Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15, which means “our land”, is Canada’s newest, largest, and most northerly territory. It separated from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 following a hard-fought land claims agreement established in 1993.
Today, there are almost 33,000 people living in 25 communities across two million square kilometers, making Nunavut one of the least densely populated regions in the world. These communities are located above the tree line and are not connecting by roads. The climate, geography, and people of Nunavut, as well as the wider Canadian Arctic, challenge the viability of a universalizing modernity.
Following the age of polar exploration in the 20th century, modern architecture encroached on this remote and vast region of Canada in the name of sovereignty, aboriginal affairs management, or trade, among others. However, the indigenous Inuit people have inhabited the Canadian Arctic for millennia as a traditionally semi-nomadic people. Inuit relations with Canada have been fraught with acts of neglect, resistance, and negotiation. Throughout the last 100 years, architecture, infrastructure, and settlements have been the tools for these acts. People have been re-located; trading posts, military infrastructure, and research stations have been built. Some have described this rapid confrontation with modernity as a transition “from igloos to internet”.
Few places exemplify the ability to adapt in the face of modernity better than Nunavut. Coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the territory, which changed Canada’s map, Arctic Adaptations explores modernism’s legacy within the contextual particularities of the North. The exhibition documents architectural history in this remarkable but relatively unknown region of Canada, describes the contemporary realities of life in its communities, and examines a projected role for architecture moving forward.
As Nunavut celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2014, Arctic Adaptations simultaneously reflects on this rapid modernization and presents innovative architecture proposals by five design teams.
Each team’s proposal examines one theme—housing, health, education, arts, or recreation—and is rooted in Nunavut’s distinct land, climate and culture.
This unique exhibition seeks to reveal acts of architectural resistance and identify an unrecognized modern Canadian North. Proposals focus on the fundamentals of human habitation in the North and offer ideas of how architectural design can enhance daily life.
Organizer.- Lateral Office.
Collaborators.- Arctic Adaptations Creative Team.
Dates.- 07 June 2014 - 23 November 2014.
Venue.- Pavilions at Giardini. Venice, Italy.
