Inuit should lead designing and building in Nunavut, architect and economist agree
Iqaluit housing project, Kivalliq Long-Term Care Centre examined for innovative solutions
A multiplex at 2701 Tulugaq St. in Iqaluit’s Tundra Ridge neighbourhood is one of five buildings explored in a recent report on Indigenous-led housing innovation, prepared for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (Photo by Mosha Folger)
Building better housing in the North may lie with fostering more Inuit architects and builders, some experts say.
This idea is explored in architect and professor David T. Fortin’s Current Landscape of Indigenous-led Housing Innovation, a supplementary report to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s Northern Housing Report, released last month.
“It is crucial to have more Indigenous architects with lived experience,” Fortin wrote in an email. “Our schools need to be better at recruiting and retaining northern students and I think the future is hybrid education…. It will come, but we’re in the very early stages.”
His research looks at 25 housing and other construction projects and details whether they are Indigenous-led, have an Indigenous architect or designer, and if the project is innovative in its construction.
He included two Nunavut projects, both of which he noted for their innovative construction: Four social housing complexes with 46 units in Iqaluit’s Joamie Court and Tundra Ridge neighbourhoods, and the Kivalliq Long-term Care Centre in Rankin Inlet.
The housing units were designed for easy operation and maintenance, with energy efficiency that exceeds the National Energy Code of Canada.
The care centre has an aerodynamic roof slope, wind shields to protect entrances and a heated crawl space under the floor where plumbing connects to the utilidor.
Neither of the two projects had an Inuk architect. The care centre, though, was designed by Verne Reimer Architecture, which employs Indigenous staff, including intern Nicole Luke, a Winnipeg-based Inuk born in Yellowknife with ties to Chesterfield Inlet and Rankin Inlet.
The report also states that the long-term care centre is the first such facility in Nunavut to be led by the territorial government.
CMHC’s report notes that Iqaluit’s population has almost doubled from about 5,000 people in 1999 to an estimated 8,700 in 2026, and that housing has not kept up with the demand.
Fortin says this is partially due to “Builders who view the northern housing deficit as a potential business opportunity.”
“A major stumbling block is the tension between the inefficiencies and often inexperience of federally funded housing programs and the frontier mindset of southern developers,” Fortin said.
CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth says one tool young designers and architects should take a fresh look at is prefabrication.
“We may be talking about more mass manufacturing,” he said in an interview.
“Prefabricated housing; new methods of construction; having more standardized parts. And maybe importing in bulk rather than more customized designs. So, I think calibrating a broader look at the whole supply chain is probably necessary. Not relying on one-off projects.”
Arviat is poised to become a hub of modular home building with the grand opening next month of Sakku Innovative Building Solutions, which is expected to produce 40 homes per year for Nunavut, in Nunavut, by Nunavummiut.
Other examples of Inuit housing innovations are laid out in a Laval University website that reimagines what northern housing can look like through Inuit-led designs.
“I see the greatest opportunities in grass roots community-led housing production,” Fortin said.
“But that is for the local community to develop. I’m a southerner who fully acknowledges that this must originate from the communities and knowledge systems up there.”
Should there be more Inuk Architects and Inuit owned builders? ABSOLUTELY YES! Are the current housing issues anything to do with who designs the UNITS? NO. Anything to do with who Builds them? DEPENDS. The Nunavut 3000 Sole Source Contract between NHC and NCCD/NCC3000 has demonstrated how NOT to do It. Other INUIT owned Contractors have clearly demonstrated that they CAN do it and are currently doing it
However, for the sake of this comment, we won’t delve to deeply into all of that. We will stick with the issue of design, space and cost. More specifically on Public Housing. Because we know that currently trying to find land and build an affordable standalone home is completely out of reach from the vast majority of Nunavummiut. So not much time needs to be spent on design or construction of single family homes regarding this article. That Laval University “vision” is a pipe dream and anyone from Nunavut recognizes that. Possible in the future? Who knows but it will take a long, long time, to get there.
In regard to Public Housing, there is no miracle design. Land use (Building LOTS) availability is extremely limited (i.e. land with all the infrastructure required i.e. roads, hydro, etc.. and in Iqaluit, water & waste water infrastructure). Hamlets are not equipped to even meet the current ongoing housing push. They do not have the resources, or capacity to keep pace. So, based on the current 3,700+ Nunavummiut on the wait list, the design and who builds them is the last issue of importance. Why? Simply because there is only so much you can do when designing units that are 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms and you need many of them on small Building LOTS. It means you have to build upwards and building upwards is right now the only way to rapidly create lodging. This strategically limits any design aspects regardless of who the architect might be. Sure, you can have varied exterior designs and aesthetics, but the 800 to 1,200 sq ft unit is still going to be an 800 to 1200 sq ft unit.
Additionally, it does not matter if the eventual units are prefabricated (modulars) or stick build. You cannot use an available Building LOT to put 1 or 2, three or 4 bedroom modulars that effectively take up the same space as an 8 or 12 Plex unit that generates anywhere from 20 to 30 bedrooms. The stacking method of modulars (similar to how the Aqsarniit Hotel was built) would DEFINETELY speed up the construction and occupancy, but it would not end up being any different aesthetically then stick build plex’s. Who designed them will not matter.
Until such time as massive investment is made in every community to increase available land and supporting infrastructure to create building LOTS; Nunavummiut’s will continue to see the multi-plex models and a sprinkling of Modular homes. Who the architect is, will not change that. Who the builder is, could definitely have an impact, however (see first paragraph).
Again. Yes! It would be awesome to see more Inuk’s interested in becoming Architects and Builders. See more Laval University style design. However, there are far too many other issues to be resolved before exploring that pipe dream.