The Nunavut Arctic College Nunatta Campus Expansion is a vital academic and cultural institution in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Nunavut Arctic College provides a wide variety of programs with a core mission to protect and promote Inuit language and culture. In response, the internal organization of the building maximizes transparency and spatial interconnectivity to foster student and community engagement. The project has sought to reflect northern values and include elements that promote Inuit identity. The first space one enters is a circular social space—the heart of the building. The circular geometry represents the Inuit value of collaboration. It is a place where the community will gather to learn, to eat, and to celebrate. In an animated and inclusive way, it links together all of the public functions of the campus.

The massing is rooted in the powerful Baffin Island landscape. The building emerges from the dark bedrock of the hill behind as an ambiguous natural form, in part shaped by the wind to minimize drifting and to provide protection from the elements at the entrance. An angled wall on the south façade parallels the existing Inuksuk on site—respecting its place.
Its compact form combined with a warm interior achieves a balance between insulating the building against the Arctic cold while simultaneously creating a space filled with natural light. Views are provided to the harbour and landscape beyond. Innovative building products such as fiberglass curtain wall, translucent Solera glazing, and triple-glazed vision panels mitigate drastic heat transfer while permitting deep natural light penetration. The south façade and clerestory contain the majority of the glazing along with thinner openings distributing natural light to the perimeter program spaces. A cut in the centre of the second level brings natural light into the heart of the building.

Wood has an important presence in the language of the architecture. A combination of stained Western Red Cedar and Eastern White Cedar siding is employed to create a subtly textured exterior cladding. The exposed Spruce-Pine-Fir glulam wood structure creates warmth in the interior public space. The interior glazed openings are framed with solid White Oak while the dark and light stained White Pine wood panelling and a mountainous guardrail contribute to the idea of bringing elements of the natural environment to the interior of the project.

Because Iqaluit is a remote community, construction sequencing was an important consideration in the design of the project. Through digital Building Information Modeling of the architectural and structural design, the fabrication of the structure was expedited. Steel and glulam models were built by fabricators and coordinated with the architectural and structural design teams. The fabrication of structural members could then be advanced, packaged and shipped in time so as to not delay the demanding construction schedule ahead of the harsh winter season.

The design intent is grounded in the landscape and the community. It creates a welcoming destination for communal and educational gathering while its form inspired by the local landscape creates a striking yet fitting presence in Iqaluit.