Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1187732
DECEMBER 2019 | 47 Arviligruaq Ilinniarvik School PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION – GOVERNMENT OF NUNAVUT Arviligruaq Ilinniarvik School by ROBIN BRUNET LOCATION Kugaaruk, Nunavut OWNER/DEVELOPER Department of Education – Government of Nunavut ARCHITECT Parkin Architects Ltd. DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR Kudlik Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL/CIVIL CONSULTANT Accutech Engineering Inc. TOTAL SIZE 49,470 square feet TOTAL COST $40 million T he new Arviligruaq Ilinniarvik K-12 school in Kugaaruk, Nunavut, is a classic case of something won- derful arising from devastation: in this instance, arson that caused the destruction of the community's origi- nal teaching facility on March 1, 2017. The original school had been ren- ovated and expanded, and when it burned to the ground it prompted the Government of Nunavut's Department of Education and a design-build team of architects and construction spe- cialists to provide 300 students with not just a new facility, but one that surpassed the original for resiliency and appeal – in just two years, under severe working conditions. A Department of Education official says arrangements were put in place immediately after the fire for tempo- rary classrooms at various locations around Kugaaruk until the summer holidays, and then modular classrooms arrived in the fall. Concurrently, the same archi- tect, design, and construction team that worked on the new high schools in Naujaat and Cape Dorset – Parkin Architects Ltd., Accutech Engineering Inc., and Kudlik Construction – were contracted for the new school; and the Government of Nunavut consulted with community members and the local District Education Authority to help determine the school's design. Over an eight-week period, the design-build team developed the base design for the new school, and this aggressive schedule allowed work to begin immediately on the site in late summer of 2017. Brent Wall, CEO of Accutech, points out that it was only possible to deliver building material, equipment, and other items by barge (with ice breaker escorts) to Kugaaruk. "Given the urgency to construct the new school in this remote location, we followed a process whereby we sent our drawings as each portion of them was completed to Kudlik, who in turn co-ordinated with the steel suppliers and other man- ufacturers to get the materials ready." Despite the scramble, architectural appeal was the unwavering focus of the project: Parkin Architects created a large atrium with a feature staircase, glulam beams, and stone taken from the original school. In addition to being a welcoming area, the atrium effec- tively divided the elementary school component from the high school, with the former located on the first floor (along with a preschool and daycare), and the staircase leading to a spacious student lounge and the high school. The facility's skeletal steel struc- ture was covered with an exterior/