The facilities of the student residence are intended to be user-friendly, on a human scale and promote the creation of healthy living environments that respect the cultural needs of Inuit residents. Three main wings are articulated so as to meet at a pivot point consisting of the entrance hall and the circular staircase promoting active circulation and the fluid link between the spaces of the apartments on the 2nd floor and the shared spaces and living environment on the ground floor. The common areas are grouped together in the south wing on the ground floor. This wing benefits from an orientation on three cardinal points, allowing natural light to be brought from sunrise to sunset into the living areas. The south wing on the ground floor consists of the cafeteria, the three activity rooms for girls, boys and children, the gym, the bathrooms and the living room at the end which opens onto the view of the river and Kuujjuaq. These common areas are connected by a gentle ramp that allows the rocky profile of the land to be followed. The east wing on the ground floor consists of the cloakroom and entrance hall with circular staircase, the elevator, the commercial kitchen, the mechanical and electrical rooms, as well as the warehouses and goods reception room. The mechanical rooms and access to the trucks for the delivery of drinking water, oil and wastewater withdrawal are served by a dedicated access for trucks, along the north-east façade. The west wing on the ground floor consists of offices, single and multi-bedroom housing units with universal accessibility. A laundry room is also set up as well as a cloakroom near the entrance hall. The 2nd floor is mainly made up of single and multi-bedroom apartments. Common areas are also provided, a reading room to the south, a study room and computers to the north-west was planned but was removed from the program in order to create larger family accommodation and an activity room for adults near the circular staircase and the elevator. Mechanical rooms, laundry rooms and service and storage areas are also planned on the east side.
Program analysis, design and planning
At the first stage of the project in the spring of 2021, the architectural team analyzed the needs program. Initially in the PFT presented by the Kativik School Board, all student housing was studios with a single bedroom and all had an identical surface area. We suggested to the client that the project include family housing with a minimum of two bedrooms as well as units that can be paired together by a soundproof double door, such as suites in a hotel, in order to offer adult students the opportunity to live with their child(ren) in the student residence. This proposal was accepted by the Kativik School Board and 8 family housing units were integrated into the revised project program.
Analysis of potential sites in Kuujjuaq
During the analysis of the potential sites offered by the village of Kuujjuaq, the architects and engineers were invited to accompany the Kativik School Board in analyzing and making recommendations on several potential sites available to implement the student residence project. A first summary layout was carried out by the architects in coordination with the engineers in order to validate the choice of the best sites. The current site was chosen based on its ideal orientation (East-Southwest), the views of the river and the village of Kuujjuaq due to the elevation of the rocky promontory, the bearing capacity of the rock according to the geotechnical studies carried out, the proximity of the grocery store and the potential for future development of the site to accommodate a 2nd building housing the adult education center that the school board wishes to build soon near the student residences.
Design, planning and budgeting
Subsequently, the 30% sketches, 60% preliminary drawings and plans for tenders were carried out during the 2021-2022 year in collaboration with the Kativik School Board, the Ministry of Education, the team of engineers (geotechnical, civil, structural, mechanical and electrical) and consultants to integrate the constraints of prevailing winds, blowing snow and the risk of snow accumulation at the perimeter of the building. At each of these design stages, a Uniformat estimate was made and revised according to project updates and clarifications of the plans and architectural and engineering details at each stage of the design and planning. The architect in charge of the project, Guillaume Lévesque, and his team, managed the project budget closely and rigorously and kept the clients informed of any cost overruns that might occur, in order to make the necessary adjustments and corrections to the project, if necessary.
Works of art
In order to create friendly living environments that mark the presence of Inuit culture, the integration of works of art by Inuit artists following the holding of a contest will be done in various places in the building, including; on the exterior access walkway, in the entrance hall, on the circular staircase and on the double-height wall, on the floor of the dining room and living room as well as in the glass walls of the children’s activity and sculpture rooms.
Site monitoring and delivery of the building
The architectural team will continue to support the client and accompany the contractor in the coming year, in order to build a quality building that meets the cultural needs of the Inuit community, the needs of the Kativik School Board in the expansion of its services and training programs, as well as the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency required by the climatic conditions of Nunavik. Once completed, this building will allow more than fifty Inuit students and parents to live in these living environments with their children and families, by giving them access to local education in the Nunavik territory, while offering them academic and vocational training programs, without having to leave their community to study in the cities of southern Quebec.
Elements that contribute to the success of the project
• Very good coordination of construction plans and details, between the architectural team, the engineers and the contractor;
• Rapid responses from architects to the contractor’s technical questions, close and rigorous monitoring of the site;
• Excellent communication with the client’s representatives, the team of professionals and the contractor;
