The Montreal Haitian Community Office (BCHM in french) is a multi-resource center that works with families, particularly those from ethnocultural communities, to help them develop support systems and equip them to participate with dignity in community life. Despite its 50 years of existence, the BCHM, like many community organizations, is experiencing great rental insecurity.

The organization aims for greater autonomy and emancipation through home ownership, thus ensuring its survival and opportunities for future generations. It also has ambitions to create a center in its image, reflecting its values of equality, respect and solidarity.

The design of the BCHM Village, LAKOU PATAJ, is inspired by Haitian vernacular architecture and the Lakou concept; where the common space is composed of several houses grouped around the patriarch's house and a central courtyard. This type of land use, traditionally in rural areas, is surrounded by a large garden, allowing the family to harvest seasonally and rely less on external resources.

The project includes multifunctional spaces, a community kitchen, intervention spaces for its clientele in need, as well as transitional housing for young adults from the DPJ. These different functions will capitalize on the potential synergies between the different users in order to create a network of mutual aid and positive collisions for the whole community; concentrated around a shared garden (LAKOU PATAJ). The BCHM Village conveys concepts of human scale, accessibility, eco-responsibility and urban agriculture as tools for social inclusion.