Soap and cleanliness became central to daily life in 2020. Shelves around the world were emptied of soap, and here in Winnipeg, what was once a busy soap production plant now sits abandoned. In our reliance on high-speed manufacturing and distribution, have we lost touch with the act of making? Has craftsmanship been sacrificed to keep up with the demands of rapid consumerism?

The site in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood speaks to that loss. It’s a space marked by abandonment—of machines, industry, and value. CAMP SOAP HOUSE emerges as a response to this absence. It offers not just access to sanitary products and co-housing, but also a tribute to the history of soap-making. By drawing inspiration from soap machinery, CAMP SOAP HOUSE reimagines it into an expressive, functional form—one that supports communal living and the act of making clean.

The building’s design mimics the odd and often overlooked shapes of soap-making equipment. A curved metal post appears to pour into the laundry room, much like the crutcher in soap mechanics. Windowed portals give glimpses into transitional areas—like a plodder at work. Bedroom doors use a pulley system to operate, referencing the drying process. A long, sloped ramp functions as a conveyer belt, moving the finished product—residents, ideas, objects—out into the world.

In today’s globalized world, data is created and discarded as quickly as it’s consumed. But CAMP SOAP HOUSE sits on contaminated land, holding the pace of modern progress at a pause. It asks us to slow down. To create, live, and work without being swept up by the speed of technology or the pressures of consumption. It’s a space to reimagine what clean living can look like—rooted in care, craft, and community.