ICC event inaugurates Kuujjuaq convention centre

DWANE WILKIN

KUUJJUAQ – It crouches on the tundra, a gleaming hump of aluminum. Wavy shorelines, gentle hills, the graceful dome of an igloo – squint and you can see a hint of all these shapes in Kuujjuaq’s new cultural centre.

“What we came up with, in the abstract, is a representation of nature, in general,” said Alain Fournier, a partner in the Montreal architectural firm Fournier Gersovitz Moss and Associates.
The 1,900-square-metre building, which sits prominently above the Koksoak River, was inaugurated this week as Kuujjuaq played host to the general assembly of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.

In a region still dominated by blandly utilitarian structures, the Inuit centre in Kuujjuaq is a rare marriage of form and function. Squat and void of any overhang, the two-storey performance hall and office complex was conceived to maximize protection from the coldest Arctic winds.
Pleasing curves in the roof and a striking sea-blue and ash-white façade anchor the structure to the land.

“Once you know that you have to deal with the fact that it’s got to huddle, then working with curves is natural,” said Fournier, who has worked on projects in Nunavik and Nunavut since the early 1970s, including the yellow airport in Iqaluit.

Though a distinct architectural tradition in Canada’s eastern Arctic has yet to emerge, projects such as the Kuujjuaq centre and the three-year-old Legislative Assembly in Iqaluit offer exciting examples of what can be done.

It’s a long way from such eyesores as the concrete high-rise that towers over the Nunavut capital. Or the brick school in Inukjuak.

“I consider these experiments, and as experiments they haven’t proved convincing enough to carry on,” Fournier said.

In a growing trend, Inuit have been becoming more and more involved in the design of new civic buildings in northern communities, a trend Fournier finds heartening.

Local elected officials were consulted closely on the design of the new centre, and the final plan reflects the architects’ aim to create a building that pays homage to Inuit traditions and fits the needs of local people.

“The work we do is for people to use,” Fournier said, “so it’s always great to be able to talk to people who are going to use it. This direct contact is very, very important.”

In addition to boasting a first-class 500-seat auditorium, the Kuujjuaq cultural centre will soon house the offices of the municipality and serve as headquarters for the Nunavik Tourism Association.

Johnny Adams, chairman of the Kativik Regional Government, said he hopes to promote the $9-million centre in southern Canada as a venue for conventions.

“We’ve got the transportation links. We’ve got the convention centre. The only thing we need to do now is to build up our hotel infrastructure,” Adams said.

Although design work on the Kuujjuaq centre began nearly two years ago, it wasn’t until last summer that construction got under way, after local officials selected Progere Construction of Trois-Rivieres, Que., to bring the architects’ plans to life.

Most of the funding for the building came from Quebec’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

The south wall of the building is adorned with a gigantic metal mural modelled on the drawings of Nunavik artist Sammy Kudluk. Kudluk’s design, a stylized hunter taking aim at a caribou with bow and arrow, was selected in a region-wide competition last year.

Birch-wood panelling and green slate floors lend a dramatic touch to what Fournier hopes will be a welcome addition to a small but growing network of Arctic cultural centres across the circumpolar world.

Perhaps the loveliest tribute to the building’s Inuit spirit came in the bold and beautiful harmonies of the Greenlandic Choir, whose voices closed each day’s session of this week’s summit like northern lights watching over the night.