Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre (CA)

At the centre of the building lies the heart of the facility, the Uummati. This core contains collections storage space, an environmentally controlled area that will preserve historic cultural belongings, and a long-term exhibition gallery, a space that will allow artefacts to be on display for the general public to appreciate. This world class museum environment provides an opportunity for the repatriation and preservation of Inuit heritage objects from their temporary location in southern institutions.

Surrounding the collections storage space is a gabion wall, physically constructed with rocks and minerals collected from various geological areas of Nunavut. The rough stones are shaped to fit inside the metal frame of the gabion wall and showcase the diversity and beauty of Nunavut’s landscape. Where possible, stones making up the gabion wall could be taken as raw material for carving and replaced by new stones brought by visitors from different communities of Nunavut, encouraging a tradition of the people of Nunavut physically reshaping the facility.

The exhibition spaces act as the public interface of the Uummati; they are set up to optimize the exhibition design and interpretive planning concepts. The architecture of the centre does not dictate the exhibition narrative, but rather provides a flexible framework for the design of various exhibitions. Surrounding the Uummati, the public spaces interact with the museum collection spaces. The strategic location of openings within the gabion wall serve to visually remind the community that the artefacts are with them. Pairing the exhibits with cultural activities such as butchering/skin preparation and carving workshops in the same facility allows participants to learn about traditional tools, methods, and processes through pilimmaksarniq.

The spaces around and adjacent to the Uummati have their own character, providing a catalogue of possible activities and atmospheres for a wide range of thoughtful or casual moments. The flowing open space between the programmed functions allows for the use of the Centre as a true third space: the shared living room for locals and visitors that reflects the tunnganarniq values of Nunavummiut. This third space is where we envision the important casual interactions between Elders and the youth will occur and encourage the continuity of the Inuit culture.

The layout and relationships between the various programs are optimized for access to sunlight, circulation and logistics while also providing casual visual connections between spaces. The undulating building perimeter creates several informal unprogrammed spaces on both the interior and exterior of the building creating flexibility within the Heritage Centre and allowing it to be used for a variety of simultaneous events. The building invites the users along a meandering path - visitors can walk along the entire perimeter of the building and get a glimpse of the various activities happening within.

Life in Nunavut has historically been a balancing act of using the very limited resources available in creative ways. Inuit qanuqtuurniq has achieved a series of innovations from insulation to seafaring with light qayaq. Today, construction in Iqaluit is dependent on the use of mostly imported resources – careful consideration and innovation is required to balance the goals of the project with the realities of logistics and cost. The architecture of the proposal is based on using one locally available and abundant material from the land, the beautiful natural stone, in creative and manageable ways. The thick walls of the Uummati are made with local stones, partially cut, and piled inside a minimal metal framework. As well, the flooring in the main public area will be fabricated of a stone similar to that of the surrounding landscape. Local knowledge and expertise will be engaged to manufacture these elements, decreasing the reliance on southern industries, resources, and shipping.

The design is optimized for quick and easy construction on site: everything is pre-cut, steel and timber joints are based on bolted connections, and minimal concrete is used. While the bedrock on site remains relatively untouched, it provides the structure needed to reduce the use of large carbon footprint materials such as concrete.

The structure of the building is a combination of steel and heavy timber, with short spans, making it lightweight and easy to ship, lift and assemble. Due to the short construction season in Iqaluit, the construction schedule has been considered with the introduction of repetitive assemblies and details.

The building programmed spaces situated around the Uummati are assembled with lightweight framing members and clad in colourful wood slats. The timber surfaces are finished in three colours, with a different one facing out and on either exposed side. This cost-effective strategy results in a building whose appearance changes as one walks along its perimeter, and that appears distinctive depending on the vantage point. Overall, the choice of materials and construction methods will minimize the embodied carbon of the building.