzed the challenges of permafrost, engineered ways to passively address the cold and insects, and implemented modular design for ease of construction and the potential for reconstruction.
You first experienced Design & Make It Real as a student participant. Now, you’re back as a judge. How did that shift in perspective shape the way you evaluated this year’s student designs?
As a judge — and more so as a former Make it Real participant — I admired Wei’s dedication to aiding another community and the impact it has had on her path toward engineering. Through this project, she created a viable solution that works in harmony with nature. Every step was carefully thought out from beginning to end: local materials would be utilized for construction, and at the end of the structure’s lifespan, the integration of durable materials and designing for deconstruction would allow those materials to have a new life. Having gone through the challenge myself, I could recognize the depth of effort required, and it helped me appreciate not just the final product, but the mindset, process, and problem-solving behind it.
What inspiration did you take away from the student entries overall?
As the AEC industry moves toward greater sustainability and minimizing environmental impact, these student projects stand as examples of how the next generation of industry professionals are working to make that future a reality. It has been truly inspiring to see how, year after year, the Make It Real challenge continues to push boundaries and fuel the next generation of changemakers.
Student Spotlight: Christine Wei on empathy, equity, and designing for communities beyond your own
When she entered the Make It Home challenge, Christine was a high school senior at Milliken Mills High School in Markham, Ontario. What makes her project so powerful is not only its technical depth—but its compassion.
Tell us about your submission. What inspired your project?
Growing up in southern Ontario, I remained largely unaware of the struggles faced by communities in northern Ontario. In school, we learned about Indigenous history, but I assumed those issues were part of the past. That changed in Grade 9 geography, where I had the opportunity to explore the ongoing challenges Indigenous communities face today. I was shocked to learn that many still live under boil water advisories, with inadequate access to education, healthcare, and safe housing. Our class took turns managing a few randomly selected small communities in Canada, and Attawapiskat was one that stood out to me.
This project had me thinking that many of these issues are deeper than they appear on the surface. Issues like the housing crisis in Attawapiskat are not just a housing crisis but also a result of many intersectional issues, like generational trauma, government neglect, delays in funding, and more. It is often easy to forget that fixing the housing crisis in Attawapiskat requires not only the physical housing but also healing the emotional trauma and other underlying root-cause issues. Thus, creating affordable and safe housing is only the first step in resolving the entirety of the issue.
What did this project teach you about the role of architects, engineers, and builders?
This project taught me that architects, engineers, and builders have the power to shape social outcomes through every decision they make. Every design choice from materials and cost to layout can either reinforce or challenge systemic inequities.
When I studied housing in Attawapiskat, I saw how design could be a tool for empowerment. This project helped me understand that AECO’s role extends beyond construction and has a large role in equity, sustainability, and long-term social change.
This contest asked you to solve more than one problem. What ‘extra impact’ did you aim to create beyond providing affordable housing?
Beyond providing affordable housing, I wanted to highlight the social challenges within the AECO industry itself… Ultimately, through my project, I wanted to show that social sustainability should be at the forefront of all design rather than an afterthought.
Beyond providing affordable housing, I wanted to highlight the social challenges within the AECO industry itself. At its core, AECO creates spaces for people, yet too often decisions are driven by profit and technical efficiency rather than human and environmental needs. My project calls attention to how this mindset can cause long-term harm.
By studying Attawapiskat, I saw how conventional southern Ontario building standards fail in northern communities. Transportation barriers, intergenerational living, and wetland conditions all shape housing needs and were not acknowledged during the initial build.
Ultimately, through my project, I wanted to show that social sustainability should be at the forefront of all design, rather than an afterthought.
Looking ahead
During Construction Inclusion Week and Careers in Construction Month, we celebrate stories like these—where mentorship meets imagination, and where the next generation of designers and builders are not just imagining a more inclusive future, but actively constructing it.
Stay tuned for more Student + Mentor Spotlights from Autodesk’s Design & Make It Real program, featuring inspiring conversations between professionals and students who are redefining what it means to design and make a better world.
You can find previous stories here.
The post Rooted in Culture, Built for Resilience: A conversation between Make It Home student winner Christine Wei and Michael Hidalgo, Autodesk Design & Make Ambassador appeared first on Digital Builder.