Reclaiming material, space, and agency: developing a circular construction framework for housing in Iqaluit, Nunavut

Abstract

Prior to the introduction of a settler-colonial structure, Inuit moved lightly across the land. The Inuit seasonal, semi-nomadic dwellings and traditional knowledge: Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) allowed their culture to live in harmony with the land. The current identity, housing and climate crises are causing social and physical states of vulnerability across the Territory of Nunavut. The growing obsolescence of the housing stock and remote location represents a potential opportunity to create a deconstruction economy that can generate a cyclical construction framework to reclaim the material, space and agency occupied by the current colonial housing system. A ReStore/Redesign program will be proposed in the capital city of Iqaluit that will facilitate the use of reclaimed material with the community in an effort to move towards a decolonized housing system that places more agency on the local community.