DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Atlas of Ideas to Plan, Dwell, Build a Sustainable Nunavik

This atlas is the result of an ongoing dialogue with Nunavimmiut about their visions for the culturally appropriate architecture and planning of their communities. It serves as a tool for decision-making, offering 15 keys for change to plan, dwell, and build based on local needs, knowledge and expertise. These keys lead to 65 calls to action for community-driven strategies to do things differently and illustrated innovations imagined by students.

Our Approach

Atlas Overview

Illuliurniq

Build responsibly with Inuit ingenuity in mind

Inuit Know-How

Let Inuit Knowledge and Expertise Guide the Way

Relation to Ground

Find Sustainable Ways to Anchor

Prefabrication

Build for Change

Renovation

Work with What’s Already There

Sustainable Efficiency

Adopt Northern Construction Techniques and Frugal Strategies

Annira

Dwell in culturally appropriate homes

Sense of Home

Design Dwellings to Feel at Home

Wise Siting

Connect with the Land

Welcoming Spaces

Design Spaces for Living Together

Flexibility

Allow Room to Grow

Choices

Provide Solidarity-driven Alternatives

Inillanganiq

Plan villages for sustainable community living

Indigenous Planning

Apply Inuit Planning Principles

Land Preservation

Take Care of the Land and its Meanings

Meaningful Meeting Places

Reinforce and Create Significant Public Space and Facilities

Streets for People

Plan Efficient Infrastructures and User-friendly Pathways

Desirable Density

Find Opportunities in Compact Layouts

Nuna is Home

"Land is home. It sustains life. It breathes. It can bleed. It is part of our mother, the earth. It is beautiful. It nourishes our culture. We are part of it as it is part of us. We are one!"

John Amagoalik

What is this land? (2001)

How Nuna Inspired the Atlas

14 Nordic Houses 16 Nordic Villages Architecture Urban Design Analysis Posters Nunavik Circumpolar

Realities and Aspirations : Results of a Survey (Booklet)

PERMAFROST DATA Produit par le Centre d'études nordiques (CEN) Université Laval, Québec

Houses and Villages of the Circumpolar

A collection of illustrated one-pagers to learn about existing, promising and emerging practices in the design of Nordic houses and villages.

Permafrost Data

This platform facilitates access to permafrost and natural hazard projects conducted in Nunavik by the Centre d'études nordiques (CEN).

Survey in Kangiqsualujjuaq

An illustrated survey designed to gather Inuit insights on homes and villages, informing the content of this atlas.

Imagining

This book gathers 50 student projects in architecture and urban design carried out between 2015 and 2019 as part of Living in Northern Quebec (SSHRC 2015-2021).

Inuit Studies

Advocating for appropriate and meaningful living environments, this thematic issue – Building and dwelling in Inuit Nunangat – begins with the words of Olivia Ikey, speaking out !

More Ressources

A collection of tools and writings to inspire renewed practices in Northern planning and architecture.

Construire et habiter l’Inuit Nunangat Building and Dwelling in Inuit Nunangat Inuit Studies Volume 44, Number 1-2, 2020

Issuu Habiter le Nord québécois hlnq.linq

More Results and Data

Working Together

"The [Habiter le Nord] team has been working with Inuit community members, youth, and elders to create innovative ways to gather information and use it to imagine more culturally respectful communities [...] creating synergy amongst knowledge, cultures and ways of being."

Olivia Ikey

Inuit 101 (2022)

Our Journey

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