Designing for the Arctic

Designing in Canada’s Arctic means working where the ground is frozen, the wind is relentless and most materials must travel thousands of kilometres before construction can even begin. “It’s more than two-and-a-half times as expensive to build in Nunavut than in Ontario,” says Mason White, a professor at U of T’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and principal of Lateral Office. “You’re flying people and shipping materials in, and the building envelope has to withstand extreme cold and wind-driven snow.”

Rather than battle these conditions, White’s architecture has figured out how to embrace them. Foundations must reach deep into permafrost for stability, and building envelopes need careful weatherproofing to keep out wind-blown snow. Snow can also be an asset: on the award-winning Inuusirvik Community Wellness Hub in Iqaluit, which his firm designed, small green “tundra” roofs (in the summer) capture snow in other seasons to add natural insulation. “Snow is a great insulating material if you get enough of it,” he says.

Equally important is community collaboration. White’s team uses interactive models, picture cards and other tools to make design sessions accessible and flatten hierarchies between architect and residents. “In Nunavut, everyone’s lived experience – hunting, living on the land, their sense of community – has value,” he says.

The Inuusirvik hub’s creation owes much to its client, the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, founded and led by Gwen Healy Akearok (PhD 2015). “This project would not exist without her innovative vision for community health,” White notes.

With Nunavut’s population growing fast and one-third of its residents under the age of 15, White sees an urgent need for multipurpose spaces that support youth and families. The Inuusirvik Hub combines a daycare, counselling rooms, library and community classroom under one roof – an example of the flexible, community-driven infrastructure he believes is vital to the North’s future. “Our mandate is designing with climate rather than against climate,” he says. “And that begins by designing with people first.”