Summary of a collaborative mandate with Habiter le Nord québécois

Our team recently worked on a collaborative mandate with Habiter le Nord québécois (HLNQ). HLNQ is a research initiative within Université Laval that focuses on culturally appropriate and sustainable approaches to housing design in Innu and Inuit communities.

To mark the conclusion of HLNQ’s research cycle after more than 10 years of collaboration with northern communities, STGM and several partners — Groupe A / Annexe U, Groupe BC2, and MXHX — took part in a final synthesis exercise. The objective was to create an illustrated overview of the research projects led by Geneviève Vachon, intended as a gift to local partners and as a representation of HLNQ’s legacy.

Myrtille Bayle, Sandrine Tremblay Lemieux, Frédérique Trottier and Jérémie Loeub had the opportunity to participate in 10 alternating workshops, engaging in dialogue, reflection, and drawing sessions alongside students and under the guidance of Myriam Blais, Geneviève Vachon and Samuel Boudreault.

The synthesis took the form of a “manifresque” (manifesto + mural), depicting what the northern village of Kuujjuaq could look like 50 to 60 years from now, based on the premise of a future where Nunavik is autonomous and proudly determines its political and economic future. In this vision, Kuujjuaq becomes a capital village shaped by “the Inuit way”, offering a renewed approach to spatial organization, urban planning, cultural spaces, and the relationship between community life and the land. The result was meant to be both utopian and realistic.

To project themselves into the future, the group defined seven guiding intentions that set the foundation for the exercise. Surrounding the central map, a series of vignettes illustrate the various hubs of the future community. These vignettes draw from projects created by HLNQ students throughout the program. The exercise allowed the team to imagine the heart of Kuujjuaq and re-envision several key components, including the integration of a central hub for governance and knowledge. Housing, in its multiple forms, also plays a prominent role. Increasing density while offering a diversity of living arrangements was one of the core challenges. Restoring the importance of the land within the community was another guiding consideration.

One of the greatest challenges of this mandate was visually representing both natural and built elements without overwhelming the map. The success of the final result is thanks to the dedication of student collaborators — Jade Blais, Vincent Morrier and Izeult Lauzier-Larouche.

Presented here are images of the process that led to the final product, along with a recent aerial photograph of Kuujjuaq.

The manifresque was printed on a large-scale textile and presented to the collaborators in Kuujjuaq.