YELLOWKNIFE - It's won accolades, a prestigious architecture award and is one of the most photographed buildings in Yellowknife and next month its architect Kayhan Nadji will present a paper on his "teepee" home at the 34th annual Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (SSAC) conference in Montreal.

Yellowknife architect Kayhan Nadji looks down from the top of his Niven Drive "Teepee" house. It has become a city landmark and is the subject of a paper Nadji will present at the 34th annual Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada conference in Montreal this May. - Jason Unrau/NNSL photo

"It seems they are very enthusiastic to know about Northern architecture," said Nadji of his invitation to speak at the four-day conference.

Completed in 1997, the 4000-square-foot Niven Drive dwelling is distinguished by its cylindrical shape capped with a glass teepee. According to Nadji, the design pays homage to aboriginal traditions while at the same time proving more conducive to harsh northern climates.

"The combination of the teepee and circle brings elements of Dene and Inuit culture together," Nadji explained of the inspiration. "And the form (of the house) in dealing with nature, the harsh wind responds much better than a rectangular wall... the wind passes around it easily."

Snow drifting around the house is minimized, reducing the chance of the home's foundation shifting and with less wind resistance, less energy is required to heat it.

With a glass top, cooler air from the top of the house helps to create a natural air circulation throughout. Add the million-dollar views from nearly every room and you have a house that's both functional and breathtaking, from the inside out.

And Yellowknifers and visitors are not the only ones to notice. In 2001, the Iranian-born and trained architect who also studied his craft at McGill and Concordia University, received a national design award from Design Exchange and the National Post newspaper. Nadji was also named one of the century's top 2000 artists and designers by the Biographical Society in Cambridge, England.

"Architecture has to adapt to nature, try to work with it," Nadji said adding that he built his house to suit the rocky landscape of the ridge overlooking Yellowknife Bay on which it sits.

Taking a drive around the Niven Lake development, Nadji points out other homes he has designed; each very different from the next but all possessing a common theme of working with the terrain rather than against it.

"True architecture has to reflect the way people live, their culture and environment," Nadji said. "If not, that's not real architecture, you're just building walls."