One of the first meetings to discuss new affordable housing for the Oglala Lakota Nation took place in an intimate setting: “We sat and talked about what the housing program could be in a sweat lodge,” says tribal elder Lenny Lone Hill, who was there with his nephew Nick Tilsen, founder and executive director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp., a local nonprofit, and designer Rob Pyatt. An eight-month, community-led process informed the residential design. Having previously worked on housing at a Native American reservation in Montana, Pyatt focused on the single-family dwellings. Kansas City firm BNIM, which collaborated with Pyatt Studio on the master plan, designed an apartment building. Photo 2 of 2 in Net-Zero Homes Help Solve an Affordable Housing Crisis at a Native American Reservation

Net-Zero Homes Help Solve an Affordable Housing Crisis at a Native American Reservation

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One of the first meetings to discuss new affordable housing for the Oglala Lakota Nation took place in an intimate setting: "We sat and talked about what the housing program could be in a sweat lodge," says tribal elder Lenny Lone Hill, who was there with his nephew Nick Tilsen, founder and executive director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp., a local nonprofit, and designer Rob Pyatt. An eight-month, community-led process informed the residential design. Having previously worked on housing at a Native American reservation in Montana, Pyatt focused on the single-family dwellings. Kansas City firm BNIM, which collaborated with Pyatt Studio on the master plan, designed an apartment building.