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PITQUHIRNIKKUT ILIHAUTINIQ / KITIKMEOT HERITAGE SOCIETY E-NEWSLETTER |
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SEPTEMBER 2024 | |
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The Kuugalaaq Cultural Campus.
Photography by Chris Arko. |
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Tomorrow, we're opening the doors to Kuugalaaq...
For a long time now, 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, and 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.
If you're in Cambridge Bay, please join us tomorrow (Friday September 6th) for a Community Celebration, starting at 1pm with a ribbon cutting. Drum dancing and refreshments to follow, with an Open House until 6pm. |
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The Research Behind the Build | |  |  |  |  | TOP LEFT: The Cambridge Bay team visits Calgary-based ZS2 to learn about the pre-fabricated building materials that will be disassembled and shipped up North. TOP RIGHT: Elders and staff meeting with designers to look at finishing touches for the indoor spaces. BOTTOM LEFT: The PI/KHS team has been working alongside archaeologists for 20 years to learn more about the Inuinnait past. In 2000, they uncovered a large stone house at Iqaluktuuq, leading to many discoveries about the dwellings that Inuinnait ancestors built and used. BOTTOM RIGHT: In 2021, our team took part in a land visioning exercise on the present-day site of Kuugalaaq to think about what this space could, and should, be.
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An incredible amount of research has gone into this build:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 this booklet.
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ABOVE: With the interior design and finishing touches hand chosen by our Elders, Kuugalaaq is completely user-designed. Input from a broad range of our anticipated clientele will ensure the Campus is aligned with their physical and accessibility needs. Our language will be forefronted in all public-facing signage and in all programming, making Kuugalaaq a true language nest where Inuinnaqtun is nurtured.
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This project was made possible with financial support from |  | | We are deeply thankful for our invaluable project partners |  | |
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Together, we can support the revival of Inuinnaqtun. Now at Kuugalaaq, we are providing a gathering space for Inuinnaqtun immersion, cultural reconnection, and intergenerational mentorship, every single day.
100% of donations support the development and delivery of immersion-based programs, including our Elders-in-Training Program.
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Inuinnaqtun has gone digital with the launch of our new Inuinnaqtun Dictionary App! Download it today on the Google Play Store for Android devices, or the Apple Store for iOS devices. |
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We focus on the critical needs of Inuinnait—a distinct regional group of Inuit living in the Central Canadian Arctic.
Guided by an Inuinnaq Executive Director and Inuinnait Board, our mission is to work as one to revitalize intergenerational language and cultural transmission by developing programming and resources immersed in Inuinnait values, beliefs, direction, and ways of knowing and being.
Our vision is for our future generations to be nurtured and mentored to think and respond in their language, to be secure in their identity, and to live a balanced life according to the wisdom of our ancestors.
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