Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Chris Clarke gets his licence to become an architect next year he will be among an "unparalleled" number of new architects working in the territory, according to Rod Kirkwood, president of the Northwest Territories Association of Architects (NWTAA).

Chris Clarke, an architectural technical officer with the NWT Housing Corporation, shows a model Monday he created of a sustainable two-bedroom house. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

"The NWT right now has nine interns who are waiting for examination next year, which is unparalleled," said Kirkwood.

He added that on average the NWT has been able to register two architects per year since the association was created in 2001 to regulate the profession territorially.

"For Yellowknife it is huge because it means we are part of an organization that has parity with the rest of the country. Architects can feel completely at ease coming to the North and becoming registered here and they can be registered anywhere in Canada," he said.

Born in Hay River and having grown up in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, Clarke is set to become the first Dene architect registered with the NWT Association of Architects. He will also be one of the very few aboriginal architects in Canada.

"Having been in school for eight years, universities don't often have programs within the architecture schools to actively seek out aboriginals, whereas I know that does happen in a lot of law schools," said Clarke.

"Law schools seem to more actively seek out aboriginal students and I think that is one of the main reasons (for the perception that more aboriginal students are in law)."

As a graduate of Sir John Franklin High School, he has come full circle and will be among a number of young architects coming to work in the North, which he said will increasingly have a greater need for sustainable housing.

Despite having experience and potential for advancement at southern firms in Toronto, Clarke said he is choosing to stay in the North after completing six years of required training work.

"I have always had an interest in sustainable design and aboriginal design, so to come back and work with my people and put that forward is one of the major reasons I wanted to come back," he said.

Clarke completed an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a masters degree in architecture at the University of Calgary and currently works as an architectural technical officer with the NWT Housing Corporation. He is involved in a 19-unit apartment building being constructed on 53 Street. His job entails researching energy efficiency and sustainable design, which is an important factor when considering Northern housing.

Kirkwood hosted a national conference of architects at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre two weekends ago. He said the ability of NWT architectural firms to recruit and keep young architects such as Clarke is improving.

"It has taken (NWTAA) about 10 years to get our act together administratively and we are now able to show kids or students or interns anywhere in the country or North America that we are as good as any other (professional architectural) organization," said Kirkwood.

"People are now coming because there is work, they want to work here and they find it exciting. We are not as backwoods as many might think."

Increasingly, the city is getting more professional architects who are from here and who are familiar with the technical and logistical challenges of a Northern practice, including how to work in a cold climate, said Kirkwood. There are currently more than 20 registered architects in the NWT, the majority of whom are located in Yellowknife, he said.

Unless there has been a keen interest or personal connection to the region, local architects agree that recruits haven't always stayed.

"It is difficult to get graduate architects to stay beyond a few years unless they are enamored by the North and want to live here," said Gino Pin, co-owner of Pin/Taylor Architects, who came to the North from Montreal in 1971.

"We're continuously going through students and graduates and it is a bit demanding on a firm because of the training that is required."

But Pin, who mentored Clarke, admits this trend has been improving in recent years, especially since the creation of the architects' association. His firm employs three interns at various points in their training process.

"The formation of the architectural association here has consolidated the architectural group and set some standards under which we work," said Pin. "With the creation of the association, it meant young architects could remain here and get their training here."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.