Alutsâgâlutuinniak: The Ice is Like Soup

Nunavik is home to dynamic environmental and social systems. Life is defined by fluctuations in weather and the change of the seasons. Concurrently, vast networks of Southern scientific research have been established in the past few decades with a focus on climate and the environment but with little connection to Inuit communities. Our project seeks to situate itself between these systems not only as a link but also as a generative force of hybridized research building towards improved Inuit advocacy and expertise in environmental management.

It is sited on a prominent hill overlooking downtown Kuujjuaq. Our project posits that it will occupy a central location in twenty or so years given current patterns of development while maintaining a close relationship to the land and the neighboring creek system. The core of the project is the seasonal flex space which allows for different forms of inhabitation by community and student users. Each programmatic bar connects into this space while retaining the capacity to be climatically distinct. The building opens up to the land and embraces different forms of indoor-outdoor occupation that changes with the seasons.