Houses attuned to land and seasons
Letting the Land In
Program
Housing
Village
Inukjuak
Students
Melissa Mailhot (U. Laval)
Context
Construction + Design Studio (2017)
As imagined in this project (entitled 7th Season), the Inuit house is one with the land, continually adapting across time and seasons.
The project focuses on the sensorial qualities of the house as well as on the formative, self-determining potential of self-building by its inhabitants. The simple structure of the house allows for extensions. At the front of the house, a generous flex space faces the land. Its translucent shell (possibly made of tent canvas) provides space for significant family and cultural activities. It also showcases construction techniques traditionally used for crafting qajaqs.
The flex space adapts to activities by transforming with to the seasons. In warm weather, the house opens up, with activities extending to the deck and ground. In the cold season, it retracts and protects the house.
The house is permeable to the senses. It lets the land in.