‘Luxury of the North’ trip to the Canadian High Arctic
The team of designers of the 'Luxury of the North' project (initiated by Droog Design) spent 10 days at the Canadian high-Arctic to be inspired by and learn from the extreme living conditions. Team interviewed several people from the remote community called Pond Inlet; from wildlife conservation officer and representatives of Nunavut government to hunters and local people.
The extreme conditions influence everything in the 26 communities of Nunavut territory (total population of 30000). Goods and fuel arrive with a ship once a year during a two month period when sea is not frozen. Houses and infrastructure need to be built elevated from the ground due to the permafrost. Time of the day is irrelevant with 24 hour darkness in the winter and 24 hour sunlight in the summer – when towns are busier at 2am than at 2pm. There are no roads connecting the communities to one another, the only way to travel is by small propeller airplanes.
In addition to the work of the designers in the team, The Why Factory will lead a workshop with students from the TU in the coming autumn. The results of the ‘Luxury of the North’ project will be presented in an exhibition in Toronto in 2011.