A search for cultural and contextual identity in contemporary Arctic architecture

Abstract

AbstractThis paper describes a two-decade search for a means of giving cultural and/or contextual identity to contemporary architecture in Arctic Québec. Although the search took place in Arctic Québec and for the Inuit of that area, it is proposed that the process and the examples could be useful for the Arctic in general. The notion of global uniformity in architecture is presented and the possible disappearance of the identity of any small cultural group and its consequences are considered. The lack of visual indicators in contemporary Arctic architecture is discussed, and it is suggested that the buildings were not designed for the Inuit people or for a very harsh climate in an unusual physical environment. A few examples of buildings from the early 1970s to more recent times, which display some hint of cultural or contextual sensitivity, are discussed. Definitions for culture and context from various architects, theorists, critics, and organisations are given. An analytical framework that correlates Arctic cultural and contextual sources with three different perceptual levels of expression to be integrated into a design at various levels of architectural representation is set out. A research project on culturally appropriate Inuit housing and several architectural design studios on a variety of building types are then delineated, giving a brief account of their genesis as well as a discussion of their cultural/contextual sources of inspiration, the perceptual level of expression, and the level of architectural representation.