Pond Inlet (Sep 18/06) - High on the hill in Pond Inlet are three sections of what appears to be very large pipe. Open at each end, the huge silver tubes are joined at one end and sit on three tripods.

About 30 feet off the tundra, at the top of a ladder leaning against one of the ribbed sections, Richard Carbonnier works with his hand tools.

"It's a house!" he said, answering the obvious question. "It's called Inuksuk Residence."

Carbonnier, an architect, came to Pond Inlet by way of Washington, DC and is originally from Montreal.

"I wouldn't have been able to do this in the city." said Carbonnier.

What he is doing is breaking some of the rules his employer, the Government of Nunavut, follows when it comes to Northern housing.

"I don't necessarily believe what is built up here is right," he said, referring to the standardized government housing dotting the territory. "These structures hurt the environment."

Carbonnier understands why the building policies are what they are, and he respects the status quo. "I can't change the world," he said, acknowledging the government faces huge demand, a tiny skilled labour pool, and a short building season. Nunavummiut need homes and the government must compromise if it's going to deliver.

But on his own time, over months of nights and weekends, Carbonnier is testing out some of his building theories, relying on his carpentry, engineering and design expertise.

Instead of 30 piles and tens of thousands of dollars for a standard foundation, Carbonnier's 1,100 square foot house has three floating footings on permafrost for a cost of $2,000.

The utilities fit snugly below the floor of the two-bedroom living space, which Carbonnier said will be environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.

He estimated materials, including large appliances, will come in at $60,000 and expects to move in by January.

"They (people) like the curves and it's different - looks like an iglu, or carries the memory of an iglu." he said.

While many people would have difficulty building Carbonnier's creation for themselves, he figured a contractor could bring the structure in for about $210,000.

"They could be pre-manufactured in the south though," he said, smiling at the possibilities. "I know how it could be done."