KUUGALAAQ
CULTURAL CAMPUS
For years, the PI/KHS has dreamed of a space dedicated to Inuinnaqtun immersion, and purpose-built to reflect Inuit design, architecture, and needs. The problem is, most of the spaces we now occupy in our communities are high cost, made with low-grade and imported materials, and configured in designs not suited to our culture, lifestyle, or climate. So, in 2021, we assembled a team to address the widespread Arctic need for community structures and facilities that draw from and reinforce our culture, language, and deep-rooted knowledge.
The result: Kuugalaaq.
Our 2550 sq metre campus combines indoor and outdoor facilities, a highly customized workspace, outdoor areas to support cultural activities, and experimental landscaping with local plant species for climate adaptation, nutrition, and cultural use.
We brought together local Elders and cultural producers, with northern-based industry and southern research support, to help us design and build a facility that works around common problems with buildings in the North, and experiments with the latest developments in renewable technology and energy efficiency.
An incredible amount of research went into this build:
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For years, we have led community consultations (meetings, workshops, design charrettes and dozens of interviews) with local construction and energy industry experts, home and cabin owners, Elders and knowledge holders, traditional architecture experts and the municipal government to gain a deep understanding of the problems and challenges associated with buildings and building in the North.
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We conducted a Climate Risk Assessment which highlighted several potential infrastructure and site vulnerabilities to a changing climate. A series of geotechnical studies at the site assessed the extent of these concerns and allowed us to adjust the foundation design of our new building to adapt to them.
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We conducted a full review of our organization's energy usage, including historical consumption analysis, comparison to other similar facilities around the country (benchmarking), and technology energy assessment.
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The workspace was created to innovate across multiple areas, including piloting renewable technologies and energy efficient materials for Arctic conditions. Created by the Green Building Technologies Access Centre at SAIT, our Feasibility Study and energy model outline key decisions behind the building’s design and engineering.
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We had an Embodied Carbon Analysis completed to better understand the building's carbon use from development to construction and completion, which was especially eye-opening as it compared the carbon output had Kuugalaaq been built in southern Canada, versus in Cambridge Bay.
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We have developed an extensive Monitoring Program to assess the performance of the building, in order to provide real-time data to inform future builds. In addition to our own building, we are monitoring and analyzing six community structures representing a range of conventional and advanced building methods. The goal is to better understand the impacts of different building choices in the Arctic, including building envelope; mechanical, electrical energy use, renewable energy systems; ventilation; and water.
If you're interested in learning more about Kuugalaaq's design and build, please visit www.nunamiutuqaq.ca or check out the Kuugalaaq Cultural Campus Booklet.
