Concert opens new centre
New multi-purpose facility a 'boost for morale,' says SAO
Myles Dolphin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 23, 2013
AUSUITTUQ/GRISE FIORD
Despite not being ready to host a Grise Fiord hamlet council meeting, residents of the tiny High Arctic community were still able to enjoy the use of their new facility on Dec. 18.
Grise Fiord, Canada's most Northern community, began using its brand new centre on Dec. 18 with a concert by Umimmak School students. - August, 2013, photo courtesy of Republic Architecture |
Umimmak School students performed a Christmas concert that evening, the first event to be held at the community's new multi-function centre.
The hamlet office and community hall hybrid, a building four years in the making, houses 13 office spaces and will also be home to the Hunters and Trappers Association, Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and the Departments of Social Services and Community Justice.
The building will get its official opening treatment in the new year, said senior administrative officer Marty Kuluguqtuq.
"Our phone lines aren't quite ready to move yet," he said. "The actual office move won't take place until the New Year, but having said that, we'll be using the gym and community hall starting Dec. 18. Once that is done we'll use the gym until Christmas Eve and have different activities there over the holidays."
Public gathering spaces are in short supply in Grise Fiord, where the community uses the school's gym for all its functions.
Erected in 1980, the gym - located alongside Umimmak School - has always been under the maintenance of the hamlet, said Kuluguqtuq.
Cara Cormier, principal at Umimmak, said the staff and students were very excited about having their concert in the new centre.
"The hamlet and school work very well together and this community deserves the new centre," she said.
"I am happy they finally got it."
Kuluguqtuq echoed Cormier's thoughts, saying it's a positive step forward for Grise Fiord.
"Any time there is a new building in a community, it boosts morale," he said. "It's something to be proud of. It's a bright situation in a dark place."
Grise Fiord's "dark" season normally extends from early October to February.
The process to build the community centre began in 2009, when council members met with representatives from Republic Architecture Inc. and Wolfrom Engineering Ltd, both from Winnipeg, Man.
Evan Hunter, an architect who worked on the project, said they tried to stick with a plan that would allow them to build quickly on site.
"We met with the community to see what they needed," he said. "We were also trying to be conscious it was Grise Fiord, so there's a lot of insulation in the building - in fact, we actually exceeded recommendations for Nunavut buildings."
It's a building the Government of Nunavut really made sure was energy efficient, he added. A project page on Wolfrom's website describes the design as a centre which "consists of a steel frame
and infill wood framing designed to meet the harshest climate requirements."
Hunter, who made several trips to the community, said it was a real pleasure meeting people from the community and working with them.
"It was truly amazing, they're a great bunch of people," he said. "It was a great opportunity to work with the community and the Government of Nunavut to help them realize an important project like this."
