Description

The region of Nunavik (ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) in Quebec houses more than 12,000 inhabitants, 90% of whom are Inuit. They are settled in 14 villages along the eastern shore of Hudson’s Bay, the Southern banks of the Hudson Strait, and Ungava Bay. Most Inuit, although they live in permanent homes in towns, depend on traditional activities and still hunt and fish across the territory as an integral part of everyday life. Their settlements and housing however, are based on American suburban models and give little support to their lifestyle.

This mismatch between architecture and culture is particularly visible in the in-between spaces of Northern communities. The zones surrounding homes are strewn with stuff: containers, sea-cans, trailers, palettes, metal canoes, plywood crates, diesel fuel drums, plastic water receptacles, 6x6’ lumber, corrugated metal sheets scavenged from culverts, plastic sheeting, canvas, etc. Furthermore, due to the scarcity and high cost of materials, Inuit regularly recycle and repurpose this material.

For the 21st annual Charrette, the design challenge is to suggest ways to add to a house or make a self-contained outbuilding or cabin that engages the daily practices of Inuit in Nunavik using only the materials at hand. Your design should emerge from a hacker mindset: it should be simple, frugal, and inclusive. A response to institutionalized inadequacy, hacks emerge in every culture and advances the notion that the reuse and recycling of defunct parts and existing technologies can radically transform everyday life.

Download complete challenge here (PDF)
View the full launch event here


Resources

Vintage Arctic Housing plans (UQAM/BR)
File courtesy of Bianca Robert, MA Candidate, Design de l’environnement. This file is part of an ongoing research project at UQAM and is not for use or distribution beyond the Charrette competition without express permission.
Download Housing Plans here (PDF)

Village Maps, Courtesy of Kativik Regional Government
Download Village Maps here (PDF)

Images of Nunavik and Arctic Region.
All photographs taken by Susane Havelka.
Download photography here

Launch Presentation
Courtesy of Vikram Bhatt
Download presentation here (PDF)