Dorte Mandrup has announced their team’s success in an international competition to design the Nunavut Inuit Heritage Center. Located in Iqaluit, Canada's territorial capital, the facility is set to be a cultural bridge promoting Inuit heritage and facilitating “healing and reconciliation between Inuit and non-Inuit communities.” 

The winning team included Dorte Mandrup, Guy Architects, LEES+Associates, Adjeleian Allen Rubeli, EXP, Pageau Morel, Altus Group, and indigenous consultants Kirt Ejesiak and Alexander Flaherty.

The design concept is a creative interpretation of community perspectives, traditional Inuit knowledge, and the healing potential of the planned facility. The design takes its cues from the regional topography and environmental phenomena such as kalutoqaniq – patterns formed in snowdrifts by the prevailing wind. Emulating these natural shapes, the building will carve into the rocky hillside, echoing the features of the natural landscape.

“The Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre is an extraordinary project that we are very proud and humbled to have been selected to be part of,” said Dorte Mandrup about the scheme. “Working within this context requires both extreme sensitivity and consideration of landscape and its cultural significance.”

“The community has been working tirelessly for a long time to establish a place for Inuit to collect precious heritage and share unique, specialized knowledge that remains imperative for future generations and is at severe risk of vanishing,” Mandrup added. “We are looking very much forward to listen, learn, and be the link between thought and form.”

The scheme’s rock and turf-covered roof seeks to solidify a seamless integration of the structure with its surroundings, while also protecting sensitive exhibits. An open slit in the hill provides natural light to the interior, creating a warm atmosphere for various activities. Inside, the scheme will hold exhibition spaces alongside a café, workshop area, conservation lab, shop, daycare center, hostel, and offices.