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DECEMBER 2018 | 63 Peter Pitseolak High School PHOTOGRAPHY BY GERRY KOPELOW PHOTOGRAPHICS, INC./COURTESY PARKIN ARCHITECTS LIMITED Peter Pitseolak High School by ROBIN BRUNET LOCATION Cape Dorset, Nunavut OWNER/DEVELOPER Government of Nunavut / Cape Dorset District Education Authority ARCHITECT Parkin Architects Limited DESIGN BUILD CONTRACTOR Kudlik Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Accutech Engineering Inc. TOTAL SIZE 35,520 square feet TOTAL COST $34 million A rguably, if it weren't for a case of arson, the remote hamlet of Cape Dorset on Dorset Island in Nunavut wouldn't have a new building that was uniquely constructed in this commu- nity of 1,400 people. The new Cape Dorset Peter Pitseolak High School, which accom- modates 264 students from grades seven to 12, opened its doors this September one year ahead of sched- ule, replacing the old Peter Pitseolak High School, which burned down in 2015 as a result of youths playing with fire. The $34-million school was designed by Parkin Architects Limited and Accutech Engineering, and built by Kudlik Construction Ltd. It contains a gymnasium, science laboratory, and resource centre. Equally important, the school was designed with fireproofing in mind and outfitted with sprinklers, sensors, carbon monoxide detectors, and heat detectors. But the real innovation of the facility is not in its equipment, but the fact it contains a full basement. While this may seem trivial to out- siders, to anyone who has travelled to communities such as Cape Dorset, where the rock terrain requires all of the buildings to sit on steel piles, the new school and its subterranean space is remarkable. "There have been several instances of arson up here, facilitated by the perpetrators crawl- ing through the space between the buildings and the ground, and all par- ties involved in the Peter Pitseolak project wanted to avoid that scenario again," says Rob Hellstrom, project manager at Kudlik Construction. Following the 2015 fire, the Government of Nunavut and the local District Education Authority were able to temporarily accommodate students' needs by using the elemen- tary school facilities and constructing several portables. But building a new school was a priority, and timing was crucial. Robert Boraks, director at Parkin Architects Limited, notes that Arctic communities like Cape Dorset are hampered in the ability to bring in construction materials, and "it's not uncommon for projects that nor- mally take 18 to 24 months to complete in southern regions to take twice as long in these hard to access regions." The Government of Nunavut and the District Education Authority turned to the design build team of Parkin Architects, Kudlik Construction, and Accutech Engineering in order to fast- track a solution. Hellstrom says, "This design build was unique in the sense that we and the engineers worked collaboratively on the design with Parkin, and Kudlik holds the contract with the government for the project. This is fundamentally different from traditional 'build to spec projects' where both those profession- als work directly for the government and the contractor then bids the project – and if they have the lowest price are awarded the project." According to Boraks, the use of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) design principles was critically important when considering the school's archi- tecture. This led to the architects seeking input directly with community members, and this in turn inspired an overall design that, among other things, "eschewed the southern proclivity of turning schools into places of refuge, where doors are locked during the day- time in order to ensure that suspicious

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